NEWS
Art associate professor lectures at New Orleans art festival
Frank Hamrick, an associate art professor at Louisiana Tech, said New Orleans is a great place for an artist because there are a lot of photo-based art displayed.
They were on full display recently because he visited the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, a pre-professional arts high school, to lecture. The lecture was part of the Photo NOLA Festival, which is held each year in December at the Ogden Museum of Art.
“I have gone to Photo NOLA for the past two years to see the exhibitions, listen to lectures and have my portfolio reviewed,” he said. “It was great to be included in the festival’s events this time.”
Hamrick, who has five handmade books featured at the Ogden Museum, let the students determine the course of his lecture. He started by asking if the students had questions, and many asked how he came up with the titles for his books or the back-story of particular photographs.
“They were curious about what leads up to the finished piece of artwork, which I was happy to explain to them,” he said. “They were an observant group of viewers who saw the work differently than the way adults normally do.”
Hamrick has attended Photo NOLA for the past two years and said this time was different because it was his first time his work was included in the exhibitions.
“I had 24 color photographs and six handmade books displayed at NOCCA. Also five of my handmade books are included in the Currents Exhibition at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art,” Hamrick said. “I met with people in New Orleans, who are now aware of what I do, and invited me to participate this year in the shows. It was good for my artwork to be included in the event.”
Hamrick also served as a guest lecturer earlier this month at Caddo Magnet High School, and he said he enjoys being able to lecture with other artists.
“These were opportunities that were presented to me and fortunately I was able to fit them in around teaching here at the School of Art,” he said. “They are great ways to meet individuals, who may one day be students here at the School of Art.”
— Written by Derek J. Amaya