The LSU MOA is premiering two fall exhibitions exploring LGBTQ+ themes: The Shaping of Us: Queerness in Ceramics, August 3–October 22, 2023, and Reveal: Photographs by Jerry Siegel, September 1–November 12, 2023

The exhibition Reveal: Photographs by Jerry Siegel, on view September 1–November 12, 2023, explores identity and gender fluidity within the drag and transgender community, as seen through the lens of Alabama artist Jerry Siegel. The intimate images contrast the individual to their stage character through portraiture and sequential imagery. Before any photographs are taken, Siegel learns the personal and professional history of the subjects, allowing him to visually record their emotional identity through classically-lit and framed compositions. The photographer fearlessly captures their personas. He doesn’t shy away from detailed depictions of bodies representing all shapes, sizes, genders, and colors, exemplifying the idea that there is not one standard definition of beauty—it can be found in everyone.

Siegel was born and raised in Selma, Alabama, and graduated from the Art Institute of Atlanta. Initially the team photographer for the Atlanta Hawks in the 1980s, he quickly established himself as one of the South’s leading artists. His first monograph, FACING SOUTH, Portraits of Southern Artists, was published by the University of Alabama Press in 2011. His second book, Black Belt Color, documents the unique, cultural landscape of the South, concentrating on the Black Belt region of Alabama. The series has gained national recognition by exposing the beauty and culture of an easily overlooked area of the deep South. His work is in numerous public, private, and corporate collections, including the Do Good Fund, the High Museum of Art, and the Georgia Museum of Art, all in Georgia, and the Birmingham Museum of Art in Alabama. Siegel has shown extensively in many major museums including the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in Louisiana, the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia, the Telfair Museum, Jepson Center for the Arts, and the Morris Museum of Art, all in Georgia, and the Montgomery Museum of Art, the Jule Colins Smith Museum, and the Mobile Museum of Art, all in Alabama. A commissioned body of work was created for the Columbus Museum in Georgia for the 2009 solo exhibition, Now and Then, Snapshots of the South. Siegel was awarded the Grand Prize of the first Artadia Award in Atlanta in 2009.

Reveal: Photographs by Jerry Siegel is funded in part by a grant from South Arts in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Louisiana Division of the Arts. This program is funded under a grant from the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this exhibition do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Curated in partnership with Andy Shaw, Associate Professor of Ceramic at LSU, The Shaping of Us: Queerness in Ceramics, on view August 3–October 22, 2023, explores personal and sexual identity, societal pressures, and issues affecting the LGBTQ+ community as related through the perspective of two diverse artists, Joseph Kraft and Heather Mae Erickson. The exhibition was inspired by the idea of using ceramics as a catalyst for dialogue, a means to raise awareness, and an opportunity to draw disparate communities together. Erickson and Kraft each bring their own unique histories and perspectives to the project, with the resulting artworks representing two very personal stories and responses to how their respective identities drive their artistic research, production, and aesthetic.

In preparation for the show, Kraft and Erickson were tasked with creating new and unique work, with each allotted approximately twenty-eight linear feet in the gallery. While they were directed to respond artistically to the societal and personal pressures associated with their gender identity, incorporating ceramics as their main media was the only defined restriction. The finished works represent a personal journey and give viewers an intimate view into the values, philosophies, and histories that represent them as individuals.

Kraft lives and works in Chicago, Illinois. While his artistic practice is rooted in clay, he has expanded his use of media to include drawing and printmaking as complementary vistas for his ceramic illustrations. He masterfully translates two-dimensional lines into three-dimensions utilizing an extrusion technique. Paired with brightly-colored block prints of male figures undertaking daily activities, the tableaux relay a sense of whimsy, action, and delicate intimacy.

Erickson, Assistant Professor and Ceramics Area Coordinator for Western Carolina University in North Carolina, and Kraft’s former professor at Alfred University, focuses her research and artistic production on studio art practice, with emphasis on reaching audiences beyond her workspace and community. To this end, she conceives methods for story-sharing and reflection by empowering students to develop projects that benefit others, a practice she boldly achieves through her own artwork. Erickson is the founder of Pride Pots: Community Conversations, a community-building art experience centered around hard conversations on LGBTQ+ issues and controversies.

Aligning with LSU’s Roadmap to Diversity, the University’s 2020 strategic plan to accomplish diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion (DEAI), the Museum has developed unique collaborative programming in consultation with LSU Residential Life, the LSU LGBTQ+ Faculty and Staff Caucus, and Baton Rouge Pride. The free opening reception and panel discussion, Gender Identity and Social Constructs, is on Friday, September 1, 2023, at 6:00 p.m. in the museum.

The Shaping of Us is funded in part by the LSU Provost’s Fund for Innovation in Research.

PROGRAMS

Visit LSU Museum of Art’s Facebook and Instagram pages @lsumoa regularly for program announcements and exhibition updates. For more information: www.lsumoa.org

ABOUT LSU MUSEUM OF ART

LSU Museum of Art seeks to enrich and inspire through collections, exhibitions, conservation, and education, serving as a cultural and intellectual resource for the University, Baton Rouge, and beyond.

LSU Museum of Art is supported by a grant from the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism, in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council. LSU Museum of Art is supported in part by a grant from the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge, funded by the East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President & Metro Council. Funded in part by a grant from South Arts in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts. Funding for the 2023 Emergency Planning Grant has been provided by the State of Louisiana and administered by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities. Additional support is provided by generous donors to the Annual Exhibition Fund: The Imo N. Brown Memorial Fund in memory of Heidel Brown and Mary Ann Brown; The Alma Lee, H. N., and Cary Saurage Fund; Charles “Chuck” Edward Schwing; Robert and Linda Bowsher; and The Newton B. Thomas Family/Newtron Group Fund. The Louisiana Lottery Corporation sponsors free admission for Free First Sundays and Free Friday Nights.

VISITOR INFORMATION

The museum is located in downtown Baton Rouge at 100 Lafayette Street on the Fifth Floor of the Shaw Center for the Arts. General admission is $5 each for adults and children age 13 and over. Admission is free to university faculty and students with ID, children age 12 and under, and museum members. Active-duty military and veterans, first responders, and their families receive free admission with ID as part of the Blue Star Museums program. Show your EBT card and photo ID at the admissions desk and receive free admission for up to 4 individuals as part of the Museums for All initiative. Museum Hours of operation are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sunday 1-5 p.m.; and closed on Mondays and major holidays. Free admission occurs on the first Sunday of each month and every Friday night from 5-8 p.m. For more information: visit www.lsumoa.org, call 225-389-7200, and follow the museum on social media @lsumoa for exhibition and program updates.

 ####