Kelli Scott Kelley Awarded Provost’s Fund for Innovation in Research Grant

Art & Design, Research, Honors & Awards, Art, Painting & Drawing, Faculty
Kelli by Japanese temple red columns

Professor Kelli Scott Kelley in Japan.

Professor of Art Kelli Scott Kelley received an Emerging Research Faculty Grant from the LSU Provost’s Fund for Innovation in Research to support her interdisciplinary research pursuing a visual art project “on emptiness, or nothingness, as a contemplation on the connections and interdependence of all beings and things during a time of isolation, divisiveness and impending demise of the natural world.”

“In my work, subconscious worlds, populated by hybrid beings, are woven into dreamlike tales. Figures, animals, and objects appear in metaphorical narratives which explore humankind’s connections to, disconnections from, and impact upon the natural world,” Kelley said. “The working title for my ongoing body of work is ‘Emptiness,’ which could refer to a nihilistic idea of nothingness. It could also refer to the complex Buddhist concept of Emptiness, the idea of ‘no independent self.’”

“I employ painting and drawing mediums, along with repurposed emblematic materials. The pieces are inspired by the personal, psychological and the sociopolitical,” she said. “I am moved by the exquisite beauty in the world, as well as the absurdity and ugliness. I feel an urgency to use my art practice as a means to mine and express deep truths about the impending demise of the natural world.”

With the LSU Provost’s Fund, Kelley was able to travel throughout Japan for 5 weeks to conduct research and find inspiration. While in Japan, she studied traditional, as well as modern and contemporary Japanese art.

“In addition to traveling, I dove deeply into my art practice in my Baton Rouge art studio; exploring with materials and techniques, concepts and imagery,” she said. “The opportunities offered by the research funding endures, and will have a lasting impact, as I continue to process and absorb the information and insights afforded by the Provost’s Emerging Research Faculty Grant.”

Kelley has been a professor of art/painting & drawing at the LSU School of Art for 23 years. Her paintings have been exhibited in many venues including the Mesic Ve Dne Gallerie in Czeske Budejovice, Czech Republic; Bangalore University in India; the Contemporary Arts Museum and the Hooks-Epstein Gallery in Houston, Texas; the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art in Colorado; the Taylor Bercier Gallery in New Orleans, Louisiana; the LSU Museum of Art and the Baton Rouge Gallery Center for Contemporary Art. Her recent sabbatical allowed for a new solo exhibition at Spillman Blackwell Gallery in New Orleans in March 2023.

The LSU Provost’s Fund for Innovation in Research announced $1.1 million in faculty research grants to 33 projects, including several spanning multiple priority areas, in support of sustained strategic priorities for the university and for Louisiana. Launched in 2022, the Provost’s Fund supports interdisciplinary research in five priority areas, also known as the LSU Pentagon, which includes agriculture, biomedicine and biotechnology, coast and environment, defense and cybersecurity and energy.

Fellow College of Art & Design faculty members receiving Provost’s Fund grants include Jason Jamerson, assistant professor of digital art & theatre, assistant professor of architecture Soo Jeong Jo, and assistant professor of architecture Fabio Capra-Ribeiro, who was awarded to create the Caribbean Spatial Justice Lab, a transdisciplinary collaborative center for research and design to connect scholars and communities working to advance coastal protection and restoration as well as sustainable energy and food production. Read more.

 

 

Alumni Spotlight: Malaika Favorite

Art & Design, Art, Painting & Drawing, Alumni, Alumni Profiles, Diversity, Doctor of Design, , ,
Maliaka Favorite by Billie Holliday mural

Malaika Favorite; image courtesy of Favorite.

“Always believe in your magic,” advises Malaika Favorite (BA 1971 & MFA 1973), LSU art alumna and Louisiana-based artist.

Her latest project is nothing short of magical: Favorite, a mixed-media artist and writer, was selected by Disney to create art for the upcoming Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, a new park ride attraction inspired by the animated film, “The Princess and the Frog.” The new reimagining of the iconic theme park’s Splash Mountain Rides will open in 2024. Favorite’s mural, inspired by the Louisiana setting of the film, will greet visitors entering the ride. View the ride’s “first look.“

“When we were exploring how to introduce guests to the story of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure as they prepared to embark on the attraction, maintaining the authenticity of Princess Tiana’s experience as a young Black woman striving to achieve her dream in the soulful backdrop of New Orleans was one of our highest priorities,” said Carmen Smith Sr., president of Creative Development — Content, Product and Inclusive Strategies for Disney Parks, to The Advocate. “It only makes sense that an extensive search for an artist who could bring our vision to life brought us to Malaika’s doorstep.”

Mural of alligator in swamp

Mural image courtesy of Disney.

“My goal is to create art that delights and adds to the Magic of Disneyland and Magic Kingdom,” she said of the works that she’s creating for Disney. The mural focuses on family, friends, food, music, art, and bringing folks together, according to Disney Parks.

“The act of creating art is like playing to me,” Favorite said. “I seldom feel like I am working. I’m having an adventure that takes me on a journey to places in my mind.”

Favorite works in a variety of forms and media. Her experiments with literature as part of the painting’s text and those with folded canvas are prime examples, and she’s equally at home working in oils, acrylics, watercolors, and lithographs. “My goal as an artist is to present a dialogue between the viewer and the work of art, something that reveals a new dimension every time you visit the work.”

She is inspired by the natural landscapes of Louisiana, which feature in her works. “I take a lot of photos that inspire my artwork,” she said. “I take walks in the woods and I am amazed by the beauty. I take a lot of photos that I store in the vault of my phone and PC. When I need inspiration, I know where to look.”

For fellow and aspiring artists, Favorite reminds to believe in yourself. 

“Always believe in your magic. We all have a magic kingdom inside of us if we just take the time to visit our minds and explore what’s hidden there.”

“When you explore your inner world, document what you see, hear and learn and put it on paper or in a poem or a song. It’s a never-ending resource.”

Her favorite memories of LSU were the times spent creating. “Art class was my favorite place to be. Drawing and discovering all the ways I can say something with a brush or sketching tools.”

After receiving her MFA from LSU, she worked for several years as a university art instructor, and as an artist-in-residence at a few public and private schools. “However, I never had enough time to develop my craft as fully as I wanted to, so in 1995, I made a difficult decision to leave the world of academics to focus fulltime on art and writing.”

She works in a variety of styles and media, depending on the nature and purpose of the work. “My studio work usually focuses on a theme; I stay with that theme until I exhaust it. Sometimes I revisit the theme after I get more insight into the idea. In this way, I am constantly exploring old and new territory.”

mural on tin

“Juke Joint” mural at the West Baton Rouge Museum. Image courtesy of Favorite.

“I am fascinated by creation, the wonder and amazement of it all. When I take a walk I am dazzled by nature, after I receive this sacrament of astonishment, I come in and make art. Somehow a small portion of the magic leaks into my painting, a little speck of it, sufficient to make me cry, maybe just enough to make someone else cry and be amazed. That is my inspiration.”

She noted in an artist’s statement that:

“It is very difficult to explain a work or art, mostly because the work is its own explanation. Art is not for the immediate audience only, if it was it would be a prop or backdrop for a play, designed to be viewed for a limited time. Visual art should be timeless. It should speak to each generation, and to each viewer as an endless dialogue that continues to inspire, fascinate and delight.”

Her artwork is featured in Art: African American by Samella Lewis, Black Art in Louisiana by Bernardine B. Proctor and the St. James Guide to Black Artists, edited by Thomas Riggs and can be found in the following collections: Absolut Vodka collection, Morris Museum of Art, Augusta GA, LSU Print Collection, Baton Rouge, LA, Alexandria Museum of Art, Alexandria LA, The Coca-Cola Company, Atlanta GA, Hartsfield International Airport, Atlanta GA, The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, Cincinnati Ohio, Rosel Fann Recreation Center, Atlanta GA. She also has outdoor murals on Auburn Ave in Atlanta and on White St. in Atlanta. She is a longtime artist member of the Baton Rouge Gallery of Contemporary Art.

A poet, she has also published three collections of poetry: Illuminated Manuscript, New Orleans Poetry Journal Press (1991), Dreaming at the Manor (2014), and Ascension (2016) winner of the Naomi Long Madgett Poetry Award. Her poetry, fiction, and articles appear in numerous anthologies and journals, including: you say. say and Hell strung and crooked (Uphook Press) 2009 & 2010, Pen International, Hurricane Blues, Drumvoices Review, Uncommon Place, Xavier Review, The Maple Leaf Rag, Visions International, Louisiana Literature, Louisiana English Journal, Big Muddy, and Art Papers. She is the winner of the 2005 Louisiana Literature Prize for Poetry.

Read more about the LSU School of Art.

Hye Yeon Nam Awarded Anonymous Was A Woman Grant

Research, Art, Faculty, Doctor of Design

hands on plants

Hye Yeon Nam, associate professor of digital art, was selected as a recipient of the Anonymous Was A Woman Environmental Art Grant for her project Ec(h)o exploring the intersections of technology and nature.

The Anonymous Was A Woman Environmental Art Grants (AWAW EAG) program, supported by Anonymous Was A Woman (AWAW) and The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA), provides one-time grants of up to $20,000 to support environmental art projects led by women-identifying artists from the United States and U.S. territories. In the 2023 cycle, the second year of the program, a total of $309,000 in grant funding was awarded to 20 projects that will focus on environmental issues and advocacy in locations including Belize, Southern Iraq, Mongolia, New York, Pennsylvania, Tierra del Fuego, West Virginia, and Washington. The 20 projects were selected from 884 applications from artists who reside in the United States and U.S. Territories.

Nam’s project Ec(h)o is a generative musical installation that explores interspecies relationships between humans, non-humans, and nature. Ec(h)o uses robotic 3D printing of plants from seed to translate our memories from the community into living sculptures and back to the sound with touch interactions.

“This work evokes how entangled our relationship with the environment has become, and encourages a perspective shift from individualism and exceptionalism towards an inclusive ecology,” Nam said.

Nam is a digital media artist and HCI designer exploring how technology can improve our interactions with other agents – humans, robots, or nature. She foregrounds the complexity of social relationships by making the familiar strange and interpreting everyday behaviors in performative ways. Hye Yeon has published and exhibited her work at ARS Electronica Center, Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, Asia Society Texas Center, Japanese American National Museum, Times Square, Eyebeam, Conflux Festival, D.U.M.B.O. Festival, the Lab in San Francisco, Festival Internacional de Linguagem Eletronica (FILE), SIGGRAPH, Computer-Human Interaction (CHI), Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Interaction (TEI), International Symposium on Electronic Art (ISEA), Creativity & Cognition (C&C), and several others in Korea, China, Istanbul, Ireland, the UK, Germany, Australia, Denmark, and Switzerland. Her work has been broadcast on the Discovery Channel and LIVE TV show Good Day Sacramento and featured in Wired, We Make Money Not Art, Makezine, Business Insider, Slashdot, and Engadget.

Crafting the Heisman Campaign: Behind the Scenes with LSU Football and LSU School of Art

Art & Design, Art, Digital Art

 

In the electrifying world of college football, certain moments transcend the field and become iconic campaigns. This year, LSU’s very own #5 quarterback, Jayden Daniels, has won the prestigious Heisman Trophy. But how do you capture the essence of a Heisman contender and create a story that leaves an indelible mark?

“At LSU, we have a tradition of excellence not only in athletics but also in the arts,” said Jerry Lockaby, School of Art/graphic design instructor. “When these two worlds collide, magic happens.”

LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels is the unanimous pick as Associated Press Southeastern Conference offensive player of 2023. Daniels, the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner, leads the nation in total offense. LSU conceived of a hype video to celebrate the player’s accomplishments.

Read more via The Advocate.

LSU College of Art & Design’s cutting-edge virtual production XR Studio served as the canvas for this unexpected video collaboration. This space, at the forefront of digital storytelling and virtual production, is “where innovation knows no bounds,” according to Jason Jamerson, assistant professor of digital art.

“A campaign like this is the result of many talented hands. Director of Football Video, Matt Tornquist, conceived and executed the core concept of the video. The collaboration was made possible by the strategic insight of LSU’s chief brand officer Cody Worsham, who recognized the potential in uniting athletics and art. Cody, along with LSU School of Art videographer BFA student Reagan Laird, played a pivotal role in making this partnership a reality. Jason Jamerson, assistant professor of digital art and an expert in virtual production and immersive media, contributed his expertise to the project, ensuring every frame radiated brilliance,” Lockaby said. Lockaby leads the LSU School of Art social media channels.

“This Heisman campaign is not just about football; it is about creativity, collaboration, and the pursuit of excellence,” he said. “As we celebrate Jayden Daniels and his extraordinary journey, we also celebrate the spirit of teamwork, innovation, and the magic that happens when great minds unite. Witness the creativity behind the campaign in our behind-the-scenes video. And remember, it’s not just a campaign; it’s a testament to the limitless possibilities of collaboration.”

Watch the behind-the-scenes making of the video, by the LSU School of Art:

 

Credit and a special thanks to South Stadium Productions, the official creative team of LSU Sports. Their work can be explored at lsusport.net and their Emmy-nominated feature here.

Learn more about LSU School of Art’s digital art program here.

Interior Design Students design for Tau Center for Behavioral Health

Art & Design, Students, Interior Design, Community Outreach

julie elliott class

Interior design students in associate professor of practice Julie Elliott’s ID 3752 studio worked with Our Lady of the Lake (Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System) to create design proposals for the Our Lady of the Lake Tau Center for Behavioral Health’s Baton Rouge facilities.

The course’s aim is for interior design students to study healthcare design, using principles of evidence based design, the process of constructing a building or physical environment based on scientific research to achieve the best possible outcomes, in real world applications. The project goal is for students to develop concept statements that “demonstrate the best solution to support evidence based design focusing on health and wellbeing using universal design strategies that support the human condition (specifically focused on behavioral health).”

Designs aim to support and improve the safety and wellbeing of patients, family, and caregivers for behavioral health facilities. Interior design student projects researched current facilities and precedents, and made informed proposals with concepts including furniture, fixtures, equipment, color and lighting strategies, and design elements to create a welcoming environment.

“Students also developed overall color pallets based on evidence based design best practices for behavioral health facilities that promote calming effects on patients, family, and staff,” Elliott said.

“I thoroughly enjoyed the collaboration between OLOLRMC Tau Center and the LSU School of Design studio students,” said Melissa Dugger, MSN, RN, Senior Director of Nursing, Mental and Behavioral Health Division, Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center. “Successful design of a psychiatric hospital requires careful consideration of many factors. The students took this challenge and created beautiful designs with the patients and care teams in mind. They also incorporated our Core values, mission, and philosophy into their designs. We are working to put some of these designs in place and I look forward to further collaborations with the studio.”

“Our Lady of the Lake and Our Lady of the Lake Foundation leadership and team members wish to share a huge thank you for your hard work and amazing talents that were put into the research and designs of our Tau Center project,” said Teddi Hymel Hessburg, Our Lady of the Lake Foundation. “Your concepts and presentations blew us all away and provided so many elements to consider for the future environment of our mental health patients and their care.”

Healthcare design is an ongoing part of the School of Interior Design curriculum. LSU interior design students have opportunities to work with local community members and stakeholders through design studios that engage with real-life design challenges.

Soo Jeong Jo Part of Solar Energy Research Team

Research, Architecture, Faculty, Doctor of Design,

Soo Jeong Jo, assistant professor of architecture, is part of the team of LSU researchers led by Arup Bhattacharya, LSU Bert S. Turner Department of Construction Management assistant professor, researching solar power farming in Louisiana thanks to a $94,000 grant from the Institute for Energy Innovations.

Jo‘s research focuses on high-performance design based on building performance simulations (BPS) specifically for the early stages of architectural design. Through her research she explores the interactions between science and architectural design.

“I will work on collecting the user input and design exploration for the solar farm structure,” she said. “We are also planning to engage my design studio in this process.”

Read more: LSU Construction Management Professor, Team Research Solar Energy in LA

Solar energy research team group photo

Alumni Spotlight: Kelly M. Ward

Art & Design, Art History, Art, Alumni, Alumni Profiles, , , ,

kelly wardKelly M. Ward (MA in art history 2020) a Brazilian-American art historian and public relations practitioner originally from Shreveport, Louisiana. She has a bachelor’s degree in mass communication with a concentration in public relations and a minor in art history as well as a master’s degree in art history from LSU.

Ward is currently the marketing and communications coordinator at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. On top of this full-time position, she is also an adjunct instructor of visual arts and art history at Texas Wesleyan University where she holds two in-person lectures a week for 35 students.

With a lifelong interest in the arts, Ward has explored different roles associated with arts and culture. “Since I was 17, I knew that I wanted to work as a museum professional, but I thought I never wanted to be a curator,” she said. “I’ve worked at a non-profit arts council, in museum registration/collections, as a contemporary gallery director, in development, and currently in marketing and academia.”

“I went to a relatively small public high school that required academic testing to attend, had a rigorous curriculum including exceptional art courses such as ceramics and art history, and did not have a football team (many of my peers went to out-of-state, liberal arts colleges and universities). I really enjoyed the opportunities LSU gave me to experience SEC sports and join a sorority that I loved and still have life-long relationships from.”

“The main reason I chose LSU was because it was the best and most well-known in-state public university. With LSU being an in-state university, it made pursuing my credible degrees affordable and having little student loan debt and being relatively close to home has undoubtedly led to my success.”

Ward’s degrees from the Manship School of Mass Communication and the College of Art & Design have been crucial to her success as a young professional, she said. “Without my LSU degrees, I would not have been qualified for either of my current positions. While at the university, I was exposed to opportunities through the Manship School of Mass Communication and the LSU School of Art for a public relations internship at a prestigious private firm and a year-long internship at the LSU Museum of Art, respectively. During my undergraduate studies, I even took a specialized capstone course on social media.”

The personal connections she forged with her mentors were the most meaningful part of her academic experience, she said. “The connections I made with my professors are what I valued the most from my time at LSU, especially art history professor Dr. Darius Spieth in the LSU School of Art,” she said. “Dr. Spieth cares for his students and got to know me passed the surface level. Dr. Spieth taught me hard work ethic, pragmaticism, and the skills needed to be a writer and art historian. It means a lot to me that he does not accept lackadaisical efforts and wants his students to present themselves in the highest standard.”

Ward held various art and public relations positions while in Baton Rouge, including working for the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge, a small public relations firm, and collections/registration at the LSU Museum of Art, an opportunity through the LSU School of Art.

“When the pandemic hit, I was done with all my master’s degree requirements other than my thesis. I had a semester left to solely focus on this research and writing. I decided to move back to my hometown of Shreveport for two years which ended up being the best decision for me. Much of the research for my thesis was conducted in Shreveport since the artist of the biographical thesis I wrote lived there from 1940-1965. I also got to live at home and spend quality time with my Dad who passed away from cancer in November 2021.”

She finished her thesis in April 2020 and graduated from the LSU School of Art in August 2020. In September 2021, Ward was offered a job to manage a contemporary art gallery a peer’s uncle was opening in downtown Shreveport called Big Sun Studios. She also started teaching visual arts and art history fully remote at Bossier Parish Community College in January 2022 thanks to a connection from a high school friend’s mother.

“Although I had many good opportunities in Louisiana, I knew I had bigger goals and dreams and wanted to work as a professional in a credible museum,” she said.

In August 2022, she started a public relations and marketing internship at the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, TX, as a 26-year-old with a master’s degree. This move and temporary position was possible due to her second income through her remote teaching position at the community college, she shared. Three weeks after her internship ended in December 2022, she was offered a full-time position with benefits at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth in membership and development.

“After a few months, I knew this type of work wasn’t my calling and started another intense job search. My current position opened at the Modern during this time and I applied as the perfect fit and was chosen for the role in July 2023.”

Her position at the Modern combines both her skills in communications with her knowledge of art history: she manages digital content coordination such as email marketing and website and social media management. She also has design tasks using Adobe Photoshop and InDesign and practices many traditional public relations and marketing techniques.

“Ultimately—other than my credentials and expertise—taking the risk in moving to Fort Worth in a metroplex with an abundance of museums led me to my current role.” 

What’s next? Perhaps she will pursue a PhD in the years to come. “In the last two years, I’ve realized that I want to continue my education in pursuing a PhD and strive to do curatorial work,” she said. “As I’ve been exposed to the art world in a greater capacity at the Kimbell and the Modern, I am also open to exploring careers in art advisory and working for specific art foundations.”

Ward offers the following wisdom to current and future students: don’t be afraid to network and “put yourself out there,” as it may lead to new opportunities. While living at home and working various jobs during the uncertain times of the pandemic, she reconnected with peers from high school who were also home due to the circumstances, and those connections helped her to find work. Later, she was offered the adjunct position at Texas Wesleyan after being found on LinkedIn and the recruiter having had the same marketing position at the Modern with her current manager five years before.

“I want to share with prospective and current students, particularly those coming from high school or undergraduate studies, to embrace your identity and individuality at this age and to always put your mental health first. I struggled in graduate school and heavily leaned on my family, friends, roommate, and Dr. Spieth to get through it,” she shared.

“I’d like to share career advice because I wish I knew more specifics when I was younger:

Find mentors. Research and get involved with professional development opportunities. Do not do the bare minimum—it will lead to an unfulfilled life and lack of opportunity. Pursue internships and expose yourself to job experience. Value networking and do it by putting yourself in professional environments where you can make authentic connections and nurture those connections throughout your career. Go to the university or museum hosted event, be involved in your local arts community, approach someone about their endeavors no matter how uncomfortable you are, direct message the curator on Instagram, update your LinkedIn and ask to connect with strangers you’re inspired by—say YES and put yourself out there. When going through the job search process, cast your net far and wide. Put true effort into your applications despite how little you want to after receiving rejection, and always write a handwritten thank you letter if possible.”

“Take risks, believe in yourself wholeheartedly, and work hard. Know that you deserve a spot at the table.”

Learn more about the LSU School of Art art history program.

Mitoloji Latannyèr | Mythologies Louisianaises Exhibition Curated by LSU Art Alum Mayers

Art, Painting & Drawing, Alumni, Exhibitions, Diversity, Faculty, Doctor of Design,

The Mitoloji Latannyèr | Mythologies Louisianaises exhibition, on view at Capitol Park Museum in Baton Rouge October 2023 – December 2024, was curated by LSU School of Art alum Jonathan Mayers (BFA 2007). Art history professor Darius Spieth wrote accompanying texts for the exhibition, and works by Kelli Scott Kelley, professor of art/painting, and student Henry Johnson (BFA in Studio Art/Painting & Drawing) are exhibited.

Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser and Capitol Park Museum are pleased to announce the exhibition Mitoloji Latannyèr/Mythologies Louisianaises, which explores the French, Creole, and Tunica languages of Louisiana through art and storytelling. The Capitol Park Museum exhibition features more than forty paintings, images, sculptures, and stories, with accompanying texts in Louisiana and International French, Kouri-Vini (Louisiana Creole), and English, plus a special tale in Tunica, according to Louisiana State Museums.

According to Dr. Nathan Rabalais, a professor of French and francophone studies at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, the exhibition demonstrates “both the constant evolution and the longevity of Louisiana’s culture.”  

Guest curator Mayers collaborated with artists and writers who have been distanced from their cultures “as a result of Americanization or physical location as well as others who have embraced the cultures of the region. Drawing on themes that include environmental devastation and social justice, they have created artwork and stories told through Louisiana’s heritage languages.” As the exhibition’s creative partners “réklamé mañè-layé péyisaj maré yê ensemb” (reclaim the ways in which the landscape binds them), they invite visitors to engage in this homage to the state’s language, identity, and folklore. 

Artists featured in the exhibition include LSU alumni: Simon Alleman (BFA 2007), Evan Gomez (BFA 2008) Nyssa Juneau (BFA 2008), Randi Willett (MFA 2016), Douglas Bourgeois (BFA 2016), the late Charles Barbier, Demond Matsuo, and Elise Toups. Rodneyna Hart (BFA 2008) is Museum Division Director.

The exhibition is accompanied by texts by Robin White, professor of English at Nicholls State University, and Spieth, professor of art history at LSU, who also contributed the preface and the introductory essay, respectively, to the catalogue accompanying Mitoloji Latannyèr. An extensive array of educational programs scheduled throughout the run of the exhibition will focus on Louisiana’s heritage languages.

“Louisiana French and Kouri-Vini are vital components of our culture,” says Lieutenant Governor Nungesser. “It’s important to keep them alive for future generations.”

Jonathan “radbwa faroush” Mayers was born and raised in Istrouma (Baton Rouge), Louisiana, and earned a BFA from Louisiana State University and an MFA from the University of New Orleans. The former Baton Rouge Poet Laureate (2021-2023) is also a visual artist, independent curator, educator, and cultural activist who uses Kouri-Vini, the endangered Creole language of Louisiana, in both his writing and daily life. He paints images of mythological beasts and monsters in familiar landscapes and comments on social, environmental, and cultural happenings in the region. He is represented by the Arthur Roger Gallery in New Orleans. Mayers is also the founding president of Chinbo, Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to the reclamation of Kouri-Vini, which provides educational materials in the language to the Louisiana community and its diaspora.

Hear Mayers pronounce the title of this exhibition in both Kouri-Vini and French:

Her Research Holds Water: Meet Art + Design Senior Kayla Dearman

Art & Design, Students, Research, Art, Digital Art, , ,
Kayla Dearman by fish tank

Kayla Dearman, LSU Art + Design senior, has invented a new way to emulate water for stop motion animation using hydrogels. Photo courtesy of LSU Discover Undergraduate Research program Summer Undergraduate Research Forum (SURF) event.

Dearman is the first in her family to go to college and the first to come up with a new technique to emulate water for stop motion animation, using non-toxic and biodegradable hydrogels, with support from the LSU McNair Research Scholars program and an LSU Discover Project Grant from the LSU Discover Undergraduate Research program. Read her story.

Stop motion is a form of animation created from sequential photographs, which, when played in rapid succession, create the illusion of a moving image. Stop motion animators take one photo of a static object, move the object a little and snap another photo, move it again a wee bit and snap another photo, and continue this process until the photos can be put together and played back to create the appearance of fluid motion. Great examples of this artform include the film The Nightmare Before Christmas and the old Gumby TV show.

“Stop motion animation has long been a driving force for innovations,” said LSU senior, digital art major and stop motion animation aficionado Kayla Dearman. “But one environment that has yet to be successfully emulated by stop motion without considerable digital manipulation is the sea. Stop motion is usually unable to capture the complex movement of the sea-life and aquatic environment because of the unpredictability of water.”

Second only to her love of stop motion animation is water itself, particularly the ocean.

“My family visited the Gulf of Mexico a lot when I was younger,” Dearman explained. “It gave us a chance to connect with nature. My two older brothers and I would swim all day in the water and collect shells to bring home. The experience certainly helped connect me with the Gulf, which is why the deterioration of our oceans saddens me deeply. I hope our project helps preserve some of the beauty and diversity of our ocean’s coral reefs.”

The new project Dearman refers to brings her two passions together to develop a new and original technique to broaden the types of materials used in stop motion animation, advance research on animation and memorialize the beauty of the ocean’s natural coral reefs and fish.

“By using a simple solution of super-absorbent polymer beads, called hydrogels, and water in a transparent vessel, an artificial aquatic environment with imperceptible suspension is created,” continued Dearman, who graduates from LSU at the end of this semester.

Her study examined the efficacy of her animation technique and compared it to other attempts at emulating aquatic environments. It would seem her technique might be more difficult or costly than traditional forms of stop motion animation, but Dearman said that isn’t the case.

“Stop motion usually requires costly motion-rigging devices that give the illusion of weightlessness to objects being animated, plus a considerable amount of post-production digital manipulation,” she said. “Some of the ways they animate now involve metal rigging and things they have to edit out in post-production. Filmmakers will attach this steel arm to the back of puppets as they jump and fly through the air, so there’s this big silver piece of metal in every frame that they have to remove later, which creates a lot of extra work.” With her new technique, she explained, “Those rigs wouldn’t be necessary. Our technique makes the process of animating much simpler and much faster. Plus, it’s uniquely able to emulate the natural movement and turbulence of water.”

Dearman considers her new discovery—and the underwater animation work she’s done with it so far—to be a tribute to her love of the Gulf of Mexico.

“I love that the project stems around water and how it moves, which inspired me to go back and think about how I’ve connected with water,” she said. “Especially with what’s happening with the climate and how coral species are dying out quicker and quicker every year. I wanted to connect all of that within my project.”

She also wanted to help keep stop motion from becoming a forgotten artform, eclipsed by more modern technologies.

“Starting early in high school, I made short animations out of Play-Doh,” Dearman said. “I remember, for a biology class, I made a stop motion piece depicting all the different organelles inside of a cell, and making it break apart into pieces, then come back together, to show how it all works.”

She brought that process up several notches when she came to LSU.

“I really dove into it at LSU because of my professor Joseph Nivens, one of my mentors, who studied at LSU for his MFA,” Dearman said. “He had a passion and love for stop motion that really had an effect on me; I could see why he loved it so much—and that’s because it’s a very crafty medium. You get to build everything from flowers to spaceships when creating your set, and nothing compares to building and crafting a puppet that you get to see come to life.”

For Dearman’s research, various materials, sealants and puppet prototypes were tested to identify their uses and limits.

“The new methods I’ve investigated here have further implications for making stop motion animation more cost-effective and accessible in a way that is also environmentally friendly,” she said. “Stop motion traditionally uses a lot of foam latex, resins, clays and enamels that can sometimes be very toxic. So, I wanted to create a way to animate that’s not going to literally kill you over time.”

A sketch of sea-life by Dearman’s research partner Reagan Power.

The answer to creating a stop motion environment that emulated realistic water ended up being hydrogels, meaning water beads, or Orbeez. Because of their spherical shape, elastic nature, transparency and propensity for being non-toxic and biodegradable, Dearman said hydrogels are the ideal material for her needs. When the hydrogels are placed in a transparent container in large quantities, with the remaining space filled with water, the hydrogel beads seem to disappear, creating the appearance of fluid water motion.

“I buy hydrogels on Amazon,” said Dearman, whose supplies are paid for by the McNair program at LSU. “It’s a trio program, designed to help prepare first-generation and low-income and diverse students for graduate school, and fund undergraduate research.”

Dearman first used her beloved hydrogels to create a simulated deep-sea environment in a small five-gallon bowl. She and her research partner Reagan Power filmed short animations to test the technique, which Dearman named Aqueous Polymeric Suspension, or APS. Dearman is ecstatic that she made a legitimate discovery and also got to name it herself.

Dearman’s next step is to continue experimenting while preparing to graduate soon. She now has a studio that she’ll be using to test her technique on a much larger scale, with a 55-gallon fish tank and more complex puppets. She recently presented her research at the McNair Heartland Conference in Kansas City, Missouri.

“Fun is a great word to describe it!” said Dearman about her work. “It’s definitely childlike and makes me connect with that side of myself. It’s fun just having my hands in a big bowl of Orbeez; it feels so cool, and they’re definitely wet!”

Watch how Dearman’s materials mimic the unpredictability of water.

LSU Media Center

By: LSU Office of Research & Economic Development