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5th Annual Juried High School Exhibition

5th Annual Juried High School Exhibition

The LSU School of Art, in conjunction with the LSU College of Art & Design, will host the 5th annual statewide juried art exhibition for high school artists. The LSU School of Art—one of the largest and most comprehensive art schools in the region—will showcase selected works from students who represent talent from all areas of the state. The goal of the exhibition is to inspire young artists by providing a platform for their work to be displayed in a a professional, artistic venue and thus giving them a taste of a professional artist experience. The exhibition will be an annual offering and is intended to showcase the finest, artistic student talent in Louisiana.

This 5th annual exhibition will be held February 18–March 16, 2019, at the Foster Gallery on the LSU campus. Winners will be announced and prizes will be awarded at a closing reception for the artists on March 16, 2019.

Eligibility:

All public, private, and home-schooled high school students (grades 9 through 12) who reside in Louisiana are eligible.

Submission Requirements:

  • Artwork must be submitted by a high school teacher or representative.
  • Each high school teacher/representative may submit up to 10 pieces of artwork. Please note that this is a juried show. Entries are not guaranteed acceptance.
  • There are no fees associated with submissions.
  • Any piece created by students at any time during their high school education may be submitted.

How to Submit Artwork:

Artwork should be submitted by January 13, 2019, through Slideroom at:

https://lsuart.slideroom.com/#/login/program/46446

Media:

Paintings, prints, drawings, sculpture, ceramics, photographs, computer-generated art, digital media (including audio and video) and mixed media artwork that meets the following specifications are eligible for submission.

Two-dimensional work must not exceed 40 inches wide by 68 inches high. Three-dimensional work must not exceed 60 inches high by 36 inches wide and 36 inches deep.

Work must be physical and tangible and must remain in the gallery for the duration of the exhibition. All two-dimensional works must be framed and ready to hang for a professional gallery with the appropriate mounting hardware (wire, cleats, etc). Using tape to secure hanging wire is unacceptable. All pastel and charcoal drawings must be sprayed with fixative. All three-dimensional works must be structurally sound with all components securely fastened.

Jurors:

Submissions will be selected by a jury of School of Art faculty members.

Awards:

First-, second-, and third-place winners will be selected, and honorable mentions will be awarded in the following amounts. A special award will be made to the teacher/program with the best overall showing.

  • First Place: $500
  • Second Place: $300
  • Third Place: $200
  • Honorable Mentions: $100

Sales:

Since the purpose of the exhibition is to provide an opportunity similar to what a professional artist would encounter, we encourage all work to be for sale. Please consider reasonable prices to encourage sales. All sales are to be conducted between the buyer and the artist. The gallery will not be responsible for delivering purchased works. Price on Request (POR) designations will not be accepted for any artwork. Not-for-sale (NFS) artwork must still include an insurance value.

Liability:

Every precaution will be taken to assure protection of entries. Liability for hand-delivered works left after the pickup or shipping dates will not be assumed by the LSU School of Art.

Shipping/Delivery:

All selected works must be received by either shipment or delivery by February 8, 2019.

Delivery:

Works must be delivered to:

LSU School of Art Foster Gallery
Louisiana State University
111 Foster Hall
Baton Rouge, LA 70803
225-578-5402

Gallery hours are Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. If you need to deliver on a weekend, please contact Kitty Pheney in advance to make arrangements. 

Shipping:

Shipped works must be received in the LSU School of Art Office, 220 Design Building, no later than February 8, at 4 p.m.

Outbound shipping and packaging costs are the responsibility of the student artists or high schools.

The School of Art will cover return shipping preparations and costs.

Shipping Address:

Attention: Kitty Pheney/High School Art Exhibition
School of Art
Louisiana State University
220 Design Building
Baton Rouge, LA 70803

Schedule & Deadlines:

January 13, 2019

Submissions are open now, but must be uploaded to Slideroom by January 13.

January 18, 2019

Teachers/schools will be notified on or around January 18 if their submissions are selected for the exhibition.

February 8, 2019

Selected works must be delivered/shipped to the School of Art by February 8.

February 18, 2019

The exhibition, which will take place at the LSU Foster Gallery, opens to the public on February 18. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Please let us know if you are bringing a group from your school.

March 16, 2019

The winners will be announced and prizes awarded at the closing reception at the LSU Foster Gallery on March 16, 2019, 1–3 p.m.

March 16, 2019

The exhibit closes to the public on March 16, 2019. Teachers (schools) are allowed to take work from their school with them at the end of the reception.

March 25, 2019

Hand-delivered artwork that has not been sold must be picked up by March 25. (Special arrangements can be made for weekend pick up should this be necessary.)

A storage fee of $10 per day will be charged for hand-delivered artwork not picked up by March 25, 2019. Shipped work will be returned by the week of March 25.

Contact:

For more information contact:

Kitty Pheney
LSU School of Art
220 Design Building
Baton Rouge 70803

Office: 225-578-5411
Cell: 225-266-4812
E-mail: kphene2@lsu.edu

For a digital version of the Prospectus, please go to: https://design.lsu.edu/4th-annual-statewide- juried-high-school-exhibition/

Interior Design Students Attend Behavioral Health Design Workshop

In September 2018, three interior design students and two faculty traveled to Baltimore for a behavioral health design workshop sponsored by The Center For Health Design. BID candidates Brianna Beall, Olivia Barron, Kourtney Russo attended, with interior design faculty members Julie Elliott (CHID, LEED GA, EDAC, IIDA) and Andrew Baque.

The workshop “Behavioral Health – Strategic Design Innovations that Improve Treatment Outcomes, Safety and the Bottom Line” addressed “challenges created by today’s growing mental health and substance abuse crises reach far beyond the behavioral health unit into emergency departments, outpatient clinics and throughout acute care settings,” according to the Center for Health Design.

To support improved care and enhance staff safety, today’s design, facility and care professionals have to advance their understanding of design’s impact on behavioral health care and learn how to incorporate the best and latest design solutions throughout the healthcare setting.

The workshop was an informative experience, the students agreed. “I am so grateful for my experience at the behavioral health conference!” BID candidate Kourtney Russo said. “Between engaging with passionate professionals in the field, and learning about new and innovative products, I feel more eager than ever to explore healthcare design.”

“This is part of an ongoing initiative to introduce healthcare design in the School and pave the way for a minor and graduate degree program in health and wellness in the future,” School of Interior Design director Marsha Cuddeback said.

Attending the workshop “was an eye-opening experience,” BID candidate Brianna Beall said. “The best part was seeing how much the professional community wanted to interact with us students and teach us about health care. There was an overwhelming number of professionals that offered to give us tours of their firms, to send us additional information, and answer all of our design questions.”

Barbara Harriman (BID 1982), IIDA, EDAC, President and Creative Director of Distinctive Art Source, helped support the students by funding workshop registration fees. (Distinctive Art Source uses evidence based design and patient based art to create art appropriate for healthcare settings.)

The workshop ties in with concepts they are working on this semester, the students said. Baque’s senior design studio is currently working on a project at Northlake Behavioral Health: they are designing for an acute care behavioral health unit. Learn more.

The Center for Health Design is the organization that facilitated an Evidence-Based Design Workshop for LSU faculty members in February 2018.

 

 

 

The Society for Photographic Education Conference

Material + Meaning

The School of Art hosted the Society for Photographic Education 2018 South Central Regional Conference “Material + Meaning” Oct. 4-6, 2018 at the LSU campus.

When October 04-06, 2018
Where Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Keynote Speaker Alfredo Jaar
Featured Speakers Alexandra Bell

Read about the conference in Exposure‘s “Crashing the Mississippi: Materiality + Meaning in Baton Rouge”

LSU Landscape Architecture #1 Yet Again; Professor Max Conrad Named “Most Admired Educator”

The undergraduate and graduate programs at the LSU Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture (RRSLA) have once again received top rankings from DesignIntelligence magazine, the leading journal of design professionals. The 2018–19 issue of “America’s Best Architecture & Design Schools” ranked the undergraduate program as number one in the nation and the graduate program as number five in the nation.

Max Conrad

Professor Max Conrad

Max Conrad, professor of landscape architecture at LSU for over 50 years, was named a “Most Admired Educator” of 2018-19. Each year, DesignIntelligence honors excellence in architecture and design education, by naming outstanding professionals from these fields. Educators and administrators from the disciplines of architecture, interior design and landscape architecture are considered for inclusion. The Most Admired Educators are selected by DesignIntelligence staff with input from thousands of design professionals, academic department heads, and students.

“It is hereby recognized that Max Conrad is honored and awarded the DesignIntelligence Most Admired Educator 2018-19 designation for his impact on students and the design practices, design professions, and the community. DesignIntelligence Most Admired Educators are chosen with extensive input by students, academic department heads, design professionals, and more,” stated David Gilmore, President & CEO of DesignIntelligence.

“This was a big surprise to me and I want to thank all who made this honor possible,” Conrad said.

“Max Conrad has guided and taken care of generations of students and alumni,” said Alkis Tsolakis, dean of the College of Art & Design. “For this he is not only admired but loved. He embodies all the qualities that make the Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture the great place that it is.”

“Max, you bring great honor and attention to LSU,” commented Susan Turner, professor emeritus of landscape architecture. “This is so well deserved. Thanks for over a half century of enthusiasm and commitment.”

Alumni from many years at LSU sent their congratulations to Professor Conrad, sharing their positive memories of his classes and many student trips that he organized. All agreed that he is a most admired educator.

LSU’s landscape architecture undergraduate program has been consistently ranked in the top two in the nation for well over a decade; the 2018–19 ranking is the ninth time the undergraduate program has held the number one position since 2006. The graduate program has also been ranked within the top six in the nation for over 10 years, sharing top rankings with Harvard, Cornell, the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Pennsylvania. LSU is by far the most affordable graduate program of the top five.

“I’m pleased that our rankings remain strong,” commented Mark Boyer, director of the LSU Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture. “These rankings are evidence that we continue to do a great job preparing our graduates to go into the profession and contribute to our legacy of excellence.” 

DesignIntelligence’s research ranks undergraduate and graduate programs from the perspective of leading practitioners. Each year, approximately 3,000 hiring professionals from more than 2,000 professional practice organizations participate in the research and are asked to rank the accredited schools best preparing students for success in the profession and for designing a sustainable future. Firms are queried about additional issues, as well, such as how programs rate in teaching various skills, such as communication, computer applications, construction methods and materials, design, planning, research, cross-disciplinary teamwork, sustainable design practices and principles, and theory.

Surveys for “America’s Best Architecture & Design Schools” are conducted annually by DesignIntelligence on behalf of the Design Futures Council. The research ranks undergraduate and graduate programs from the perspective of leading practitioners. Survey participants are professionals in architecture, industrial design, interior design, and landscape architecture, drawn from the Greenway Group database of leading firms throughout the United States. Visit di.net to for a complete list of design school rankings.

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 70 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 Spotlight: CICADA, “The Next Generation of Architects”

CICADA Team

CICADA Team. (Photo by Augusta Sagnelli, courtesy of CICADA.)

New Orleans natives James Catalano (BArch 2013), Seamus McGuire, AIA, LEED AP BD+C (BArch 2010), and Paulo Perkins, AIA (BArch 2009) didn’t really know each other while they attended the LSU School of Architecture.

But the three alumni from different classes came together in 2018 to form CICADA, an architecture firm in New Orleans, along with Matt Decotiis, AIA, LEED AP (Tulane MArch ’12).

They connected through the profession, Seamus explained. After studying architecture at LSU, they scattered, respectively; James went to Washington, D.C., and Seamus practiced in Denver for a spell. Over the years, they worked for various firms and grew to know each other professionally. Though each of their professional paths were very different, they all found themselves back in the city of New Orleans.

“We all had a similar vision, and decided we would make a great team.”

They opened a studio on Magazine Street in the Garden District, leveraging their relationships in the NOLA community to jump into a wide variety of projects.

“The profession can lend itself to being slow and stuck in its ways,” James commented. “We felt as if we could bring change, not only to the way we approach design, but in the way we run a company.”

Each partner brings a different facet to the practice, joining their diverse skill sets to create a firm with a decidedly modern approach to architecture. James is a designer, 3D printer, “the drone wizard” with expertise in videography and photography. Seamus is a project manager and marketer. Paulo is an expert in digital rendering and animations. Matt is “the tech guru” who specializes in coding and parametric design. And, of course, they are all architects and designers.

Seamus McGuire (Photo by Augusta Sagnelli)

“We are the next generation of architects,” Seamus said. “The way we operate, bring different skill sets to the table – we respect each other’s areas of expertise and learn from each other to create our best work.”

“With technology advancing rapidly, we’re integrating new and diverse methods in and out of the architectural process,” he said. “We’re able to cater clientele who historically wouldn’t have come to an architecture firm, clientele who may not need just plans, but also need a 3D print, drone surveying, a social media hype video, or animations for a project that they are trying to sell.”

Paulo Perkins

Paulo Perkins (Photo by Augusta Sagnelli)

“At LSU our professors always made a point that with our education we could always pursue things outside of just architecture,” Paulo said. “They instilled certain expectations and skill sets that would allow you to excel in other facets of design.”

The LSU School of Architecture embraces an interdisciplinary approach to a well-rounded design education. “The future will see us designing and building in ways that are very different, if not unrecognizable, from today,” said Tom Sofranko, professor of architecture and associate dean of the LSU College of Art & Design. “We are learning to see ourselves as a part of nature, as opposed to its makers. Striving to broadly educate tomorrow’s architects, our new digital tools allow our students to more carefully examine the past and more confidently imagine the future.”

Cutting-edge technology is key to CICADA’s vision; the firm also provides visualizations, animations, aerial photography and videography. Their clients seek visualizations for diverse projects, and as architects they have worked on a range of projects from documenting building construction for structural engineers, collaborating with developers to populate site data, to working with like-minded creatives to create infographic animations for design contests, or developing environments for companies for a full virtual reality experience.

Technology is a key part of the architectural process. From using drones for field verification to digital rendering, state-of-the-art technology bridges the gap between the historical context and contemporary vision that come together in the modern design process. The practice is collaborative, combining “non-traditional” methods with classic elements of design.

James Catalano

James Catalano (Photo by Augusta Sagnelli)

While practicing architecture, James started a digital modeling and fabrication business called Future Factory with his wife Adrienne (Trahan) Catalano (LSU BArch ’13). It was a true passion project, specializing in 3D-printed jewelry and custom digital modeling and rapid prototyping for the New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Lafayette areas. James brought this experience into CICADA, expanding the firm’s capabilities. They have utilized 3D scanning and modeling for everything from prototyping products, showcasing architectural models, and documenting historic landmarks.

“Whether it’s something a person holds in their hands, or space they inhabit, we believe good design should be approached at every scale,” James said.

Interesting projects they took on this year include two interior office renovations for Phoenix Marketing International in both Tampa and New York City, an ongoing conversion of an established food truck turned brick and mortar restaurant, and the Louisiana treehouse renovation, designed for a naturalist artist. “The client wanted to emphasize the design as a direct reflection of its surroundings,” they shared. The design goals included “respecting the landscape, framing views to the surrounding environment, blending the lines between interior and exterior, all while maintaining the whimsical feel of a traditional treehouse.”

As New Orleans natives, the architects are concerned with designing for the community, creating buildings and spaces that improve the surrounding region. Their hope is for their architecture to integrate seamlessly into the lives of the inhabitants, and the region that they call home. Paulo, for example, is a self-described “true French Quarter kid – surrounded by horse-drawn buggies, haunted homes, and authentic Euro-Caribbean architecture,” which helped shape his design sensibilities. As designers, they show deference to the unique setting of Louisiana.

“We’ve had the opportunity on a few projects to create the entire mood and concept of a space from scratch,” James said. “We work alongside and grow with the business owners as they begin to flesh out their business.”

To connect with this vibrant community and explore their many interests, the partners decided to launch a podcast called The Swarm, hosted by Seamus and James, where they talk architecture and design, and interview entrepreneurs making change in the local community. They engage with local experts about different aspects of design with the hopes of sharing it with the public.

Seamus said, “we’re trying to make architecture approachable to our parents, friends – everyone.”

For their latest, follow them on Instagram at @studiocicada and @theswarm

Field Studies: Exploring Portugal

In fall 2018 13 third-year MLA students in LA 7051 Advanced Topics Studio class traveled to Portugal to explore the built landscapes of the historic cities.

Over the last several years, the 3rd-year MLA design studio has been designed around a field study program in such locations as several US National Parks in Alaska, the South Platte River in Denver, Colorado, Buffalo Bayou in Houston, Texas, and Bosque Chapultepec, Mexico City. This year the studio class went to Portugal!

“The underlying purpose of the studio is to immerse the students in an environment with ecological, social, and cultural attributes different from what they are not accustomed to,” Professor Bruce Sharky explained. “They are guided to explore for themselves a range of design issues based on their personal experiences of a new place.”

The students traveled to Portugal to conduct extensive field studies. The studio field trip’s aim was to conduct field analysis and documentation of the project site in Tavira, and visit a menu of historic and cultural sites in the Algarve coast, Lisbon, and the UNESCO World Heritage site Leiria.

The students visited museums, historical neighborhoods, and public spaces in Lisbon. They walked over 16 km and spent hours sketching at the Gulbenkian Museum and in Lisbon gardens. They visited the historic São Jorge Castle, where they saw stunning views of the city.

The group took a day trip to the UNESCO World Heritage city of Leiria, north of Lisbon.

“As a school we are so fortunate that our professors have friendships and contacts all over the country,” said MLA candidate Taylor Fehmel. “Our class spent a full day in Leiria, Portugal with LSU alumni Hugo Alves. Hugo arranged a full day of events where we had a chance to walk around the historic city center. He showed us how the small town community was able to grow and expanded while maintaining its historic facade.”

“Our class also had a private tour from two local architects along the newly built greenway of the Lis River. It was great to see firsthand how the city integrated this pedestrian network around its historic roots,” Taylor said.

Sketching by pink wall

Throughout the field studies the students were charged with maintaining a sketching journal to create line drawings and water colors with the idea of exploring the potential of hand drawing to become critical viewers of what they experienced.

 

Students with watercolors

The semester studio is located in the town of Tavira on the Algarve Coast in Southeast Portugal, 40 km from the Spanish border. The central inquiry of the studio is to explore ways of accommodating tourism and economic development while maintaining the integrity of the historical, cultural, and environmental patrimony of Tavira.

Drone over salt flats

Drone over salt flats

Students used drones to analyse the salt flats around Tavira, and explored the surrounding landscapes. The students each found an individual topic and area (in and around Tavira) to explore in studio this semester.

Students on bikes

Exploring on bikes

One of the most enjoyable aspects of the trip was simply exploring the Portuguese landscape, the group agreed. “We used public transportation most of time as well as exploring on foot and bicycle,” Sharky said. They rented bikes for the group explore the coastal marshes and agriculture lands around Tavira.

“The students have been quite enthusiastic about what they have experienced and learned in Portugal,” Sharky said. “What is there not to like – it is a beautiful country!”

Check out photos taken by the students on the trip.

LSU Researchers Collaborate for Smart City Project

During the summer of 2018, School of Art faculty members and students assisted with community outreach for the Smart, Safe, Connected Baton Rouge project. The interdepartmental project, led by School of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science Professor Seung-Jong Jay Park, brings together an interdisciplinary team of LSU researchers working to solve public safety and transportation challenges.

The project mission is to improve Baton Rouge and the Capitol Region, using LSU research expertise and community partnerships to jointly develop and implement Smart, Safe & Connected Technologies. The multidisciplinary research team, spanning computer science, electrical and computer engineering, social sciences, and art & design, is developing cyberinfrastructure for the Smart and Connected Community research project, which seeks to address public safety and transportation issues.

The community engagement team included LSU digital art assistant professors Derek Ostrenko and Hye Yeon Nam, digital art student Jack Bentley, summer REU (Research Experiences for Undergraduates) student Jacob Shelton, and LSU Center for Computation & Technology, and Smart City researchers. Community engagement goals included developing and designing public installations and visualizations, as well as displaying outcomes for outreach and community engagement.

“It was a great opportunity to collaborate on outreach for Professor Park’s Smart, Safe, Connected Baton Rouge project for the community,” Nam said.

The School of Art team members helped design the Smart City website, develop crime map visualization in three different formats, and build installations. They used College of Art & Design technologies, such as the laser cutter from the Design Shop and a CNC router at the Fabrication Factory to create the visualization of the Mississippi River section near Baton Rouge. LSU landscape architecture assistant professor Brendan Harmon collaborated to help plan and build installations.

The river influence was chosen “because of the historic basis in forming and involvement with the river,” digital art candidate Jack Bentley said. Once the design was chosen, Jack created a 3D model, and then Professor Nam laser-cut and assembled the parts, and Professor Ostrenko put it together into a small prototype display with LEDs inside.

Jack also worked on the Smart City project website. “I designed and showed concepts for the pages using a site design program, and then implemented feedback received at weekly meetings,” he said.

“The intent of the site is to provide a kind of intro to the content for community engagement purposes, to either get folks interested or provide a look at what’s being done without having to dive straight into research papers or proposals,” he explained. The website includes crime map and traffic visualizations created from the research data used, such as deep learning traffic identification software.

Jack also helped sketch out some designs for a community bench, he shared. “The base design came from the Fisk river maps showing the different paths the Mississippi has taken, and the section that was chosen goes through Baton Rouge. Nam & Derrick’s eventual goal is to use the design within another proposal as part of a full-sized community pavilion or bench, so I went with the section of the map next to Baton Rouge, which provides an interesting shape and allows you a platform to display all sorts of data or surrounding city.”

A community event was held on August 17, 2018 at the Water Campus with other researchers, community members, and stakeholders.

Mythologies Louisianaises Exhibition promotes cultures of Louisiana

The exhibition Mythologies Louisianaises brings together School of Art faculty members and alumni, to celebrate and explore Louisiana culture. The project was created and curated by Jonathan “feral opossum” Mayers, alumnus and instructor of the LSU School of Art. The exhibition, on display at the Arthur Roger Gallery in New Orleans through September 22, 2018, is a group show featuring an array of Louisiana artists.

“I am super excited to be in this group exhibit curated by Jonathan Mayers, now showing at Arthur Roger Gallery,” art professor Kelli Scott Kelley said. Other School of Art alumi involved included: Elise Toups, Charles Barbier, Nyssa Juneau, and Randi Willett.

Jonathan Mayers

Jonathan Mayers

“The mission of Mythologies Louisianaises is to promote, in an unconventional way, French and Creole languages and cultures of Louisiana,” Mayers said in the curator’s statement.

Over the past three years, Mayers has chosen artists and writers who have been distanced from these cultures as a result of Americanization, physical location, or birth as an outsider. Yet these individuals retain a compelling connection to their heritage either through ancestry, geographical proximity, or inclusion as an outsider.

“The opportunity to (re)engage in our vibrant story-telling traditions that stem from Indigenous America, Africa, and Europe culminates in this homage to language, identity, and inclusivity in such a way that all collaborators of this exhibition reclaim the ways in which identity binds them. This substantial project for Louisiana culture broadens, therefore, the spectrum of what it means to be part of a metis society, where the meshing and melding of traditions sparks dialogues on identity not based on race, but on the value of community and collaboration.”

Mayers invited artists from Louisiana to make a piece of art inspired by a story of our creation, Kelley said. “For Mythologies Jonathan asked the artists to come up with a story idea, which would then be written into a story in by bilingual writer Beverly Matherne. In my case, I wrote a story called ‘Floating Cottage,’ and she abridged it for the project. One part of the story is depicted in the piece that I made for the exhibit.”

Floating Cottage, by Kelli Scott Kelley

“Floating Cottage” (Kelli Scott Kelley) is an acrylic painting, painted on an antique tablecloth and collaged with another vintage patterned linen. It is 55” diameter.

“Since my artwork is narrative in nature, and following my book and exhibition, Accalia and the Swamp Monster, this was a prefect project for me,” Kelley shared. For her own project Accalia and the Swamp Monster, she wrote a story as a catalyst for a body of artworks.

Art history professor Darius Spieth wrote an essay for the catalog, which accompanies the exhibition. His piece “How Fables Matter in Today’s Louisiana,” explores the roles of fables and myths in the poetic history of French-speaking lands. He traces the traditions of mythologies to contemporary art in Louisiana today.