6 09 FEATURE EVENT LSU MOA 50th Anniversary Fourth of July Fundraiser EXHIBITIONS Reunion: James Burke, Edward Pramuk and Robert Warrens YOUNG PROFESSIONALS Third Thursdays CALENDAR Events, Talks, and Films LSU Museum of Art Shaw Center for the Arts Director’s Message Feature Event It’s our 50th Anniversary YEARS AGO, WHEN I WAS JUST STARTING AT THE SAN FRANCISCO ART INSTITUTE, ONE and we are celebrating with a bang! OF MY PROFESSORS, WHOSE NAME IS LOST TO MEMORY, BEGAN EACH SEMESTER WITH LSU Museum of Art Fourth of July Fundraiser THE LOADED QUESTION, “WhaT IS ARt?” Every student dutifully submitted a written definition in the hope of being at least partially correct and singled out as such. But inevitably no one was ever correct, at least not in Saturday, July 4 6pm – 10pm Two floors of fun, food and festivities! this art history course. The professor would then walk out on a universally dejected class, leaving a disorganized pile of paper scraps swirling in his wake. Tickets $125 Members; $150 Non-members Watch the fireworks on the river from the Irene Pennington I never understood the purpose of such an exercise, but I often wished that I had had the wisdom that only came To purchase tickets, call 225.389.7213. Rooftop Terrace on top of the Shaw Center for the Arts. Museum Memberships available. later of saying, in true Marcel Duchamp form, “Art was whatever I wanted it to be,” or perhaps, as Andy Warhol once All proceeds support LSU Museum of Art programming. stated, “Art is what you can get away with.” For the LSU Museum of Art, art truly is many things, as varied and extraordinary as the artists themselves. Its collection includes works of art that feature some of the best-known names in portraiture: William Hogarth, Thomas Gainsborough, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Benjamin West, John Smibert, or Smybert (the Scot who died in Boston in 1751 and who is credited with bringing portraiture to the Americas), and my personal favorite, Rembrandt Peale. The new exhibition Constructing Identity: From Hogarth to MySpace showcases John T. Scott’s fabulous work A Monumental Thank You Third World Table, which defies dining but serves to While visitors relished the LSU Museum of Art’s exhibition Rodin: A emphasize the fact that few of the world’s citizens Magnificent Obsession, the LSU MOA staff geared up for an increase sit down to a meal as gracious and bountiful as in attendance, programs and events. We would not have been able to many Americans do. The exhibit also contains two “…art truly is many offer such a wonderful exhibition without the help of a group of docents depictions of artist Caroline Durieux, one by Diego that we have grown to know and depend upon. These docents have Rivera and the other by Carlos Orozco Romero. While things, as varied and dedicated significant amounts of time and effort to prepare for and give very different, both share the same fascination for guided tours. They adjusted their schedules, battled elevator snafus, Durieux’s extraordinary eyes. extraordinary as the waited for late school groups and hustled for those who arrived early. To Many of the artists in our collection are simply say that they knew their information forwards and backwards is not an unknown. The artists from the Qing dynasty, for artists themselves.” exaggeration. With large groups, these docents often started at the end example, are unknown to us now, but the jade pieces and finished at the beginning, and made it seem perfectly normal. They they produced will doubtless serve to fascinate visitors were gracious fonts of knowledge, often answering the same questions for generations to come. hundreds of times (by the way, the first Thinker is at the Musée Rodin in The LSU Past and Present gallery showcases works Paris, and it is priceless). by artists who are well-known in the LSU community. We owe them a huge thank you for their contribution to the success The works of Michael Crespo, Kelli Scott Kelley and of the exhibition, and hope that what Rodin said was true, “Nothing is a Robert Hausey can be seen with works by retired waste of time if you use the experience wisely.” professors Edward Pramuk, James Burke, and Robert Warrens. (Works by Burke, Pramuk, and Warrens are on display in the Reunion exhibition.) Each artist brings a special vision and a special response to that question, “What is art?” COVER IMAGE: Thomas A. Livesay ROBERT WARRENS, (b. 1933, Sheboygan, Executive Director Wisconsin), Africa Strikes Back II, (detail) 1973. LSU Museum of Art Acrylic on canvas. From the collection of the LSU Museum of Art artist. Photo: Kevin Salzman. 2 Not receiving e-mails about LSU Museum of Art upcoming events and promotions? Contact Chelsea Harris, membership coordinator at [email protected]; 225.389.7213. Exhibitions James organized by the LSU museum of art Bur open ke, through august 9 On May 17, the LSU Museum of Art opened Reunion, an exhibition edw featuring the works of three Southern Louisiana artists, James ard Burke, Edward Pramuk, and Robert Warrens. This fantastically whimsical exhibition reunites and celebrates the artistic careers of P these men, who taught at the LSU School of Art from the 1960s ramuk through the 1990s. When Abstract-Expressionist artist, Jackson Pollock, appeared in the pages of Life magazine in 1949, it signaled a shift whereby American art became the standard against which all other art would and be measured. During this time, many artists flocked to large U.S. cities like New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, but three talented artists chose to make their creative marks in Louisiana. James ro Burke, Edward Pramuk, and Robert Warrens, each from Northern- Bert Midwestern states, exhibited their works in galleries and museums throughout the country, but ultimately decided to make their place in art history in Baton Rouge. Burke and Pramuk arrived at the LSU warr School of Art in 1964; Warrens came three years later. They taught ens painting, drawing, printmaking, and design throughout much of the TOP: JAMES BURKE (b. 1935, 1970s, ’80s, and ’90s. Their works range in size and medium, but Minneapolis, Minnesota) assuredly define each era with a true attention to current art trends. Greatscape Two (detail), Over the past four decades, James Burke, Edward Pramuk, and 1969. Intaglio on paper. Robert Warrens became three of the most influential and legendary From the collection of the figures behind contemporary art in South Louisiana. Reunion artist. Photo: Kevin Salzman. features over 50 of their works, including prints, paintings, collages, MIDDLE: EDWARD PRAMUK drawings, works on paper, and large sculptures. The exhibition (b. 1936, Akron, Ohio) includes pieces both created by the artists during their tenures at Morandi’s Magic Box (detail), LSU and artworks representing their current styles. Among the 1971. Acrylic on canvas. works on display are insightful self-portraits, unique depictions From the collection of the of animals and nature, nonfigurative representations of interiors, artist. Photo: Kevin Salzman. landscapes, and cities in South Louisiana, and artworks illustrating BOTTOM: ROBERT WARRENS their creative processes. (b. 1933, Sheboygan, Reunion, an exhibition featuring the works of James Burke, Wisconsin) A Mouthful Edward Pramuk, and Robert Warrens, will be on display through of Feathers (detail), 1973. August 9. Acrylic on canvas. From the collection of the artist. Photo: Kevin Salzman. LSU Museum of Art 5 Future Exhibitions Also On Display Young Professionals of LSU MOA Constructing Identity from Gabriel Laderman: www.lsumoa.com/yps Unconventional Realist Hogarth to MySpace Join the YPs and get the most out of your museum membership. September 4 – October 25 A celebration of the LSU Museum of Art’s It’s just one more way to support the arts in Baton Rouge. Gabriel Laderman is a founding father fiftieth anniversary and an exploration of of postmodern figuration and has representation and self-representation. brought figuration into the mainstream CAROLINE DURIEUX, (1896-1989) Desirée, Third Thursdays are the best way to start your weekend early and start it off right! Get of contemporary art. Gabriel Laderman: 1947. Lithograph on paper. Gift of the artist. ready to get down from 7pm–10pm every Third Thursday. Downtown Baton Rouge has never Unconventional Realist highlights a key LSU MOA 68.9.46. been hotter with live music and entertainment. Admission is only $5 for LSU MOA members figure in the development of post-painterly and $10 for nonmembers. Price includes admission to entertainment on the 4th floor and the figuration—or new realism—that developed LSU: Past and Present museum on the 5th floor. A cash bar will be provided with $3 drink specials. during the 1960s and ’70s. Laderman In-Kind: Whole Foods was one of the first painters to reject both A rotating display of work by LSU art professors and their students. The Mark these dates… Abstract Expressionist conventions and the present installation includes Bird and Squirrel, the new 22 minute video conventions of collage. In their place, he piece by Kelli Scott Kelley. June 18 brought the structural thinking of abstraction A Wine Experience KELLI SCOTT KELLEY, Bird and Squirrel, 2009. Video with Sage Fuchs, Finnian Kelley to perceptual representation. Over a forty- Experience wine on a whole new level! Learn how to pair and Zoe Parker. Soundtrack by Bill Kelley and poetry by Jacqueline Dee Parker. year career, your favorite vintages with specific dishes! Perfect gift he led many ideas and raffle prizes for Father’s Day! others to follow his innovative July 16 approach to the Southern Comforts figure, serving an Nothin’ like a little fais do-do on a Thursday night! Cajun artist-in-residence music, food and art… come on now, sha! at an impressive list of schools, August 20 including LSU.