100 Lafayette Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70801, www.lsumoa.org
T 225-T389-7200 F 225-389-7219
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Jeff English jeff@creativeenglish.biz
225-931-6964
The Visual Blues
March 8 – July 13, 2014
Baton Rouge, LA—From March 8 through July 13, 2014, the LSU Museum of Art will present
The Visual Blues, an exhibition exploring the rich interaction that took place between Harlem
Renaissance artists and the wealth of blues and jazz music emanating from the Deep South and
moving north. Artists and musicians blurred artistic boundaries, drawing inspiration from each
other and often contributing to the other’s art forms. The art scene in Harlem from 1919 to
approximately 1940 provided a creative haven for African Americans and encouraged a melding
of art, music, literature and poetry giving rise to the term “Harlem Renaissance.”
The Visual Blues exhibition comprises 58 paintings, drawings, prints, photographs and sculptures
by 27 artists, illustrating the unprecedented outburst of artistic creativity during this period
inspired by blues and jazz, dance and social clubs. Although several museums have presented
Harlem Renaissance exhibitions, LSU Museum of Art’s The Visual Blues will specifically focus
on the importance of jazz and blues on visual artists, who expressed themselves on canvas and
paper.
“Because of Baton Rouge’s deep connection with the blues and Louisiana’s recognition as the
birthplace of jazz, we felt that focusing on the musical aspects of this movement as depicted by
the visual artists would be a fitting approach to the visual art of the Harlem Renaissance,” says
Jordana Pomeroy, the Director of the LSU Museum of Art. The exhibition will also coincide
with the Baton Rouge Blues Festival.
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By the 1920s, many southern musicians had moved to northern cities, bringing with them the
new rhythms and poignant lyrics of southern black music. Alongside famous musicians such as
Cab Calloway, Billie Holliday and Duke Ellington, southern African American artists performed
at famous nightclubs in Harlem, including the Savoy Ballroom, the Apollo Theatre, and the Cotton
Club. The culture of the Harlem Renaissance fostered friendships and collaborations among artists
of many disciplines. A wide circle of performers, poets, playwrights, and painters socialized and
lent support to one another.
With paintings on loan from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Houston Museum of Fine
Arts, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery, this exhibition
presents a rare opportunity for people from across the South to learn about the lives and careers
of many artists—some of whom are well known such as Jacob Lawrence, and others whose
reputations have been submerged over time.
The Visual Blues is organized and curated by the staff of the LSU Museum of Art with support
from the permanent collections of some of the most prominent museums in the country,
including the Amistad Research Center; California African American Museum; Harvey B. Gantt
Center for African-American Arts+Culture; The Metropolitan Museum of Art; and the
Smithsonian Institution’s American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery.
Generous support for this exhibition has been provided by the National Endowment for the Arts,
Washington, D.C.; the Louisiana State Arts Council through the Louisiana Division of the Arts
and the National Endowment for the Arts as administered by the Arts Council of Greater Baton
Rouge; the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism; and the inaugural Art
Dealers Association of America Foundation Curatorial Award administered by the Association
of Art Museum Curators.
The LSU Museum of Art will publish a fully-illustrated companion catalogue distributed by the
University of Washington Press. In addition, the Museum will present a series of exciting
educational programs including lectures, gallery talks, art making workshops and interactive
school tours for all ages, designed to further explore the exhibition. For more information or to
schedule a tour, please contact Lucy Perera, LSU Museum of Art coordinator of school and
community programs, at lperera@lsu.edu or call 225-389-7207.
LSU Museum of Art 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, staff, and students with ID, children age 12
and under, and museum members. Hours of operation are Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and
Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5
p.m. For more information, visit www.lsumoa.org or call 225-389-7200.
PHOTO CREDITS:
Ellis Wilson (1899-1977), Shore Leave, 1943, Oil on Masonite, Amistad Research Center,
Tulane University, New Orleans
William Henry Johnson (1901-1970), Jitterbugs II, 1942, Screen Print, Amistad Research
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Center, Tulane University, New Orleans
[High resolution photos available]
Programs:
For more information or to schedule a tour, please contact Lucy Perera, LSU Museum of Art
coordinator of school and community programs, at lperera@lsu.edu or call 225-389-7207.
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