From 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. tonight, the Louisiana Art and Science Museum will become a hub of self-inspired art focused on one thing: the beholder.
LASM’s latest exhibition, “The Artist Revealed: Artist Portraits and Self-Portraits” is a collection of 50 different portraits on loan from the Syracuse University Art Galleries.
The works, displayed in roughly chronological order showcase a timeline spanning 135 years, from 1857 until 1992. Every piece in the exhibition is either a self-portrait or a portrait of another artist.
“You can see how portraiture has changed over time,” said LASM Director of Art Interpretation and Museum Curator Elizabeth Weinstein. “You see different ways people do portraits.”
Weinstein said the older portraits are usually more straightforward, containing more detail and capturing a stronger likeness, while modern portraits can often be more abstract. Artists have complete control over their self-portraits and can make them look however they choose.
Alongside the painted acrylics and abstract styles, LASM is taking an unconventional perspective by incorporating the modern day selfie into the exhibit. Weinstein said LASM is always trying to make exhibits relevant to its audience so incorporating selfies was a no brainer. So much of the audience considers those a version of the self portrait, she said.
“We [take selfies] instinctively right now without thinking of it,” Weinstein said. “We’ve always been fascinated with ourselves. When you do a portrait, it’s like a certain moment in time and place that you’re trying to capture. And that’s what portraiture has always been about.”
She said LASM is breaking down the barriers between art disciplines with this intermingled exhibit.
“We’re kind of going back to the sort of Renaissance model of: is it art, is it history, is it science?,” Weinstein said. “Well, it’s everything. Sometimes it’s all of that at the same time. It doesn’t matter. Do we need to separate it? Probably not.”
There will be five different interactive stations at “Art After Hours,” in addition to local artist Rob Fairburn performing a live demonstration of his technique for portraiture through using the selfie as a model.
Director of Public Programming Scott Finch said LASM is trying to offer more hands-on elements with its exhibits.
“We were thinking about the art of portraiture and a way to demystify that and make it accessible to people who didn’t necessarily have a lot of art training,” Finch said.
Each station focuses on a technical theme within self-portraiture. Finch said the stations draw upon art history, specifically innovations from the Renaissance era.
The first station, “Proportion,” is designed to teach the canon of proportions ideas and how parts of the body relate to one another. The second, “The Draughtman’s Set,” uses a gridding tool, and is designed to orient facial structure and features through a more precise method. The third, “The Chiaroscuro Technique,” is a silhouette making station. The fourth station, “Profile Portraits,” places the sitter opposite the artist to capture their likeness. The final station, “The Camera Obscura,” uses a camera with film to capture and project images that the participant can trace.
Finch said showcasing these tools at the exhibit will help the viewer realize art is a learning experience like anything else.
“I think people get the impression that the only way to be able to make likenesses is to be born with a natural talent or ability for it, but in fact there’s lots of tools you can use and a few simple rules governing it that help you get halfway there,” he said. “The barrier you imagine to be there isn’t quite as great as you think.”
LASM will also have three other exhibitions on display at “Art After Hours.”
“Flutterby: Butterfly” will feature large-scale collages made from photographs of butterflies taken by David Humphreys, along with butterfly specimen borrowed from the Louisiana State Arthropod Museum. The “Raphael Soyer: Intimate Portraits” exhibit depicts the artist’s fascination with working women. And “Solarium” is an art video made from images and data taken of the Sun, created by NASA’s media team.
All the exhibits will be on display until April 3.
Students also have the opportunity to purchase memberships to LASM for $25, Which will give them free unlimited access to the museum for a year.
Admission to “Art After Hours” is $5 with a student ID, $7 for nonmembers, and refreshments will be served.
Weinstein said her hope for the exhibits, along with everything LASM produces, is visitors feel like they’ve connected with some aspect of the work when they leave.
“My hope is that when someone has left the exhibition, they’ve left with a new understanding of it,” she said. “They’ve realized something they never realized before, they look at it in a different way.”

Gallery • 9 Photos

Nicholas Martino

Art After Hours to take place on Thursday, January 21, 2016 at the Louisiana Science and Art Museum.