2008 Woodie Awards
Alvin Batiste Exhibition opens
Jeff Brunet
Issue date: 2/2/05 Section: Entertainment
- Page 1 of 1
Friday night's opening reception for the Alvin Batiste Exhibition demonstrated a profound, community-wide show of support for the fine arts, folklore, and its relation to Black History.
Some local celebrities attended the event, including mayor Randy Roach and several artists and professors. The Central School Theater provided the acoustics for the lectures and discussion of Batiste's work.
The subject matter for Batiste's paintings come from his keen observation of everyday life. Mr. Batiste, in response to a question from an audience member, was quoting saying, "I watched shows about art on public television, and it made me want to do that too...".
Professor Heather Kelly gave a passionate lecture on the role of folk art, the genre of primitive art, and some of the old stereotypes associated with primitive art.
Ms. Shonell Bacon recited emotional poetry concerning Mr. Batiste's work and some of her own personal experiences.
Dr. Keagan LeJeune discussed the evolution of folk art and its relationship with the art world and the local community.
Dr. Delma Porter touched on the history of children's literature while discussing the stereotyped illustration of minority groups in America up until the 1980's. She showed slides representing the evolution of children's literature illustrations as an introduction to the work of Alvin Batiste; unfortunately, she didn't get a chance to talk about the slides.
Mr. Batiste then proceeded with a Q/A session before heading out to the gallery.
Louisiana Life magazine featured Batiste and his work in its 1999 fall issue.
Mr. Batiste also provided the cover art for Billy Bob Thornton's recent debut album, Private Radio. Thornton was filming "Behind the Sun" down in Donaldsonville, LA (Batiste's hometown), when he dropped into the gallery exhibiting Batiste's paintings.
Thornton bought eleven paintings, commissioned Batiste to create the cover art for his CD, and finally signed an autograph for the artist saying: "To Alvin, You are a great and profound artist, Billy Bob Thornton".
Batiste expressed an interest in sculpture, and he said that he'd like to explore the medium sometime in the future. He also said that, for now, he is looking forward to his upcoming book.
Some local celebrities attended the event, including mayor Randy Roach and several artists and professors. The Central School Theater provided the acoustics for the lectures and discussion of Batiste's work.
The subject matter for Batiste's paintings come from his keen observation of everyday life. Mr. Batiste, in response to a question from an audience member, was quoting saying, "I watched shows about art on public television, and it made me want to do that too...".
Professor Heather Kelly gave a passionate lecture on the role of folk art, the genre of primitive art, and some of the old stereotypes associated with primitive art.
Ms. Shonell Bacon recited emotional poetry concerning Mr. Batiste's work and some of her own personal experiences.
Dr. Keagan LeJeune discussed the evolution of folk art and its relationship with the art world and the local community.
Dr. Delma Porter touched on the history of children's literature while discussing the stereotyped illustration of minority groups in America up until the 1980's. She showed slides representing the evolution of children's literature illustrations as an introduction to the work of Alvin Batiste; unfortunately, she didn't get a chance to talk about the slides.
Mr. Batiste then proceeded with a Q/A session before heading out to the gallery.
Louisiana Life magazine featured Batiste and his work in its 1999 fall issue.
Mr. Batiste also provided the cover art for Billy Bob Thornton's recent debut album, Private Radio. Thornton was filming "Behind the Sun" down in Donaldsonville, LA (Batiste's hometown), when he dropped into the gallery exhibiting Batiste's paintings.
Thornton bought eleven paintings, commissioned Batiste to create the cover art for his CD, and finally signed an autograph for the artist saying: "To Alvin, You are a great and profound artist, Billy Bob Thornton".
Batiste expressed an interest in sculpture, and he said that he'd like to explore the medium sometime in the future. He also said that, for now, he is looking forward to his upcoming book.