tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-384332662024-02-08T06:51:03.901-08:00At-the-Loft ShreveportAn informal history: images and stories about the artists connected with At-the-Loft, 708 Cotton St, Shreveport.
Send clippings, snaps and brief memories to trudeau@earthlink.net. Or call 318-861-1519 and leave a message, please.Robert E Trudeauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07554504744066844336noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38433266.post-63092824637548279212007-02-06T17:40:00.001-08:002007-02-06T17:40:51.508-08:00Judy Chicago was one of the artists brought to Shreveport by
At-the-Loft people<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/33969808@N00/100132925/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/40/100132925_45155db9e1_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a> <br /> <span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/33969808@N00/100132925/">judy chicago.textiles.ceramics.the dinner party</a> <br /> Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/33969808@N00/">moosoid9</a>. </span></div>In Feb, 07, artist Michael Harold wrote, "It's great to see that you are putting together an At-the-Loft blog and to hear that Diane Dufilho is doing a history of art in Shreveport. I read the contributions from the artists that you have posted. The list of names includes some of my favorite artists. Not favorite Shreveport artists. Favorite artists, period. <br /><br />The artists in this group are a big part of the reason I do art. In the early 70s, I would take a bus to the Craft Alliance on Dalzell Street to see these artists. Remember, it was late 60s, early 70s and the U.S. was in the middle of a high renaissance where art and culture was concerned. (Wars always bring out the best in artists, I think. I know that during the past six years I've done some of my best work ever. Mostly writing, though.) Even here in Shreveport, when they were not busy smoking dope, having sex and being routed out of various public parks by George D'Artois, the young people were walking around with Burroughs, Kerouac, Heller, Vonnegut, Plath, Beckett and Pynchon in their backpacks and listening to Hendrix, Zeppelin, The Doors, etc. Visual art was no different. Everyone with an interest in visual art was exposed to Pop Art, Abstract Expressionism, Minimalism, Conceptual Art, Body Art, Happenings, Environmental Art, and all the other art isms of the period. The older artists in Shreveport, especially the ones you mention, were fully aware of the larger cultural currents. Clyde Connell with her "church" and "ladder" and "reliquary" sculptures made of paper mache, hammered nails, stones and found objects. Talk about hidden (or not so hidden) meanings related to slavery, poverty, education, religion and judicial injustice. There were David Horner's and Jerry Slack's installations. There was Lucille Reed's minimalism. <br /><br />These people were amazing. I followed them from Dalzell to the Craft Alliance at Centenary (now the Turner Art Center), to the Craft Alliance on Stoner (later renamed the Stoner Art Center).<br /><br />And then there was At-the-Loft. <br /><br />There are a couple of people in town who should be able to provide a wealth of information on the contemporary art scene in the area from the 70s to the present. I spoke with Jim Huckabay recently and his memory of the early Craft Alliance was much better than mine. Bruce Allen was an insider on all of this stuff from the mid-80s onward. Kitty Kavanaugh, a Director of the Stoner Arts Center, if you can locate her, would be a great resource. There were a lot of potters, jewelers, fabric and mixed media artists who were in the thick of it as well. Bruce would remember. And an oral history from all of the artists that have surfaced in your blog would be essential to any real understanding of the contemporary art in this area from the late 50s to the present. <br /><br />You've mentioned everyone I remember. Just off the top of my head we have Janet Parker, Nevelyn Brown, Tama Nathan, Berk Bourne, Clyde Connell, Lucille Reed, Lynn Gautier and Gwen Norsworthy. I also seem to remember that there were some younger artists who had studios there at one time or another. I don't always trust my memory but I was looking for Ellen Soffer and Laura Noland in the list and didn't see them. <br /><br />It doesn't stop there. There has been continuity from the beginning. The At-the-Loft artists were the same people who brought Judy Chicago and Alan Sondheim to Shreveport. They invited artists like me and Bruce to put installations in the space (which was a very big deal to me). They participated with other groups such as the Artist's Transit, the Princess Park Works-In-Progress group, SRAC's public sculpture projects, the Red River Revel, the Eye-20 group and lots of others. And they set the example, especially the women. Donna Service (and her partner Donna Moore), exhibited the same type of no holds barred artistic guts as the At-the-Loft artists. Dorothy Hanna, too. Thank god for the women artists in this town is all I've got to say. Many of the younger artists in the area (Allison Dickson comes to mind) are part of this larger work-in-progress. There is a lot of continuity here. <br /><br />Then there are the artists from the other half of North Louisiana, the artists of color. They don't show up in these narratives, even though many of them achieved as much in terms of their art as any of the other artists in the area. I know. I have seen it.<br clear="all" />Robert E Trudeauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07554504744066844336noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38433266.post-11235747498453149252007-01-15T18:50:00.001-08:002007-01-15T18:50:00.899-08:00Janet Parker on her studio compadres in At-the-Loft<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/robert_trudeau/358985412/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/151/358985412_098157f6c5_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a> <br /> <span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/robert_trudeau/358985412/">At The Loft, Shreveport: Borne, Parker, Reed, Brown</a> <br /> Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/robert_trudeau/">trudeau</a>. </span></div>"I wasn’t involved in the initial planning for the art space where the public could watch artists work," says Janet Parker. "I think that I moved in the day that Tama Nathan moved out because I met her for the first time. I believe she was moving to Mississippi. Tama later returned to Shreveport and an impressive body of public art is among her many accomplishments.<br /> <br />I had studio space while Clyde Connell, Lucille Reed, Nevelyn Brown, and Berk Bourne were there.<br /> <br />Clyde never met a stranger and loved everybody and they returned the affection. Clyde was generous in sharing important guests who came to see her work. We all were thrilled when Clyde moved into the mainstream art world. I cherish my Clyde Connell original and feel honored that I knew her.<br /> <br />I remember Lucille for her perseverance and belief in a Shreveport art community. She worked very hard for a long time and should have received more recognition. <br /><br />Berk and Nevelyn were open and shared information with me. I always enjoyed seeing their new work because they had interesting ideas. They were fun to work with in planning our open studios. I remembered, it snowed in Shreveport and Nevelyn did a wonderful snow landscape. She didn’t like it and wanted to destroy it. That bothered me because the colors were so gorgeous, golds and blues. I just recently found out that she still has the painting.<br /> <br />At times, I felt like the Shreveport art world was not real because artists didn’t make a living at their trade and I often wondered if our guests knew it. We were doing something similar to vanity publishing insofar as we could do as much as we were willing to finance.<br /> <br />I miss those days."<br /> <br />Janet Parker<br />Charleston, WV<br clear="all" />Robert E Trudeauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07554504744066844336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38433266.post-62724908421043179622007-01-14T12:05:00.001-08:002007-01-14T13:21:31.516-08:00Tama Nathan on Norsworthy, Wallace, Brown, Connell, Borne, Reed, Gautier, Parker, et al<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/robert_trudeau/271809036/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/107/271809036_9cbfbb7378_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a> <br /> <span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/robert_trudeau/271809036/">Tama & Ira Nathan</a> <br /> Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/robert_trudeau/">trudeau</a>. </span></div>Says multi-media artist Tama Nathan: "I became involved with the Loft via Gwen Norsworthy, as I had just started going to the Barnwell Center studio. Gwen and I shared a studio at the Loft, tho' neither of us did our work there. <br /><br />I recall that first Open House when Gwen introduced me to the "art community". I especially remember Betty Wallace from down the hall. She was doing wonderful macrame pieces, and greeted me with open arms. Nevelyn Brown showed me how she organized her workspace. Clyde Connell gave me a warm welcome and talked about her newest pieces. <br /><br />Berk Borne and his dear wife were the Loft's official "host and hostess," as I recall, for those marvelous, exciting Sundays. Berk and Lucille also tended the verdant plant life in the front room.<br /> <br />There I later met Lucille Reed, Lynn Gautier and Janet Parker. They were all awesome talents who became close friends. I didn't participate in the Loft's Judy Chicago weekend (ed: the group paid for a visit by the reknowned artist so as to deepen their insights into women and success in art), which influenced many of the local artists, especially Clyde. I remain under the spell of my undergrad mentors.<br /> <br />One of my highlighted Loft memories is the first poetry reading by David Love Lewis; we were all so delighted to be an audience for this sensitive soul. It was followed by other readings and became the core of a poetry writers' group.<br /> <br />Another highlight was the first Women's Week collaboration. The theme was auto-biography. As guests we had Henry Price and the young black man who later created the S'port logo. We had a great discussion re the theme and Women's Week. On that Sunday we exhibited our work specific to the theme, and had conversations led by each artist about each work. It was very cathartic. <br /><br />Tho' I no longer kept a studio space there, I was on their Board of Directors. <br /><br />The next year, we did a window on Texas St. that became a cause celebre and the first front page news coverage the art community had.<br /> <br />I recall a hot, hot day's visit and seeing Deborah Howard (painter and art prof at LSUS) working hard in her studio, stripped down to her slip. I think I have some photos taken during one of the yummy Lasagna lunches for some visiting art VIP. We set up long tables in the front room for those lunches.<br /> <br />After Willie Middlebrook's residency, the Loft participated in the one Open Studio event we've had. It was a delightful day of meeting and greeting visitors. It was orchestrated by Kathryn Usher.<br /> <br />I had a show of my "books" in the central gallery room and a few of my paintings, but don't recall the date.<br /> <br />As the Pyramid Group, Nevelyn Brown, Lucille Reed and I had a studio, starting in 1995. We usually met there for discussions and to store the equipment and supplies for our collaborative public art works. <br /><br />That small front area had walls covered with art show announcements and news clippings. The layer of posted items had to be at least an inch thick by the close of At-the-Loft.<br /> <br />The latest and saddest was the day Lucille had her studio sale. She was selling her wonderful works at flea market prices. Her husband, George, was there as Lucille couldn't make it up the stairs."<br clear="all" />Robert E Trudeauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07554504744066844336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38433266.post-45875118919366849072007-01-07T02:34:00.001-08:002007-01-07T14:34:48.974-08:00<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/skipgoshannon/341850703/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/75/341850703_76157296ae_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a> <br /> <span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/skipgoshannon/341850703/">The Korner Lounge</a> <br /> Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/skipgoshannon/">skipgo shannon</a>. </span></div><br clear="all" /><br />The Korner Lounge, almost directly across Cotton St from the former site of At-the-Loft, is known as Shreveport's oldest gay bar. I should say longest-running, but I've also been told the clientele isn't exactly the youth market. <br /><br />Regardless, I've never heard a story about At-the-Loft artists and visits to the Korner Lounge. Surely . . .<br /><br />Thanks to Shannon Palmer for the neat snap.Robert E Trudeauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07554504744066844336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38433266.post-1168092655115530322007-01-06T06:10:00.000-08:002007-01-06T06:10:55.120-08:00Cotton St, Shreveport<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikerosebery/345377017/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/139/345377017_5356eecfc8_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a> <br /> <span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikerosebery/345377017/">Arts Center</a> <br /> Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/mikerosebery/">mikerosebery</a>. </span></div><br clear="all" />Robert E Trudeauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07554504744066844336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38433266.post-1167835361429976972007-01-03T06:41:00.000-08:002007-01-03T06:42:41.470-08:001984: One year in At-the-Loft <div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/robert_trudeau/5719858/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/4/5719858_606da38576_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a> <br /> <span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/robert_trudeau/5719858/">Arodasi Dance director: Kristi Dorothinia Hanna</a> <br /> Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/robert_trudeau/">trudeau</a>. </span></div><br />My name is Dorothy Kristin Hanna. I rented a studio for a year in 1984.<br /><br />It was a good experience being there, in a corner studio. I remember that I never felt completely relaxed there, because I kept getting notes on my door about the smell of turpentine. I was in my early 20's and my paints were messy and I did not know how to paint without getting paint all over me. <br /><br />The walls had no paint on them. <br /><br />Sweet Nevelyn Brown asked me if i would cover my paints with saran wrap before I left each time and to please take my wet paintings home to dry. My husband told me he would leave me if I ever brought a wet painting home. So the solution was to seek another studio. <br /><br />The Loft was the first group, that welcomed me completely into the art world. From there I went to the Artist Transit. <br /><br />I loved the loft and I am happy that I had the experience of the wonderful kind ladies. I especially loved the stairs that led up to the studios; it was like being an artist in an old building in New York City.<br clear="all" />Robert E Trudeauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07554504744066844336noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38433266.post-1167771931575169572007-01-02T13:04:00.000-08:002007-01-06T06:24:34.960-08:00Robin Clawson, former Craft Alliance and Stoner Arts Center volunteer, on Lucille Reed and Clyde Connell<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/robert_trudeau/337786770/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/152/337786770_4f1f4d1bdc_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a> <br /> <span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/robert_trudeau/337786770/">Clyde Connell, sculptor-painter / <a href="http://messingerphoto.com/">Phil Messinger photo</a></a> <br /> Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/robert_trudeau/">trudeau</a>. </span></div><br />"I took classes at and taught at the Craft Alliance through which I met both Lucille and Clyde when I first came to Shreveport," says Robin Clawson. "Both were always generous beyond belief in the cause of contemporary arts and crafts. I was on the Board of the Craft Alliance and then Stoner Arts Center for what seems like forever. For many years, my job was to book and hang shows and to organize publicity and openings for them. Both ladies donated their art (and advice and time) for every fundraising effort we made, and I could never thank them enough for always being can-do types. Without fail, they were devoted and dedicated worker-bees, not the least bit the prima donnas they could have been and deserved to be.<br /> <br />Lucille was so helpful with organizing the new space on Stoner to make it more studio friendly. She seemed quiet and peaceful and easy-going to me; she also seemed like a person who could move mountains with incredibly passionate ferocity. <br /><br />I once went out to Clyde's place at Bistineau (have forgotten the reason...probably on business during my short directorship of SRAC...it was perhaps late '70's) and watched her point, clamor, instruct and hover about a large swamp creature while an assistant built it from native clay and fibrous plant materials and such. I remember wondering if her free-wheeling white hair was in the mix :)<br /><br />She then made tea for me. We rocked on her porch, and I just remember looking at her and hoping I'd be that lively and hip when I got to be that aged. I knew I'd never live to be that pretty! Some years later, I returned to visit friends in Washington, D.C. where I'd lived for several years. It was joyous to see Clyde's work at the Hirschorn. I remember telling passers-by, 'This is my friend's work,' and being SO proud to claim her."<br clear="all" />Robert E Trudeauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07554504744066844336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38433266.post-1167522175322133632006-12-30T15:42:00.000-08:002007-01-01T06:36:13.160-08:00Nevelyn Brown in the Garden Images and Body Print era, about 1978 <div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/robert_trudeau/338977231/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/133/338977231_d65d62a9c0_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a> <br /> <span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/robert_trudeau/338977231/">nfbloft0</a> <br /> Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/robert_trudeau/">trudeau</a>. </span></div><br />Brown: "I am sitting in front of one of my series of "Garden Images", circa 1978-9. The photograph is by Janet Parker."<br clear="all" />Robert E Trudeauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07554504744066844336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38433266.post-1167521491345844562006-12-30T15:30:00.000-08:002006-12-30T15:31:32.430-08:00Arlington Hotel remains, Shreveport Laboratories, home of At-the-Loft, gone / photo Mike Rosebery<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/robert_trudeau/338862024/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/143/338862024_e9d63bac70_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a> <br /> <span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/robert_trudeau/338862024/">demolition</a> <br /> Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/robert_trudeau/">trudeau</a>. </span></div>Nevelyn Brown was the last person in charge of AtL affairs, according to painter Berk Borne. <br /><br />Brown said, "Clyde, Lucille and I swept and mopped all the floors every week and kept it as spotless as we could. At times, we as a group would get together and paint the halls and our exhibition rooms. <br /><br />Each studio was rented seperately from Henry Rosenblath, Realtor. He provided the paint for our use. Several of us also kept our studios painted.<br /><br />We ran the place as a co-op, with everyone paying in a share for the invitations, postage and other expensives. We screened everyone who wanted to rent there. <br /><br />The policy was no drugs or parties. What you opened, you shut up or picked up. No one left food or containers each day, therefore we had no roaches or rats.Things ran smoothly and successfully!"<br clear="all" />Robert E Trudeauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07554504744066844336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38433266.post-1167500706137748912006-12-30T09:44:00.000-08:002006-12-30T09:45:06.140-08:00From body prints to hieroglyphics, At-the-Loft was the center of Shreveport's modern art scene; 708 Cotton St site demolished<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/robert_trudeau/338566157/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/165/338566157_ae805bfe02_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a> <br /> <span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/robert_trudeau/338566157/">Nevelyn Brown: greenmount</a> <br /> Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/robert_trudeau/">trudeau</a>. </span></div><br />"Ooh, I remember an At-the-Loft art opening in the late 1970's that featured my body prints," said Shreveport painter Nevelyn Brown. "I painted myself orange and printed my body on large sheets of brown paper." <br /><br />"I didn't get to paint myself and make figure prints in the 60's when everyone was doing it," she said. Brown was an art student in San Antonio. <br /><br />In 1974 she and her husband, an Air Force colonel, were in Shreveport. Brown rented the last open space in At-the-Loft. She remembered with a giggle, "My husband said I could do anything I wanted as long as I didn't embarass him or get in the newspaper. Well, the body print opening became a big event. It made the newspaper. It was celebrated as one of the events of the year." <br /><br />"We featured performance art at the opening. Everyone got to paint their foot or hand and print part of themselves on a seven-foot piece of watercolor paper. One woman asked me if she could make a special impression when everyone else was gone. She painted her body and made a print in the middle of the sheet. And she must remain nameless." Asked if the prints were stylized or sensual, Brown replied, "Oh, they were all erotic." <br /><br />Painters Jerry Wray, Flo Duval, Clyde Connell, Jean Sartor and Lucille Reed were among the artists who had studios in At-the-Loft in the 60's and 70's. They were determined female artists at a time when art was dominatd by men. And they were serious students of abstract art. "Some of this region's first abstract art was created there," said Brown. "And the realistic painters mocked them, I was told by Lucille Reed." <br /><br />Clyde Connell became recognized internationally for work done at 708 Cotton St. "She worked on her hieroglyphic series there," remembers Brown. "Mostly she did works on paper there. Also, she made her papier mache skin there." <br /><br />Painter Berk Borne had a studio and recalls that "There was no air conditioning. And we only had space heaters for the cold. In winter I'd bundle up like I was going skiing just to go paint." <br /><br />Sculptor-painter Luclle Reed painted her five-color grid canvasses there. She made totems and "I remember her weaving," says Borne. She wove in wool, paper and wood, among her media.<br /><br />"Tama Nathan had a printing press there," says Borne. "She made books and all manner of art." <br /><br />Lewis Conger, who inherited the Shreveport Laboratories building, was given credit by Brown as, "Quite a patron of the arts for preserving it." Conger said, "Rent was practically nothing. It was so low that it made, in the end, an economical stoarge facility. But it was vacated because access was by a long and difficult flight of stairs and, basically, there was no parking." Conger held out on the demolition that was carried out this week, he said, "Hoping that they might find a benefactor. No one came along."<br /><br />At-the-Loft, called "Shreveport's oldest continually operating studio work space and alternative gallery," is a central site for art history in Shreveport. Indeed, as Diane DuFilho is working on a book featuring the pioneering female abstract painters above, it is a story that resonates widely. <br /><br />My plan is to collect stories and images for a blog site devoted to At-the-Loft. Already, photographers Phil Messinger and Neil Johnson have sent photos. <br /><br />Painter Lewis Kalmbach sent this note from San Francisco: "The Loft has only a few memories for me, but they are fond. Laura Noland Harter had a studio up there when I was president of Artist Transit at the old Central Station. When I visited Laura there, I was so envious because it was so clean and organized! The artists there were so serious about their work and inspired me to keep painting. I was most impressed by the older artists and thought to myself. 'Artists never really retire. I hope to be an old man artist one day.'" <br /><br />Please send your images and notes to trudeau@earthlink.<br clear="all" />Robert E Trudeauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07554504744066844336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38433266.post-1167499789019319472006-12-30T09:29:00.000-08:002006-12-30T09:29:49.023-08:00Nevelyn Brown: Abstract Landscape, a sign of the times from At-the-Loft<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/robert_trudeau/338566150/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/155/338566150_29490e4364_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a> <br /> <span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/robert_trudeau/338566150/">Nevelyn Brown: abstract_land</a> <br /> Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/robert_trudeau/">trudeau</a>. </span></div>Nevelyn Brown was an artist of At-the-Loft from 1974 to 2006. "Jerry Wray, Jean Sartor, Lucille Reed, Clyde Connell and others were already there. I got the last studio. Lucille had been there a long time by herself." <br /><br />In her note on illustrations sent to me: "Of the body print photos, they are the same, except one is hanging in my studio AT-THE-LOFT and the other has been adjusted. The other pieces, including Abstract Landscape, were painted there. The mountains (not shown yet) won a cash award and the watercolor landscape also won a best of show.<br /><br />I wrote Janet Parker (in North Carolina) about the picture of the invitation room and she said it was in slide form. She will copy it for me and send it.<br /><br />Nevelyn<br clear="all" />Robert E Trudeauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07554504744066844336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38433266.post-1167499052321112832006-12-30T09:16:00.000-08:002006-12-30T09:17:32.326-08:00The Nevelyn Brown Body Print show, an At-the-Loft avant garde moment<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/robert_trudeau/338573844/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/164/338573844_e4cd664af8_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a> <br /> <span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/robert_trudeau/338573844/">Nevelyn Brown: body print 1a, adjusted</a> <br /> Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/robert_trudeau/">trudeau</a>. </span></div>Nevelyn Brown created an event of the year, she said, in the late 1970's when she opened an AtL show of body prints. She painted her nude form in orange paint and applied it to large sheets of brown paper. <br /><br />"Lynn Gauthier, an At-the-Loft artist, was painting and saw me going around in a blue & white striped robe. My face was painted orange. And my legs were orange. Later we laughed about that session." <br /><br />************<br /><br />Memories or a relevant clipping on this notable show?<br />Please don't hesitate to send them to Nevelyn at nfbvisualarts@msn.com or to trudeau@earthlink.net.<br clear="all" />Robert E Trudeauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07554504744066844336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38433266.post-1167495997825483952006-12-30T08:25:00.000-08:002006-12-30T09:31:39.073-08:00Neil Johnson photographed artists working At-the-Loft<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/robert_trudeau/337786774/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/162/337786774_4e3c2c134a_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a> <br /> <span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/robert_trudeau/337786774/">Lucille Reed sculpture / Neil Johnson photo, 1994</a> <br /></span></div><br /><br />My favorite memories (of many) are spending time with Lucille Reed in her studio and ogling the huge assortment of found objects that permeate her work. <br /><br />Her work touches my soul and to be with her and her wonderful spirit in that space where she created her work was ALWAYS somehow comforting. At one point I turned the room over the front door into a studio and I photographed her with her tall, tall pieces that were both elegant and fun at the same time. <br /><br />Lucille now lives in Houston and I am calling around to check on her condition. Stay tuned. Also, I am scanning one of my portraits of her from that shoot in the Loft. <br /><br />Another wonderful memory was of the Loft "break room", whose walls were covered with art exhibit invitations from all over. SO. MUCH. GREAT. ART.<br /><br />Neil<br clear="all" />Robert E Trudeauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07554504744066844336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38433266.post-1167477956927245092006-12-30T03:25:00.000-08:002006-12-30T03:25:56.930-08:00Alan Dyson: inspiration from the At-the-Loft artists <div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/robert_trudeau/338335023/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/160/338335023_a83ec62502_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a> <br /> <span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/robert_trudeau/338335023/">Alan Dyson: consuming fire1</a> <br /> Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/robert_trudeau/">trudeau</a>. </span></div>I grew up in Ruston, and as a fine arts major at La. Tech, newly introduced to the "Great Gator Group" (Clyde Connell, David Horner, Jerry Slack) and the work of Lucille Reed, Lynn Gautier of "At-the-Loft" I thought that Shreveport was some kind of artistic Mecca.<br /><br />This was the era when the Creative Craft Alliance was located on Dalzell St. in Highland. Lucille Reed was doing her Mind Trap pieces with braided fabric and pallette lumber, Lynn Gautier was doing huge museum pieces of painted screen wire, and Clyde Connell was creating her revolutionary "Earth Ruptures" out on Bistineau. I was blown away that this kind of talent - and such artistic wisdom resided right here in Louisiana.<br /><br />At this time, my own work expanded from the confines of my studio into the environment in the form of site sculptures that I preserved with photography - I now consider this the best work of my life - but at the time I was less sure, and wanted the thoughts of Clyde, Lucille and Lynn. <br /><br />I drove to Shreveport on the off-chance that I could see them At the Loft, and as luck would have it - they were all three leaving as I pulled up. They patiently waited as I manipulated the large framed pieces out of the car. It was Clyde that exclaimed a life-changing "ALL RIGHT!!" when she saw the image of a door, standing out on the surface of Lake Bistineau, engulfed in flame. Nothing could have meant more to me at that moment back in 1978. <br /><br />At the Loft was a meeting ground for some of the brightest artistic minds I have ever encountered. Nevelyn Brown, Danny Williams, Tama Nathan, those mentioned above and many others all working in a professional space, producing museum quality work.<br /><br />I hope we can identify and cultivate such spaces where the creative spirit can thrive, and our architectural, and cultural heritage can be preserved and celebrated.<br /><br />AD<br clear="all" />Robert E Trudeauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07554504744066844336noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38433266.post-1167477656109129732006-12-30T03:20:00.000-08:002006-12-30T09:48:29.836-08:00Historic preservation issues and 708 Cotton St: designer-artist Alan Dyson's perspective <div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/robert_trudeau/9554178/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/7/9554178_e23794fc1e_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a> <br /> <span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/robert_trudeau/9554178/">Alan Dyson, Prima Tazza designer; door by Bruce Allen</a> <br /> Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/robert_trudeau/">trudeau</a>. </span></div>What a loss to Shreveport.<br /><br />Please forgive me as I rant over the effect that modern building codes have on our downtown infrastructure. <br /><br />Downtown Shreveport will never be revitalized. The costs required to comply with the Uniform Building Code, The Life Safety Code, & The National Electrical Code simply make renovation projects financially impossible. Therefore, buildings that have been useful, structurally sound, and beautiful for over 100 years will fall into decay, and eventually meet the same fate as At the Loft. It was cheaper to tear it down and park maybe 10 cars. <br /><br />Codes are necessary, but so is our architectural and cultural heritage. Hopefully, our new city administration will pursue a reasonable alternative.<br /><br />AD<br clear="all" />Robert E Trudeauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07554504744066844336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38433266.post-1167476549976446822006-12-30T03:01:00.000-08:002006-12-30T03:02:29.976-08:00At-the-Loft: a site for stories & images from Shreveport's art history<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/robert_trudeau/335807147/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/124/335807147_f7ea0a44d8_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a> <br /> <span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/robert_trudeau/335807147/">Shreveport Laboratories Bldg, former site of At the Loft</a> <br /> Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/robert_trudeau/">trudeau</a>. </span></div>We are taking the loss of the building at 708 Cotton, home to At-the-Loft, as the starting point of a history of Shreveport's art scene. <br /><br />Send an email to <a href="mailto:trudeau@earthlink.net?subject=blogspot">trudeau@earthlink.net</a>with your notes, stories, clippings, excerpts, invitations, photos, art and other images for inclusion in this digital history book. Please try to add a date to the story or image you submit.<br clear="all" />Robert E Trudeauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07554504744066844336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38433266.post-1167476018331476212006-12-30T02:52:00.000-08:002006-12-30T02:53:38.336-08:00Clyde Connell, sculptor-painter, was one of the artists who worked at 708 Cotton St, called At-the-Loft <div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/robert_trudeau/337786770/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/152/337786770_4f1f4d1bdc_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a> <br /> <span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/robert_trudeau/337786770/">Clyde Connell, sculptor-painter / Phil Messinger photo</a> <br /> Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/robert_trudeau/">trudeau</a>. </span></div>Shreveport Laboratories, a 2-story brick business building at 708 Cotton St, Shreveport, was demolished this week. With its demise an era of Shreveport art history was closed. <br /><br />Upstairs at the Shreveport Laboratories was At-the-Loft, once called "Shreveport's oldest continually operating studio work space and alternative gallery." Artists such as Clyde Connell, Jerry Wray, Flo Duval, Jean Sartor and Nevelyn Brown once worked from the small studios in the building. <br /><br />The story on its end by john Andrew prime of the Times: <br /><br />Downtown medical building to come down / Renovations for Shreveport Laboratories building were too expensive<br />December 24, 2006<br /><br />By John Andrew Prime<br />jprime@gannett.com<br /><br />Another of Shreveport's historic downtown buildings is falling prey to the wrecker's ball, the victim of old age and rising expenses.<br /><br />The building is the old Shreveport Laboratories edifice, which is in the 700 block of Cotton Street, next to the now-unused Arlington Hotel.<br /><br />"It's been in my family several generations, so tearing it down wasn't an easy decision," said Bossier City property developer Lewis Conger, whose grandfather Dr. Lewis Pirkle built the structure just after the Great Depression with a partner, fellow physician Dr. T.E. Williams. "But we could not rent it out, sell it or get insurance, not until it's up to code."<br /><br />Getting the old building to satisfy modern electrical and other codes for commercial use just wouldn't be economically feasible, Conger said.<br /><br />Conger said the building is the second of two adjacent structures his grandfather, who died in 1948 at age 75, built, a story that is borne out by old city directories.<br /><br />They show Pirkle in the first building, which no longer stands, in the late 1920s, and in the newer building with tenants that included a pharmacy and a dentist in the early 1930s.<br /><br />"Shreveport Labs actually started as a pharmacy," Conger said.<br /><br />There's no planned use for the property, other than to be an empty city lot for now.<br /><br />"It will be a less-attractive nuisance," Conger said<br clear="all" />Robert E Trudeauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07554504744066844336noreply@blogger.com0