The LSU Museum of Art has added an exhibit that allows University students and the public to see what their faculty is working on.
The faculty art show entitled “Right Here, Now” opened Friday and will remain open to the public until Feb. 16. The show pulls work from 24 University faculty members in concentrations including ceramics, foundations, digital art, graphic design, painting and drawing, photography, graphic design, printmaking and sculptures.
Museum director Jordana Pomeroy said the show is a great example of how an artist can make a living in the realm of art. Not only do these artists teach at the University, they are displaying their personal work, and some may be selling it as well.
What is unique and exciting about the show is how most of the faculty artists do not categorize their work into one genre of art — some people may walk into the exhibit and not realize that what they are looking at is in fact an art form, Pomeroy said. She added there is not really a target audience for this show.
Pomeroy also stressed the importance of the University School of Art program working with the University’s museum in order to acknowledge the artists in a public space in the community. Some artists find recognition outside of their community but are never really noticed in their hometowns, and this is part of why the show is so important, she said.
“Artists have to take advantage of every opportunity to show their work, and part of being an artist is how you display your work,” Pomeroy said.
Derick Ostrenko, one of the faculty artists featured in the show, aimed to show the Mississippi River in a new way in his piece “Humming Mississippi.” In collaboration with assistant professor of experimental music and digital media, Jesse Allison, Ostrenko made a piece of visual and auditory art by vibrating cedar planks that had been carved to match the bed of the Mississippi.
By vibrating the wood, the piece created a sonic landscape that made it possible for people to think of the river in a new way, Ostrenko said. The piece was made specifically for the site where the river is in Baton Rouge, he said.
“It is really nice to be able to show our work as professionals. I definitely hope students will be inspired by the work in the museum,” Ostrenko said.