Department of Art Newsletter offside this Issue: The Gestalt Issue March 2017 ROOTS an exhibition Art Installations by Artists, Ron Bechet, Professor of Art, Ronteherin Ratliff, & Patrick Waldemar Curated by Dr. Sarah A. Clunis, Director of AADS Rontherin Ratliff, Art Installation Opening February 15 Xavier University Chapel Gallery April 15, 2017 & Level Artist Collective Co-Founders artwork exhibit Patrick Waldemar, frt Exhibition Opening February 15 Xavier University Chapel Gallery April 15, 2017 Roots an exhibition Opening Reception XU Chapel Gallery 4 Congratulations Professor Ron Bechet! Artwork For My Fathers New Acquisition by the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) Opening Reception Thursday, March 9 (RSVP by March 3) Passing It On...Mary Kahn Davis 71 returns to XULA Art Volunteered to assist Art Majors with Art Portfolio Development Cartoonist Keith Knight Talk & Book Signing XULA March 22 Artist talk focuses on how he uses art to respond to police brutality and racism Dr. Jason Todd, Associate Professor of English & Associate Director of CAT & Faculty Development Martin Payton, 73 Sculptor Recognized by the CAC & MaPo Kinnord, Associate Professor of Art Artwork Antenna Gallery Exhibition Congregation MaPo Kinnord shares Dr Kim Vaz-Deville, Ph.D., LPC talk to Art Appreciation students on her beading practice and history of New Orleans Baby Doll Tradition & Mikelene Thomas Waiting on a Prime-time Star Exhibition-Newcomb Art Museum *Reminder! Art Majors Mandatory Annual Reviews Digital Portfolio & Video Presentation Submission Deadline March 10, 2017 >Mid-Semester Evaluations Due March 14 >Senior Comp Exams March 18 *Mapo Kinnord, Facilitator mkinnord@xula.edu 1 2 3 5 5 5 6 7 8 ROOTS an exhibition Art Installations by Artist, Ron Bechet, Professor of Art, Rontherin Ratliff, & Patrick Waldemar Curated by Dr. Sarah A. Clunis, Assistant Professor of Art History & Director of AADS Xavier University Chapel Gallery April 15, 2017 Roots are passages and opportunities, a subtle dialogue between the secular and the sacred. My roots are my connection to my ancestors and my knowing without being told. In my landscape there is the intermingling of community, a metaphor for joy, grief, pleasure, and suffering. Death is respected here, as the continuation of life. Ron Bechet The Department of Art The Art Village John T. Scott Sculpture Garden 3520 Pine Street Business Mailing Address Xavier University of Louisiana 1 Drexel Drive New Orleans, LA 70125 Phone: 504-520-7556 Fax: 504-520-7949 Photos courtesy of Dr. Sarah A. Clunis Art Installation by Ron Bechet
Page 2 Roots an exhibition Art Installation by Rontherin Ratliff When I reached my grandmother s shotgun house, I found myself standing waist high in water. Through the open door the sun shone in and revealed what lay at the bottom of all the murky water. The floor was covered with family photographs my grandmother had always loved collecting of her children and grandchildren. Rontherin Ratliff Photo courtesy of MaPo Kinnord Level Artist Collective Rontherin & Ana, Co-founders Photos provided by Joan Ulmer 85
Page 3 Roots an exhibition Artwork by Patrick Waldemar As the Magnolia browns, new seeds seek fertile ground. Stripped of petals, passion remains in the bones. Patrick Waldemar Photos provided by Joan Ulmer 85
Page 4 Roots an exhibition Opening Reception... Photos provided of Joan Ulmer 85, Art Administrative Assistant
Page 5 Congratulations Professor Ron Bechet! Xavier University of Louisiana NEW at NOMA: Recent Acquisitions in in Modern and Contemporary Art Opening Reception Thursday, March 9 For My Fathers by Ron Bechet This exhibition showcases Ron Bechet s For My Fathers, NOMA s recent acquisitions of modern and contemporary art, and celebrates the museum s enduring commitment to championing the work of emerging and underrepresented artists, especially from the American South. Bringing together new works by both locally and nationally recognized artists, the exhibition spotlights new acquisitions made possible by the Leah Chase Art Purchase Fund, created to honor the New Orleans chef and civil rights activist. Passing It On... Mary Kahn Davis 71 Xavier University of Louisiana BFA Graduate, Arts Educator, Arts Administrator, and now Volunteer returns to assist Art Majors with their Portfolio Development. Sessions Begin Tuesday, March 7, 2017 *Note Rough Draft & Digital File Required for review Mandatory Annual Portfolio Review Video Presentation & Digital File Submission Deadline is Friday March 10, 2017 Cartoonist Keith Knight Talk & Book Signing at XULA... Keith Knight's body of work involves many of the topics that we grapple with in The Graphic Novel and Social Justice course. Mr. Knight is one of the contributors to a comic anthology that is one of the required readings for the course APB (Artist's Against Police Brutality). Currently, the class is being offered as a directed readings course during the Fall in both the English and Art Departments by co-instructors Dr. Jason Todd and Augustus Gus Jenkins. This upcoming Fall semester will be the third time that the course has been offered. We are in the process of submitting the proposal for the course to the Academic Council for approval as a listed course within the University catalog for both departments. Gus Jenkins 04 Dr. Jason Todd Photo credit: New Orleans Homes & Lifestyles *RSVP by Friday, March 3, 2017
Page 6 The Department of English Presents: Cartoonist Keith Knight Xavier University Center Ballroom Wednesday, March 22 at 7:00pm Contact: Jason Todd, Ph.D., Associate Professor English & Associate Director, Center for the Advancement of Teaching & Faculty Development Phone: 504-520-7207 Email: jtodd1@xula.edu
T h e G es t a lt Page 7 M a r c h 20 1 7 Honorees/Patron Party... SweetArts is the CAC s premier annual gala. Since 1984, the CAC has recognized the exceptional and diverse artists, performers, educators, and philanthropists whose influence and contributions shape New Orleans arts and culture community Honors Martin Payton 73 Sculpture & Xavier University Alumnus... ANTENNA Gallery Exhibition Congregation www.antenna.works Photos courtesy of MaPo Kinnor, Associate Professor of Art Issue::004 of Antenna::Signals takes its inspiration from Antenna s January exhibition, Congregation, featuring ceramics artists Rachael DePauw, Miki Glasser, Sarah House, Nikki Jackson, and MaPo Kinnord. The exhibition highlights the influence of Alligator Clay, a Baton Rouge-based clay distributor that was devastated by the August 2015 SE Louisiana floods, on ceramicists and potters in the Southeast United States. Antenna 3718 St Claude Ave New Orleans, LA 70117
Page 8 Dr Kim Vaz-Deville, Ph.D., LPC gives a talk to Art Appreciation students on her beading practice and the history of New Orleans Baby Doll Tradition. The baby dolls are a group of African-American men and women carnival maskers," says Dr. Kim Vaz, Associate Dean, College of Arts & Sciences at Xavier University. "They would dress up on Mardi Gras day in short satin skirts, with bloomers, and they would have garters. Dr Vaz-Deville has written a new book about the baby dolls, says the tradition dates back to 1912, when Jim Crow was the law of the land in the South. MaPo Kinnord Photos courtesy of MaPo Kinnor, Associate Professor of Art Mickalene Thomas: Waiting on a Prime-time Star. Newcomb Art Museum - January 18 April 9, 2017 free & open to the public. Mickalene Thomas: Waiting on a Prime-Time Star brings together more than 40 works including paintings, photographs, collages, sculptures, film, and a site-specific installation that broadly engage the subject of portraiture through an interplay of different media. An internationally renowned artist recognized for lush works celebrating the power of female beauty toward claiming women s agency. Thomas combines allusions to iconic historical artworks and popular culture that introduce complex notions of femininity and challenge common definitions of beauty and aesthetic representations of women. For more information visit: https://newcombartmuseum.tulane.edu/portfolio-item/mickalene-thomas/