All posts by A&D

Alumni Spotlight: Claire Hempel, a Planner from the Beginning

Art & Design, Landscape Architecture, Alumni, Alumni Profiles, ,

lsu landscape architecture alumniLSU Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture alumna Claire Hempel (BLA 2002) was recently promoted to principal in charge at Design Workshop’s Austin office. Claire has been with the firm since 2011, when she began as an intern while pursuing her Master of Science in Community and Regional Planning from the University of Texas at Austin. Claire’s career experience is a prime example of how the Reich School’s strong network of alumni helps cultivate the careers of their fellow graduates. Design Workshop, cofounded by LSU alumnus and donor Kurt Culbertson (BLA 1976),provides landscape architecture, planning, urban design, and strategic services throughout the US as well as overseas. The firm is known for nurturing young talent and employs a large amount of Reich School alumni, including Amy Harbert (BLA 2000), office director of Design Workshop’s new Houston office; Conners Ladner (BLA 2009), landscape designer at the Austin office; and Josh Brooks (BLA 2012), a project designer in the Austin office and a member of the Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture Professional Advisory Board. “The firm really focuses on its employees’ growth,” Claire said, “which is something I have really come to appreciate.” At Design Workshop’s Austin office, Claire oversees a wide range of projects including community master plans, urban design efforts, and streetscapes. She is a LEED Green Associate and is certified through the American Institute of Certified Planners. As principal in charge, she serves in a directorial role and is not as involved in the day-to-day activities as she once was. “I can course-correct the direction of a project and am able to see it with a fresh perspective, as opposed to the designers who are already entrenched in the project,” added Claire.

Reminiscing about her early days at LSU, the Texas native recalled being enticed by the beauty of LSU’s campus. “A friend of the family worked at the university, and when my family and I went to visit, I fell in love with the buildings and the overall atmosphere.” Claire began her time at LSU studying French and math, neither of which proved to be what she was looking for. “It was through the proper advising system that I found myself in my first landscape architecture class with Professor Max Conrad,” she explained. “From then on, landscape architecture was a perfect fit for me.” Claire remembers the school’s strong focus on student travel. “To this day, I continue to enforce the importance of travel at our office. It is great for designers to continue to explore new places and challenge their thinking.” When asked about her best memory at LSU, Claire’s answer epitomizes her profession as a landscape architect and urban designer perfectly. “I remember when I was living on campus and everything was nearby—you could walk anywhere. It was like introducing my young self to a newer, smaller city.” From the beginning Hempel was already planning.

As Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture alumni flock to Denver to attend the American Society of Landscape Architects Annual Meeting & EXPO this November 21–24, 2014, they will have the opportunity to mingle and catch up with their fellow classmates not only at the conference but at the off-site reception graciously hosted by Chairman and CEO Kurt Culbertson (BLA 1976) at Design Workshop’s Denver office on Friday evening, November 21, 6–9 p.m. LSU alumni, who comprise more than 10 percent of ASLA’s national membership, have much to celebrate at the conference this year: Chad Danos (BLA 1990) will serve as the president starting in 2015; Tary Arterburn (BLA 1979) and Steve Shurtz (BLA 1977) will be inducted into ASLA’s Council of Fellows; and a number of RRSLA alumni will receive professional ASLA Honor Awards. Visit design.lsu.edu/calendar/alumni-reunion-denver for more information about the RRSLA alumni event.

Transformation through Animation

Art & Design, Students, Architecture, , ,

lsu architecture student workArchitectural Techniques (Arch 2003), taught by A. Hays Town Professor Ursula Emery McClure and Adjunct Professor Kristen Kelsch, is an introductory course for second-year undergraduate students and first-year graduate students. For their first project, the students were given a pair of objects and were asked to digitally create the world in which one object transformed into another. The transformations included button to balloon, cypress to mosquito, jack to umbrella, net to water bucket, cotton candy to crystal chandelier, and oyster to dam. Through a series of collage and diagram exercises, the students produced the world in which this transformation could happen, and then brought the world to life using Adobe After Effects to animate their stories of transformation.

On “Judgment Day”—midterm critiques—the videos were premiered in true Hollywood style, and students were awarded “Oscars” in five categories.

Best Film Editing—Monstrosquito by John David Moore

Best Visual Effects—Sailor’s Warning by Marie Garrett

Best Original Score—Tumble and Fall by Sarah Eikrem

Best Director—Repercussion by Mary Stephens Swysgood

Best Picture—UEM EMK by Eva Knapp

View more of the students’ videos at vimeo.com/channels/824834.

Graphic Design Alumna Katie Burk a Judge for WRKF’s Tote Bag Design Competition

Art & Design, Community Outreach, Art, Graphic Design, Alumni, ,

design wrkf's tote bagLSU School of Art alumna Katie Burk is one of the three judges who will select the winning design for WRKF’s next tote bag. Local listeners will hear Katie promoting the contest herself on WRKF 89.3 FM, Baton Rouge’s public radio station and NPR affiliate.

lsu graphic design alumniKatie received her BFA in graphic design from LSU in 2008. Currently, she is the graphic designer on the live events team at The Atlantic in Washington, DC, where she works on branding for local, national, and international events. From 2008 to early 2014, she was a graphic designer in the Marketing, Branding, and Communications Department at NPR headquarters, where she contributed to marketing campaigns including “I ‘Heart’ NPR.” View Katie’s work at mizburk.com.

LSU College of Art & Design alumni are encouraged to submit designs for WRKF’s next tote bag at wrkf.org/design-wrkfs-next-tote-bag now through November 30, 2014. The winner will be announced before the end of the year, after the panel of judges chooses their favorite design. View some of the submissions WRKF has received so far.

Dasjon Jordan: Walls of Vision

Art & Design, Students, Community Outreach, Architecture, ,


Dasjon Jordan, a fourth-year architecture student, discusses his involvement with the Mid City Studio project, #iammidcity. His goal for the project is to incorporate technology and architecture by weaving it into the fabric of the community. With the help of the Baton Rouge Walls project, DJ and his classmates hope to reflect the identity of Mid City through social media and an installation along Government Street.

Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture Director Search

Art & Design, Landscape Architecture, Faculty,

Louisiana State University invites applications and nominations for the position of director of the Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture.

About the Position
About the School
About LSU
Responsibilities of the Director
Qualifications
How to Apply
Nominate a Candidate
Search Committee Members
Why Choose LSU?
Why Choose Baton Rouge?

About the Position

The director is the executive officer of the School and is responsible to the executive vice chancellor and provost through the dean of the College of Art & Design. The director is expected to provide innovative and visionary leadership, advance his/her own research and scholarly interests, and exhibit dedication to advancement in all areas of the school. The school seeks a dynamic director to contribute to the teaching, research, and service missions of the school, the interdisciplinary setting of the College of Art & Design, and the collaborative opportunities of LSU. The appointment will commence July 1, 2015.

About the Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture

The Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture has an established international reputation as one of America’s leading and consistently top-ranked programs. The school offers programs leading to the Bachelor of Landscape Architecture and the Master of Landscape Architecture. For more than 60 years, the program has produced landscape architects who practice all over the world and participate in the full spectrum of the discipline. The school has an active, worldwide alumni network that has made stellar contributions over the years in the areas of scholarships, lectureships, and faculty support. With the establishment of the Bickham Chair, the school annually attracts visiting scholars and professionals to teach and offer innovative enrichment initiatives. Its regional setting in the lower Mississippi River Delta provides broad opportunities to study the interactions of the built environment, ecological systems, and culture in shaping the landscape through design. The school’s curriculum offers a range of experiences including multidisciplinary collaborations, study abroad opportunities, travel imbedded design studios, and internships in the US and abroad. The school is actively engaged in grant-funded research through projects of the Coastal Sustainability Studio and the Urban Landscape Lab. Additionally, LSU’s 16-acre Hilltop Arboretum features a sizeable collection of endemic plants, serving as a laboratory and event center for the school and community. The school’s location within the College of Art & Design, among the School of Architecture, School of Art (studio arts and art history), and the School of Interior Design, provides unique opportunities for collaboration and the sharing of resources.

About LSU

LSU is the state’s flagship research university and carries the designation of “very high research activity” by the Carnegie Foundation. In 2014, for the seventh consecutive year, LSU was ranked in the first tier of “Best National Universities” by U.S. News & World Report. It is one of 21 universities nationwide holding land-, sea-, and space-grant status. LSU enjoys a lively and diverse community of nearly 35,000 faculty, staff, and students from every state and more than 120 countries. Occupying 2,000 acres on the Mississippi River in Louisiana’s capital city, Baton Rouge, LSU is approximately 80 miles northwest of New Orleans, in the heart of the culturally diverse Delta region. LSU’s campus, largely of Italian Renaissance architecture, is regarded as one of the top 20 most beautiful campuses in the United States, with 57 buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places and more than 1,200 magnificent live oak trees.

Responsibilities of the Director

  • Provides leadership for the educational programs focus and budgeting.
  • Cultivates external resources to support the school’s initiatives.
  • Assumes responsibility for the management of quality, effectiveness, and progress of the school.
  • Promotes excellence in teaching and scholarship.
  • Facilitates faculty growth and development.
  • Supervises faculty performance and recommends all appointments and other personnel actions relating to the school’s academic and non-academic staff.
  • Prepares and executes the school’s budget.
  • Encourages and facilitates communication, understanding, and collegiality while providing professional leadership.
  • Promotes the public image of the school and university and increases the visibility of the school.
  • Teaches graduate or undergraduate courses as deemed suitable based on qualifications.
  • Participates on graduate committees and maintains membership in the Graduate School Council.

Qualifications

Master’s or equivalent degree in landscape architecture or a related field; candidates with interdisciplinary program experience and three or more years of administrative or management skills in an upper-level education program or professional practice will be given preference.

How to Apply

Applications will be accepted online at the LSU Careers website at https://lsusystemcareers.lsu.edu/applicants/Central?quickFind=58334, position number 001177. Candidates must include a letter of application, CV, and a list of potential references with online application submission. The review of applications will begin December 1, 2014, and will continue until the position is filled. An offer of employment is contingent on a satisfactory pre-employment background check.

LSU is committed to diversity and is an equal opportunity/equal access employer.

Nominate a Candidate

Letters of nomination may be e-mailed to the attention of the search committee chair, Suzanne Turner, at adsn@lsu.edu.

Search Committee Members

  • Suzanne Turner, Chair, Suzanne Turner Associates
  • Austin Allen, Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture
  • Jori Erdman, Professor & Director, LSU School of Architecture
  • Forbes Lipschitz, Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture
  • Cathy Marshall, Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture
  • Kevin Risk, Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture
  • Bruce Sharky, Professor of Landscape Architecture
  • Jescelle Major, Student Member, Third-Year MLA
  • Tara Titone, Alumni Member, Community Implementation Project Manager at Center for Planning Excellence

Master of Fine Arts Candidates Present Lecture Series, Exhibition at University of South Alabama

Art & Design, Students, Events, Art, Painting & Drawing, Printmaking, Exhibitions, Lectures,

alloy lsu mfa candidates

LSU Master of Fine Arts candidates Eric Euler, Mitch Hobbs, Taryn Möller Nicoll, and M. Robyn Wall were selected to deliver artist lectures at the University of South Alabama on November 6, 2014. Per University of South Alabama Instructor Martin Azevedo’s invitation, all four MFA students spoke to their experiences of applying to and succeeding in graduate school in Instructor Azevedo’s Professional Practices class. Each MFA candidate then gave artist lectures in classes of their specific disciplines—Euler and Wall in printmaking and Hobbs and Nicoll in painting and drawing.

In addition, Eric Euler, Mitch Hobbs, Taryn Möller Nicoll, and M. Robyn Wall were invited to exhibit their works in a group show entitled Alloy at the Visual Arts Gallery at the University of South Alabama from November 6–November 23, 2014. All four artists gave artist talks during the exhibition’s opening reception, which took place on November 6, 2014, from 5–7 p.m.

View LSU graduate student work at design.lsu.edu/art/portfolio. For more information about the MFA program at LSU, visit design.lsu.edu/art/about/graduate-programs.

LSU School of Art Glassell Gallery features Artist and Physician, Eric Avery M.D.

Art & Design, Galleries, Events, Community Outreach, Art, Exhibitions, Lectures,
Healing Before Art by Eric Avery

Healing Before Art by Eric Avery

Join the LSU School of Art Glassell Gallery for an exciting new exhibition, Eric Avery, M.D.—HIV/AIDS: Witness, Healer, Survivor. The exhibition will run October 28–December 7, 2014, with an opening reception at the Glassell Gallery on Thursday, October 30, from 6–8 p.m. All events are free and open to the public.

The gallery space will be transformed by the deeply personal and moving work of Eric Avery. Avery’s prints are not confined to flat paper. He uses printmaking techniques in innovative ways, by printing on molded paper, piñatas, vessels, and books as well as posters. This show will follow a historical timeline of HIV/AIDS, spanning the years from the early discovery of HIV in the 1980s to works created in 2014 reflecting the current state of medical advances and global impact in the 21st century. 

New Face 6 by Eric Avery

New Face 6 by Eric Avery

Eric Avery is a physician, psychiatrist, and printmaker. His social content prints explore issues such as human rights and social responses to disease, death, sexuality, and the body. His experiences as a doctor in Indonesia (1979) and the Las Dhure Refugee Camp in Somalia (1980–81) inspired him to create artworks based on his witness of profound human suffering. Avery produces art in the tradition of a journalist. He maintains a direct emotional involvement with his subjects that is devoid of sentimentality. His clinical art medicine practice in art institutions has given form to the liminal space between art and medicine. His prints have been collected and exhibited in museums and galleries across the United States, including Smith College Art Museum; Baltimore Art Museum; the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University; Firestone Library at Princeton University; the Library of Congress; ARS MEDICA Collection at the Philadelphia Museum of Art; Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, Philadelphia; Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC; Blanton Museum of Art, Austin, Texas; the Boston Museum of Art; the National Library of Medicine; and The Cushing/Whitney Medical Library at Yale University School of Medicine. In England, his work is included in the Wellcome Trust Library for the History and Understanding of Medicine.

EricAvery_IMAGE9Dr. Avery’s lifetime commitment to documenting and creating works based on his experiences makes him a very relevant and important visitor to the Baton Rouge community. Baton Rouge has an extremely high rate of HIV/AIDS, and this exhibition will shed some light on the cause and conditions of this disease while educating citizens about this illness. One way to fight and eventually overcome high rates of infection is to face the problem and work together to treat its causes. This exhibition will provide historical context, practical solutions, and inspiration. Mayor Kip Holden has recognized the importance of this visit by declaring that October 26–November 1, 2014, is Baton Rouge Aids Week. In addition, October 29, 2014, is Eric Avery MD Day!

A series of events are scheduled for the week of October 28–November 1, 2014. Dr. Avery will travel to LSU to meet and work with Professor Leslie Koptcho and her students in printmaking. They will create a new printed book in collaboration with Dr. Avery. The book, in limited editions, will be available for purchase. Additionally, Dr. Avery will give a public lecture on Wednesday, October 29, at 5 p.m. in the  Design Building Auditorium (room 103) on LSU’s campus. On Thursday, October 30, from 6–8 p.m., the Glassell Gallery invites you to celebrate the exhibition, Eric Avery, M.D.—HIV/AIDS: Witness, Healer, Survivor, with Dr. Avery. And on November 1, at the Louisiana Book Festival in downtown Baton Rouge, Dr. Avery will be working with LSU printmaking students and the One of One Printmaking Club in front of the State Library.

The LSU School of Art Glassell Gallery has joined with local HIV education and service providers—the Volunteers of America of Greater Baton Rouge and HAART—to make Dr. Avery available to their clients during his visit. HAART is sponsoring a World Aids Day poster contest for area graphic design students from the Baton Rouge Community College, Baton Rouge High, and the LSU School of Art. The winning posters will be on display next to Dr. Avery’s work in the Glassell Gallery beginning on World Aids Day, December 1, through December 7, 2014, the end of the exhibition. A World Aids Day reception will be held in the Glassell Gallery on December 1 from 6–8 p.m. The Manship Theatre will be hosting events for World Aids Day, as well.

LSU Students and Alumni Receive Prestigious, National Awards from the American Society of Landscape Architects

Art & Design, Landscape Architecture, Honors & Awards, Alumni

LSU and the Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture will be well represented at the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Annual Meeting and EXPO in Denver on November 21, 2014, when a mix of LSU students and alumni will be presented with five 2014 ASLA professional and student awards.

In addition, LSU alumnus Chad Danos (BLA 1990) will be named president of the ASLA, and alumni Tary Arterburn (BLA 1979) and Steve Shurtz (BLA 1977 will be inducted into ASLA’s Council of Fellows during the 2014 ASLA Annual Meeting and Expo.

The 2014 award winners were officially announced on September 29, 2014. ASLA professional and student awards honor the top public places, residential designs, campuses, parks, and urban planning projects from across the United States and around the world.

Full project information can be viewed at asla.org/2014awards.

Student Award 

Ochoa_BeyondTurf2

Ochoa_BeyondTurf

Alexander Ochoa (BLA 2014), Honor Award in Analysis & Planning

Alexander Ochoa (BLA 2014) received an Honor Award in the analysis & planning category for his project, “Beyond Turf: Reinterpreting the Ecological management of Vacant Landscapes,” completed as during his fifth-year at LSU under faculty advisor Wes Michaels, associate professor of landscape architecture.

New Orleans East population decreased during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. With 20 percent of the parish’s population residing in the area, accounting for over half of the land area in Orleans Parish, the 403 vacant lots cause issues for those in the community. Ochoa proposes a solution intended to recover the ecological activity of these vacant lots and ideas to efficiently maintain them.

According to Ochoa, “Beyond Turf seeks to maximize the ecological benefits of the lots by a native plant palette that will improve the on-site ecosystems of these dispersed lots and create a new framework for managing vacancy.”

“Straightforward, direct, and refreshing. It has graphic clarity and could be applied to any city. It even got into implementation and maintenance. These are good, simple solutions to eyesore lots,” stated the ASLA Student Awards 2014 Student Awards Jury.

Visit asla.org/2014studentawards/517.html for more information about Ochoa’s winning project.

Professional Awards 

James Richards, FASLA, Honor Award in Communications

James “Jim” Richards, cofounder and principal of TOWNSCAPE, Inc., received an Honor Award in the communications category for his, book Freehand Drawing and Discovery: Urban Sketching and Concept Drawing for Designers, published by Wiley in 2013.

The book is designed to help readers improve their drawing skills through a compilation of cross-disciplinary examples. With careful guidance on the latest tools and techniques, the book incorporates lessons on both basic skills and digital tools to help the reader efficiently implement practical design solutions.

“Written in a cohesive style, the book offers an enthusiastic look at utilizing freehand graphics in the representation and presentation of landscape. Clear and colorful graphics by the author and a number of other talented practitioners keep the content fresh. Noteworthy is the integration of digital formats within the context of freehand drawing. This is a valuable resource for students and professionals,” stated the ASLA 2014 Professional Awards Jury.

The LSU alumnus (BLA 1978) is a national award-winning designer, author, and educator whose work has creatively spanned landscape architecture, town planning, and urban design for 35 years on projects in 17 states. Richards is an associate professor of landscape architecture at the University of Texas at Arlington. Richards is also a recipient of the ASLA Bradford Williams Medal.

Visit asla.org/2014awards/025.html for more information about Richards’s publication.

Jeffrey Carbo Landscape Architects, Award of Excellence, Residential Design Category

LSU alumnus (BLA 1975) Jeffrey Carbo’s firm, Jeff Carbo Landscape Architects, received the Award of Excellence in residential design category for their project, “Woodland Rain Gardens” in Caddo Parish, Louisiana.  

The award winning residential commission is located in northwest Louisiana. The five-acre parcel is characterized by its heavily wooded slopes of pine and hardwoods. The projects efficient use of rain gardens defines and organizes the different garden spaces and displays sustainable water collection strategies. The firm developed planning concepts for the entry drive and garden spaces adjacent to the residence including walls, walks, terraces, and other amenities. The design offers filtered views of the residence through the forest, while most of the site is supplemented with native ferns and other native understories. 

“The project features such an elegant use of native plants. There is balance here between design and nature. It’s more about site and horticulture. It’s very subtle and beautifully done,” stated the ASLA 2014 Professional Awards Jury.

Jeff Carbo serves is chair of the Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture Professional Advisory Board. With more than 26 years of experience in professional practice and now principal of his own firm, Jeff provides leadership in client relations, conceptual design, budget development, design criticism, project management, and construction observation. With offices in Alexandria and Baton Rouge, Carbo holds professional licensure as a registered landscape architect in Louisiana and is also registered in Mississippi, Arkansas, Texas, Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

Visit asla.org/2014awards/602.html for more information about Carbo’s project.

Studio Outside, Honor Award, Residential Design Category

studio outside hill country prospect

Studio Outside, “Hill Country Prospect”

Studio Outside received the Honor Award in the residential design category for their project “Hill Country Prospect” in Centerport, Texas. Based in Dallas, Texas, three of the firm’s seven principals are LSU alumni—Andrew Duggan (BLA 1998), Chip Impastato (BLA 1995), and Tary Arterburn (BLA 1979) who served as lead designer on the project.

The project involved a site that is used as a family retreat, and the owner wished for the new design to bring a more classic and sustainable feel to the environment. The primary goal was to respect the native landscape and topography while preserving as much of the native landscape as possible. The design contrasted native plants and restored various other plant communities with simple hardscape materials to create the desirable aesthetic.

“This project highlights the beauty and remarkable character of native habitats if designed thoughtfully. The elegant weaving of meadows with the modernist lines of the architecture and the gorgeous stones that create paths and walls come together to create a truly inspiring space in the native prairie. The careful attention to the trees, native plants, and existing topography reveals a deep respect for place in this design—an attribute that all designs ought to live up to,” stated the ASLA 2014 Professional Awards Jury.

Visit asla.org/2014awards/166.html for more information about Studio Outside’s project.

The Design Workshop, Inc. and Reed/ Hilderbrand, Honor Award in the Analysis and Planning

The Design Workshop, Inc., based in Austin, Texas, and Aspen, Colorado, received an Honor Award in the analysis and planning category for their Houston project, “Devastation to Resilience: The Houston Arboretum and Nature Center.” The design team, who served as the primary consultants on the project, was led by LSU Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture alumni Kurt Culbertson (BLA 1976).

Reed|Hilderbrand, based in Cambridge Massachusetts, served as a consultant team on the project. The team was led by LSU alumnus Doug Reed (BLA 1978).

The 155-acre Houston Arboretum and Nature Center has been devastated due to weather conditions ranging from droughts to hurricanes. In order to renew the site back to its original state, the plans call for an assessment of the site’s natural and cultural heritage, diagnosis of the impact of climate change, and stakeholder engagement. Included in the outlines are an evolution for the site and a model for other regions dealing with similar issues. Read more at asla.org/2014awards/214.

“They really studied the causes of the massive tree canopy mortality rate, creating a plan to renew the beautifully forested area that was devastated and retain the quality of the trees over time,” stated the ASLA 2014 Professional Awards Jury. 

About the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA)
Founded in 1899, the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) is the national professional association for landscape architects, representing more than 15,000 members in 49 professional chapters and 76 student chapters. The society’s mission is to lead, to educate, and to participate in the careful stewardship, wise planning, and artful design of our cultural and natural environments. Members of the society use the “ASLA” suffix after their names to denote membership and their commitment to the highest ethical standards of the profession. Learn more at asla.org.

About LSU Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture
The Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture has established an international reputation as one of America’s leading and consistently top-ranked programs. Part of the LSU College of Art & Design, the school offers Bachelor of Landscape Architecture and Master of Landscape Architecture programs. For more than 60 years, the program has produced landscape architects who practice all over the world and participate in the full spectrum of the discipline. For more information, visit landscape.lsu.edu.

Alumni Honoree Carmon Colangelo to Give Commencement Address at Fall Ceremony

Art & Design, Honors & Awards, Events, Art, Alumni, Alumni Profiles,

 

LSU College of Art + Design’s 2014 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient Carmon Colangelo will deliver the commencement address at the fall graduation ceremony on December 19. Colangelo received his MFA in printmaking from LSU in 1983, and he now serves as dean of the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis. Prior to this position, Colangelo was chair of the Division of Art at West Virginia University and director of the Lamar Dodd School of Art at the University of Georgia.

Originally from Toronto, Colangelo grew up with parents who stressed the importance of higher education. “My parents emigrated from Italy, and they always put a high value on getting ahead by pursuing a university degree,” he said. Colangelo found his love of art early in life, but it was not until LSU that he realized his own passion for teaching. “At LSU, I got the chance to teach a lithography studio, and that is when I fell in love with it,” he recalled.

Since his time at LSU, Colangelo’s work has been featured in solo and group exhibitions across the US as well as in Argentina, Canada, England, Italy, Korea, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. His work has been collected by the nation’s leading museums, including the National Museum of American Art in Washington, DC, and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York.

As an academic leader, Colangelo remains an active faculty member and still makes his own art. “At the moment, my position offers the perfect balance—allowing me to lead a school of art, architecture, and design at a research university with an internationally renowned art museum, where I can also be a part of the process of organizing exhibitions and building an amazing collection.”

Colangelo received a BFA from the University of Windsor before he made his way to Baton Rouge for graduate studies. “I was tired of the cold and looking to move south,” he laughed, “and LSU was looking for printmaking students to build the graduate program.” His most memorable times at LSU were the food, the unique culture, and the campus atmosphere. “Above all, though, I met my wife at LSU,” Colangelo said. “Susan Berry was in the MFA program, as well, and we married shortly after we graduated.”

Colangelo has kept his relationships and memories from LSU close, and he continues to foster more as his connection to the school grows. “I am honored to receive this award and recognition. It is hard to believe that all these years have passed by so quickly.”

Get to Know Dean Colangelo . . .

Favorite Song: “Stairway to Heaven”

Favorite Band: The Shins

Favorite Movie: A Beautiful Mind

Favorite Food: Thai

Coffee or Tea? Coffee

Favorite Sport: Ice hockey

Written by Kristen Higdon

The LSU School of Art presents RESILIENCE

Art & Design, Visiting Artists, Events, Community Outreach, Art History, Art, Ceramics, Digital Art, Graphic Design, Painting & Drawing, Photography, Printmaking, Sculpture, Exhibitions

Join us for our 2014–15 season, RESILIENCE—a visual and critical exploration of how life’s challenges can unleash creativity. This year’s series of exhibitions, lectures, and related activities will feature artists whose works demonstrate adaptability and embrace change in the face of hardships ranging from disease to political oppression. We invite you to explore the resilient forces of culture, the human body, and the human spirit and to experience the hope-inspiring powers of healing, social justice, and invention.

—Rod Parker, Director of the LSU School of Art

RESILIENCE: 2014–15

*Artist has a lecture and exhibition. 

Lectures

Lectures begin at 5 p.m. in the LSU Design Building Auditorium, room 103.

10.08 | Kurt Kauper
LSU School of Art Lecture

10.29 | Eric Avery*
Alfred C. Glassell Jr. Endowed Lecture

11.19 | Ann Craven
Alfred C. Glassell Jr. Endowed Lecture

01.21 | Ben Davis
Alfred C. Glassell Jr. Endowed Lecture

02.11 | Michael Triegel*
Paula G. Manship Endowed Lecture

03.18 | Joanna Berzowska
Paula G. Manship Endowed Lecture

03.25 | Luba Lukova*
Alfred C. Glassell Jr. Endowed Lecture

View a complete list of LSU College of Art & Design lectures at design.lsu.edu/news-and-events/lecture-series. View past lectures online at design.lsu.edu/news-and-events/view-past-lectures.

Exhibitions

September 5–October 10, 2014
Foster Gallery
Lagniappe! + A Little Trash

September 16–October 19, 2014
Glassell Gallery
Lineage: Raina Benoit & Christopher Brumfield
Sponsored by Nadine Carter Russell

October 20–November 21, 2014
Foster Gallery
LSU School of Art Faculty Show: Works by Derick Ostrenko, Hye Yeon Nam, Kristine Thompson, and Scott Andresen
Reception: November 21, 2014, 6–8 p.m.

October 28–December 7, 2014
Glassell Gallery
Witness, Healer, Survivor: The Art of Eric Avery, MD*
Opening Reception: October 30, 2014, 6–8 p.m.

January 22–March 1, 2015
Glassell Gallery
*A Freedom of a Different Kind: The Art of Michael Triegel
Co-curated with Darius Spieth
Sponsored by Nadine Carter Russell
Reception: February 12, 2015, 6–8 p.m.

January 30–February 27, 2015
Foster Gallery
Landscape Relationships
Reception: February 6, 2015, 6–8 p.m.

March 14–April 2, 2015
Glassell Gallery
*Graphic Guts: The Art of Luba Lukova
Reception: March 26, 6–8 p.m.

May 28–June 28, 2015
Glassell Gallery
NIME: New Interfaces for Musical Expression
Co-curated with Derick Ostrenko

View a complete list of LSU College of Art & Design exhibitions at design.lsu.edu/news-and-events/exhibits.