Joseph Jilbert, signature artist of Circa 1857 in downtown Baton Rouge, lets his imagination run wild as he welds sculptures from countless metal scraps ranging in size from 3 inches to 60 feet tall. But his imagination doesn’t stop with his art — Jilbert came up with an idea to help benefit local schools with arts programs suffering from budget cuts.
He was driving in his car with his fiancée, Julia, when they heard an announcement that budget cuts were made to Louisiana schools’ art and music programs. Beginning with The Dufrocq School off Government Street, Jilbert plans to launch a statewide project called “Art & Seek,” where local artists use their talents to create original pieces of art and donate them back to the school to be raffled off to raise funds for art and music programs.
Tickets will be distributed for sale starting Aug. 28 followed by a live raffle of sculptures Dec. 13.
Growing up poor as one of 18 children from a farming family in Missouri, Jilbert takes advantage of the ability he now has to give back to the community. Described in one word, Jilbert calls his project “pure” because it’s the children who profit, and no one else.
“It’s time for us to take over. Straight up,” Jilbert said, wearing his Captain America tee shirt underneath his leather apron.
When visiting Dufrocq months ago, Jilbert explained his mission to the student body and asked the children to bring any scrap metal they could find. The participation was more than Jilbert could have hoped for.
In the front lobby of Dufrocq, there now stands “Robot Dufrocq,” which was sculpted by Jilbert exclusively using what was brought to him by the students.
“I’m a green artist. What you throw away, I sculpt away to a neater, greener Earth,” he said.
Jilbert’s materials are typically picked up on the side of the road or dropped off at his shop by fans.
There was no blueprint to what he would build. As he rummaged through the buckets of scraps, Robot Dufrocq, the female golfer, came to life with a skirt made of rusty trampoline springs and a frog hopping on her head.
Emily Lopez, a Dufrocq teacher and coordinator for “Art & Seek,” said she hopes to sell at least a couple thousand tickets. According to Jilbert, all proceeds, “to the penny,” will go to the school’s art program.
The plans don’t stop there, though. The next idea Jilbert plans to execute is “Tuition Tuesdays,” which will involve college students buying raffle tickets to win the profits from a Jilbert sculpture to pay tuition fees.
“I always tell people, ‘How can I help you to help me help us?’” Jilbert said.
According to Jilbert, he was selling handmade toys as a five-year-old. The older he got, the more intricate his toys became, particularly when he began welding.
Countless hours go into his work, sometimes laboring through the night just to avoid the combined heat of welding and Louisiana humidity. Ask him about the scars covering his arms, though, and he will say they are his “trophies and awards.”
Artists are typically recognized as passionate people, but Jilbert has taken his artistic passions from the workshop and into the Baton Rouge community. Jilbert said he hopes to take this project from Louisiana and bring it to a national scale.

Gallery • 11 Photos

Charles Champagne

Joseph Jilbert's piece is displayed with artworks from other local artists Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2013 at Circa 1857.