Past Exhibitions - 2009
Selections from the LASM Collection: François Brochet
December 19, 2009 - March 14, 2010
François Brochet, Mother and Child, 1960, polychromed wood.
François Brochet (French, 1925-2001) is best known for his polychromed, carved wood figures. His father, Henri Brochet, was a well-known painter, writer, and dramatist. At an early age, François was apprenticed to sculptor Fernand Py, under whose tutelage in Auxerre, France, he learned woodcarving, drawing, and polychromy (the art of colorfully painted sculpture, found frequently in medieval European church interiors and religous sculptures).
This display of Brochet's sculptures and lithographs demonstrates the sensitivity and spiritual nature characteristic of his major undertakings. His most ambitious and well-known work is The Massacre of the Innocents, a collection of 20 carved figures, 10 of which are life sized. It garnered critical success when first shown in 1960. All of LASM's holdings by Brochet date from this period, including three polychromed wood sculptures titled Mother and Child.
Get Real: Still Life Paintings by Five Louisiana Artists
December 19, 2009 - February 21, 2010
Patricia Whitty, A Pair of Oranges, 2004, oil on linen, 20 x 22 inches. Courtesy of the artist's estate and LeMieux Galleries.
Perhaps by its very difference from the frantic pace of our hyper-connected lives, the venerable still life continues to resonate with us. Inviting us to rest our eyes upon it and enjoy a bit of contemplation, a still life painting features inanimate, usually ordinary, objects imbued with significance and beauty by the hand of the artist.
This exhibition presents recent work spotlighting four notable contemporary Louisiana painters who take a traditional view of this enduring art form: Albino Hinojosa, Ruston; Libby Johnson, Baton Rouge; and Auseklis Ozols, Amy Weiskopf and the late Patricia Whitty, of New Orleans.
Starry Messenger: Galileo’s Vision in 21st Century Art
September 26 - December 13, 2009
Josh Simpson, Corona Platter (detail), 2009, glass. Photograph by Tim Ryan Smith
In celebration of the International Year of Astronomy, Starry Messenger: Galileo's Vision in 21st Century Art features the artwork of contemporary artists who are inspired by astronomy together with reproductions of Galileo’s drawings and text panels describing his accomplishments. In 1609, when Galileo first turned his telescope to the heavens, he revolutionized humanity’s understanding of its place in the cosmos. His training in the fine arts enhanced his analysis of what he saw and his ability to convey it. Just as Galileo’s observations inspired artists of his own time, these works in a variety of media demonstrate the continuing allure that the cosmos holds for today’s artists.
The artists represented include: Vija Celmins; Thierry W Despont; Elen A. Feinberg; Jonathon Feldschuh; Eva Lee; Carol Prusa; Josh Simpson; and Sallie Wolf. Organized by LASM.
The Photographs of Tony Ray-Jones
June 30 - September 13, 2009
Tony Ray-Jones, Glyndebourne, 1967, from a limited edition of 15 gelatin silver prints from original negatives by John Benton-Harris, published by Photographic Collections 1975. Edition 18/125.
Dominated by a controlled sense of the bizarre, the photographs of Tony Ray-Jones fuse American and European influences with an essentially British understanding of human nature.
Ray-Jones was born in Wells, Somerset, England, in June 1941. At the age of 16, while studying graphic design at the London College of Printing, he was drawn to photography, finding it an invigorating medium. In 1960, Ray-Jones received a scholarship to Yale University. Returning to England in 1966, Ray-Jones began photographing the English at leisure. With time, his images became increasingly complex and gained depth. After returning to the U.S. in 1971 with his wife Anna, he was soon diagnosed with leukemia. Ray-Jones died March 13, 1972.
The 15 photographs on exhibit are from LASM’s permanent collection. They reveal both the humorously sharp but gentle vision of this talented photographer and his fascination for the eccentricities of his fellow humans. Ray-Jones’s work is also found in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris.
The Purse and the Person: A Century of Women's Purses
June 13 - September 13, 2009
Peacock-feather-patterned, beaded bag, chain, handle, fringe, ca. 1920.
Private Collection
Like clothing, purses have evolved through time according to women’s fashions, needs, and social roles. The Purse and The Person: A Century of Women’s Purses displays an intriguing selection of 167 purses and their everyday contents from a private collection. They date from the late 19th century to the late 20th century.
The eight exhibition vignettes represent different eras, from that of the Edwardian matron to that of the Superwoman of recent decades. Each purse elicits clear memories of the era and women we’ve known.
Some of the bags are shown with their contents, which include objects from the recognizable —a lipstick, cigarette lighter, or address book—to the curious, including a combination phone dialer and address book. The exhibition opens our eyes to an evolving society and women’s roles in it, as well as their daily activities and even their personalities.
The carefree existence and increased independence of women is reflected in the Flapper’s slim clutch bag. Rosie the Riveter’s bag permitted some improvisation on her part so that she could accommodate her new role in the war effort and her traditional role at home. The modern-day Superwoman’s purse grew in size so that she could fit items necessary to take her from her children’s school to the gym, the boardroom, soccer practice, and after-work drinks, all the while remaining fashionable.
From function to fashion, the purses not only tell the story of the evolution of these important accessories, but they reveal the evolution of women over the course of the 20th century.
Sparkle and Elegance: The Handbags of Judith Leiber
June 13 - September 13, 2009
Judith Leiber, Butterfly Purse, Edition 36 of 50, Private Collection
Renowned for elevating the purse to the status of accessory-as-art, Judith Leiber has forever altered the craft of purse production. Born and raised in Budapest, Hungary, she became the first woman accepted into the Hungarian handbag makers’ guild, where she mastered the design and production of handbags.
After moving with her husband to the United States in 1947, Leiber worked for several handbag companies until she launched Judith Leiber, Inc., in 1963. Inspired by Asian art, gardening, and other personal interests, Leiber’s purses soon found their way to the cutting edge of fashion.
Best known for her minaudières, many of them constructed in charming organic shapes, Leiber covered her purses with brilliantly colored crystal rhinestones, giving them an air of elegant playfulness while maintaining timeless style. Each purse is executed with meticulous attention to detail and flawless handcraftsmanship.
This exhibition, shown in conjunction with The Purse and the Person, features approximately 25 bags from a local private collection.
Celestial Images: Four Hundred Years of Mapping the Heavens
April 28 – June 29, 2009
Philipp de Hire (French, 1640-1718), Planisphere Celeste Septentrional
(detail), 1705, hand-colored engraving. Private collection.
This exhibition of historical celestial maps ranging from the 16th through
the 19th centuries tells of the golden age and waning years of an art
form that successfully married art and science. Long before that golden
age, our ancestors marked the passage of time by observing the regular
motions of the sun, moon, and stars.
Although we do not know when they first began to record their observations,
we do know that about 150 AD, the Alexandrian astronomer Ptolemy published
a star catalog, Almagest, that listed more than 1,000 stars and grouped
them into 48 constellations. In the 10th century, Islamic astronomers
transferred Ptolemy’s constellations onto globes in order to aid navigation,
and in 1515, the German artist Albrecht Durer produced what is believed
to be the first printed star map. His renderings of constellation figures
set the standard for European celestial mapmaking over the next three
centuries, and the new printing press gave the maps wide distribution.
Throughout the Renaissance, the celestial maps were popular for their artistic beauty as well as their scientific value, but by the late 1700s, advances in scientific instruments began making them obsolete. Today, computer software plots the positions of tens of thousands of stars and deep-sky objects. The early, grandly illustrated maps, however, possess a visual appeal that enhances our perspective on the daily life of our ancestors and how they saw the universe and their place in it.
This works in this exhibition have generously been made available to LASM by an anonymous owner.
Arctic Spirit: Inuit Art from the Albrecht Collection at the Heard Museum
March 28 – May 31, 2009
Pauta Saila, Dancing Bear c. 1975, stone. Albrecht Collection
at the Heard Museum.
This exhibition offers a rare peek into the rich artistic heritage that characterizes the Inuit, or Eskimo, cultures of Northern Canada. 150 sculptures, textiles, prints, and drawings span 2,250 years of artistic creativity, from 250 BC to the 21st century. The land and its seasons, hunting and fishing, family life, spirituality, mythology, and wildlife dominate the traditional subject matter of Inuit art. This exhibition gives viewers the opportunity to truly understand and appreciate the complexity and beauty of Inuit art.
This exhibition, organized by the Heard Museum, is a program of ExhibitsUSA, a national division of Mid-America Arts Alliance and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Woodcuts by Jacques Hnizdovsky from the Permanent Collection
March 10 - April 26, 2009
Herd of Merino Sheep, 1975, woodcut. Collection of Louisiana
Art & Science Museum.
Jacques Hnizdovsky (1915–1985) is one of America’s foremost woodcut artists. These 15 prints dating from the late 1960s and the 1970s give insight into the virtuosity and sensitivity with which Hnizdovsky captures animal and plant forms.
Born in the Ukraine, Hnizdovsky first experimented with the printmaking media while in art school in Zagreb, Yugoslavia. He initially gave up the woodcut media after his first attempts yielded only frustration. In 1949, he moved to Saint Paul, Minnesota, and after brief employment at a publishing company, he decided to become an independent artist. Over the next decade, he worked primarily in painting, sculpture, and ceramics.
When he again tried printmaking, Hnizdovsky found his footing, and he quickly gained recognition with his easily recognizable, stylized views of nature. Hnizdovsky’s prints are found in many public collections, including those of the Library of Congress, the New York Public Library, Duke University Museum of Art, the New Orleans Museum of Art, and LASM.
Fly Now! Aviation Posters from the Smithsonian Institution's National
Air and Space Museum
February 3 - March 8, 2009
Seiichi, Japan Air Transport Co., Ltd. Japan, c. 1931. Collection of the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum.
The 40 posters showcased in Fly Now! date from 1860 to the present and colorfully reveal our own changing view of our place in the world. The history of advertising, technology, business, transportation, tourism, and cultural geography richly inform the exhibition and provide a unique approach to aviation history.
In the late 19th century, such posters portrayed avaiation as a spectator sport by featuring hot air balloons, air show pilots, and exotic performers. Posters of the 1920s associated elitism and ease with flight, and after World War II, fanciful renderings of destinations became the popular means to promote and sell air travel.
This exhibition is a program of the ExhibitsUSA, a national division of Mid-America Arts Alliance and the National Endowment for the Arts. It is generously supported locally by the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport in celebration of its 60th anniversary.
A Couple of Ways of Doing Something
Photographs by Chuck Close/Poems by Bob Holman
January 17 – March 15, 2009
Self Portrait, 2006. Courtesy of PaceWildenstein, New York
Made in collaboration with Donald Farnsworth, Magnolia Editions, Oakland
One of America’s foremost artists, Chuck Close (1940- ) has focused exclusively upon portraiture for nearly 40 years. His heroic-scale photorealist paintings brought him early acclaim. He has consistently tested the limits of any media in which he works. For A Couple of Ways of Doing Something, Close mastered the venerable process of the daguerreotype, which yields images of astonishing detail and gravity. Close collaborated with Bob Holman, a celebrated New York School poet, to compose poems in the spirit of the subject's personality– many of whom are Close’s artist-friends – and the image created by Close. The exhibition includes daguerreotypes, digital prints, tapestries and photogravures.
Aperture Foundation, a not-for-profit organization devoted to photography and the visual arts, has organized this traveling exhibition and produced the accompanying publications.
Spotlight: James Surls
January 17 – March 15, 2009
Six and Ten Wall Flowers, 2006. Cherry wood and painted steel.
69 x 124 x 18.5 inches
Courtesy of the artist and Arthur Roger Gallery, New Orleans
James Surls (b.1943) has been carving and hacking, burning, peeling, and shaping pieces of wood into monumental and enigmatic sculptures for over 35 years, combining abstract forms with recognizable images. In the words of art critic Mark Thistlewaite, "[Surls's] work has been described as ritualistic, totemic, animistic, surrealistic, primitivistic, romantic, and mystic."
This selection of Surls's work will be on view in honor of the artist's upcoming visit to LSU as part of the College of Art and Design's annual Manship Lecture Series. His work is included in many important museum collections, including those of the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington D.C.; the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; the Dallas Museum of Art; and the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam.
Ida Kohlmeyer: Standing Among Giants
October 4, 2008 – January 11, 2009
Synthesis 90-A, 1990-1994. Collection of Morris Museum of Art,
Augusta, Georgia.
Ida Kohlmeyer (1912-1997) was one of Louisiana’s few modern art pioneers, and the region’s best-known female artist by the time of her death at age 84. Balancing the roles of wife, mother, and professional artist, Kohlmeyer did not begin her artistic career until she was middle-aged, yet she quickly earned national acclaim at a time when male artists dominated the art world. This exhibition of painting and sculpture demonstrates the influence of leading masters, including Hans Hofmann, Mark Rothko, and Joan Miró, on the development of Kohlmeyer's distinctive style. Organic and geometric forms, dazzlingly bright colors, and a personal vocabulary of signs and symbols characterize her work.. Organized by LASM.
Quilts from the Permanent Collection
October 4, 2008 – January 11, 2009
Double Wedding Ring Quilt (detail), n.d., unknown (American), cotton fabric. Gift of Mrs. William Tait Baynard. 1974.001.003
Cherished and often passed on through generations, quilts are prized as much as for the memories they invoke as for their handiwork. This method of sewing is presumed to have originated Egypt and China before written history.
Early Americans may have pieced together scraps of fabric as a form of recycling, but by the early 19th century, textiles had become more affordable and kits of assorted patches were available. In the 1960s, many women artists began to incorporate the act of sewing into their artwork, bringing quilting into the contemporary art mainstream, and in 1976 America's bicentennial celebration spawned a revival of quilting throughout the country. Today several museums are devoted to quilts and quilting history. The quilts in LASM's collection date from 1875 through the 1970s and exemplify a range of styles, methods, and popular designs.
American Indian Baskets from the Permanent Collection
September 26, 2008 - February 1, 2009
Coiled Pine Needle Basket and Lid. 1973 ca. Rosabel Sylestine,
Coushatta Indian tribe of Louisiana.
From prehistory through the present, American Indian artisans have created baskets in many forms for utilitarian, ceremonial, and commercial purposes. Their baskets have been used for the transportation of food items, for storage, and for burden tasks such as carrying earth to create the ceremonial mounds that dot the Mississippi River Valley. Although traditional basket makers still weave baskets for utilitarian purposes, they also employ techniques and designs that address the growing tourist and collector market.
Across the United States, indigenous basket makers use a variety of materials and techniques. This exhibition focuses on baskets from the southeastern United States and includes Chitimacha double-weave river cane baskets, Choctaw coiled pine needle baskets, and Coushatta effigy baskets. The exhibition also features examples from the American Southwest, including those of the Apache and Havaspai tribes.
