@charliefeet
a digital photo journal of moments in time
Catharsis Within The Collision of Cajun Culture & Queer Eutopia
On Friday, October 4, 2024, the Acadiana Queer Collective & the LSU Department of French Studies, collaborated on a Queer Cajun Music Showcase, in honor of LGBTQ+ History Month, at Hideway Hall in Lafayette, Louisiana.
Photography & Documentation by Charlie Champagne, 2024
On Friday, October 4, 2024, the Acadiana Queer Collective & the LSU Department of French Studies, collaborated on a Queer Cajun Music Showcase, in honor of LGBTQ+ History Month, at Hideway Hall in Lafayette, Louisiana.
This event was more than just a zydeco music showcase. It was a night of catharsis for all of the queer people in the room, especially those who grew up in Acadiana.
As for myself, growing up in New Iberia as a queer kid, was both confusing and intimidating at times. Growing up, we were taught to love, respect, and help one another. But why was that different for those who were LGBTQ? Why did I NEVER see people like me growing up? Where were they hiding, and why?
Meagan Benoit / Percussion / Mandolin / Singer
In all of my memories of attending festivals, concerts, and fais do-do’s, I almost never saw queer couples on the dance floor. If you did, they were most likely older and people would just say they were “friends” or the good old-fashioned “roommates” cover-up. It was rare to see LGBTQ+ couples celebrating their love publicly. So, to have a night dedicated to not only providing a safe space for queer people to gather, but to celebrate the Queer and Cajun musicians as well, was incredibly special. In my 32 years of being both Queer and Cajun, this was the first night where both identities were able to co-exist and be celebrated.
Gina Forsyth / Fiddle / Singer / Songwriter
Jan Boney / Guitar / Vocalist
People underestimate the importance of visibility.
Those who exist in the heteronormative world, are blind to their privilege of being able to exist in a world where they see versions of themselves every day. Their identity isn’t questioned on a daily basis, and their existence doesn’t challenge local dogma or religious principles.
People don’t realize the commonality that both Queer culture and Cajun culture share. Both identities carry rich histories of resilience, cultural expression, and resistance to marginalization. Though each group may have its nuances, their stories reflect the universal human drive for dignity, identity, and belonging.
Sam Wrobel / Bass / Vocalist
Rosemary Benoit / Accordion / Fiddle
Cajun culture focuses on preserving history and tradition, while queer culture often pushes against traditional boundaries to create new possibilities. However, both are marked by historical oppression, the experience of being an outsider, and the power found in communal bonds. These identities, in their own ways, both honor their histories while continuing to resist cultural erasure and find joy and strength in their unique paths.
Both Cajun and Queer identities revolve around community, resilience, and the strength of being different.
please enjoy the full photo gallery below
The Mission of the Acadiana Queer Collective is “to provide opportunities for queer people of Acadiana to show up for one another and promote the positive visibility of queer people throughout the community.”
Counteracting Censorship through Conceptual Creativity
The Free Pages Project, a nonprofit initiative fighting national book-bans in the US via conceptual and functional sculptural pop-up libraries.
Monthly Q&A / September / 2024
The Free Pages Project, by Alex Smith, documented by Charlie Champagne
This month, I re-connected with my friend Alex Jacobs to see how grad school had been treating them, and to learn more about their exciting thesis, The Free Pages Project - a nonprofit initiative fighting nationwide book-bans through conceptual & functional art.
Alex is originally from St. Louis, Missouri, and is currently enrolled in the LSU Art & Design Graduate Program for Sculpture. Their work currently focuses on the conceptual nature of identity, gender expression, and representation.
Alex Jacobs / photographed by Charlie Champagne / Louisiana State University / 2024
So tell me more about what inspired this project?
Alex: “In my work, I focus on the concepts of gender-identity, gender-expression, and representation. While I was trying to decide where to focus for my thesis project, I couldn’t help but notice the recent legislation of book-bans that have been popping up all over the United States — and in the realm of representation, these bans really hit home for me.
The idea really stemmed from listening to a podcast that mentioned Magnus Hirschfeld. He was a queer and jewish man, who was born in the 1800s. He was a sexologist and researcher, pre-Kinsey. When you see pictures of Nazis burning books, there were from his entire library. All of his documented queer oral histories and stories of queer culture had been lost. I see today’s current book bans as an extension of that same mechanism that consistently attempts to erase our stories & narratives — in an attempt to white-wash American history.
via Shutterstock / Thousands of books smolder in a Nazi bonfire, 1933. The burnings were conducted by the German Student Association of Nazi Germany.
And it’s not just queer people, it’s people-of-color, women, etc. These people imposing these book bans just want some sanitized version of American history that they don’t have to feel bad about, when in reality, it’s much more colorful.”
How have these feelings helped fuel and manifest the concept for The Free Pages Project?
Alex: “In response to all of that stimuli, I started creating structures that could hold these banned books, similar to Little Book Libraries. I am currently wanting to use private spaces to house these unique and creative pop-up libraries to allow these books to be accessible to the public. If these stories are taken off shelves, then that representation disappears, especially in places where they are needed the most.”
Alex: “These legislative bodies and school boards, all seem to copy one-another. This is how they seem to spread before they become a national or federal rule, they pop-up in local governments. As small as a little town, county, or parish, and eventually spread across the entire state.
Charlie: Have you been keeping up with book-bans here in Louisiana?
Alex: Thankfully, Louisiana right now only has under 10 official challenged and banned books, but if I had to guess with the current state legislation, that may begin to increase within the next few years.”
Over 10,000 books were banned in public schools during the 2023-2024 school year, according to PEN America’s preliminary findings.
“This dramatic increase is nearly triple the number from the previous school year, when PEN America recorded 3,362 bans nationwide. The final count for the 2023-2024 school year will be released later this fall along with a public Index of School Book Bans. PEN America will also release a detailed content analysis of titles banned during the 2023-2024 school year.” ”
When it comes to representation, it’s pretty understood that if you don’t see yourself in the media you consume, that’s when you start to think things like, “So, am I abnormal? This isn’t something other people experience?”
The Free Pages Project is dedicated to freedom of expression and the richness of diverse literature through our mission to counteract censorship. By constructing unique sculptural community libraries, we provide access to books banned in schools and community libraries across the United States.
Our commitment lies in fostering community engagement, activism, and literacy. We believe in the transformative power of diverse voices and stories, and through our innovative approach combining art and activism, we strive to educate, enlighten, and empower individuals and communities nationwide.
Alex Jacobs / photographed by Charlie Champagne / Louisiana State University / 2024
Contact The Free Pages Project & Learn More about the project by visiting www.thefreepagesproject.com
Intersecting Lines, Handpoke Tattooing & Queer Authenticity
Intersecting Lines, Handpoke Tattooing & Queer Authenticity. An interview with @tattoo.dude, a Southern Queer DIY Handpoke tattoo artist here in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Last month, I had the privledge of sitting down with @tattoo.dude to chat about their journey into handpoke tattooing. We talked about self-tattoing as a teenager, to tattooing friends out of their dorm room in college, to now operating out of their home studio here in Mid City.
We also talked about the resurgence of DIY tattooers, creating a safe-space for Southern LGBTQIA+ people, as well as their creative process and experience thus far as a queer DIY handpoke tattoo artist here in Louisiana.
First things first, why do you do what you do?
Colin: “I just love connecting with other people. Especially with other queer people, on what they find important about their life, and putting that on their bodies.“
How was it, for you, growing up queer in Louisiana?
Colin: "I grew up in the Lafayette public school system. As you can imagine, I went through the usual chaos of trying to hide who I was, while at the same time trying to figure it out for myself as well. I came out in middle school, and it's quite a funny story.
I wrote down on the tiniest piece of paper, “I’m gay”, and I had every intention to give it to my brother first. But, I chickened out and put it in my drawer. Eventually, around Christmas time, my mom found it picking up in my room, and she placed it on the Christmas tree. She was like, “What does that say? Who wrote that?” and they were all really cool about it. I was not ready to come out at that time, but I am really grateful it happened when it did.”
How long have you been tattooing?
Colin: Well, I’ve always loved to draw and was always interested in the artform of tattooing. When I was about 17, that interest and desire kind of escalated, and I started tattooing myself to learn more about the technical aspects of tattooing. Then, some of my friends were like, “hey, I want a tattoo too!”, and so, I slowly started tattooing more people; starting out with small tattoos, of course!
Colin: Once I got to college, I started doing tattoos out of my dorm room, then eventually out of my apartment, and now I finally have this gorgeous lil’ home studio that I’m OBSESSED with.”
What I loved about Colin’s space, was that they had several pieces of art ALL from local artists both here in Baton Rouge and the surrounding other parishes. Some are even original pieces and concepts of their tattoo work. The rest of their studio is garnished in the most quirky and eclectic way possible, yet there seems to be a nice balance & cohesion to the space.
What’s your tattoo process like? Do you freehand everything?
Colin: “Well, everything I tattoo is handdrawn by me, but I mainly do use stencils when applying the tattoos to my clients. However, there are situations where I do freehand the design, especially on certain body parts, like ears and fingers.“
Do you feel like there is a lane for you in tattooing?
“Definitely, I really love the fact that I do machineless handpoke tattoos, which of course, doesn’t require electricity - and feels kind of “back to the roots type sh*t”
Colin: You know, not too many people here in the South seem to do handpoke tattoos, so I recognize that fact, and am now able to provide that option for people while also creating a safe space to do so. Alot of people tell me that their experiences with handpoke tattoos are always alot more chill and stress-free in comparison to going to a commericalized machine-gun shop, where you traditionally have to deal with very “macho-manly-men”, and that can get kind of scary and intimidating at times. Especially for queer people.
“Here, I’m a complete safe-space for queer people. Basically, all of my clients are gay as f*ck. “
Colin: For Pride month, I usually do different abstract queer themes, sometimes with different pride flag colors, or whatever other gorgeous pieces I can collaborate with my clients on.
Colin: Overall, it’s been great being able to meet so many cool people who appreciate my skillset and style. It’s also rewarding to be able to connect to so many queer people in the process. I feel that me, being open about who I am, helps attract more of those types of people. There has been such a resurgance of DIY handpoke tattoo artists, especially in the queer community.
This particular trail of thought, really intrigued me during our conversation. I began asking myself,
“What is so inherently queer about DIY handpoke tattooing?”
Why could their be such a resurgance of DIY handpoke among the queer community specifically? What common threads do they share?
DIY handpoke tattooing and the queer identity share a profound link as forms of self-expression that defy conventional norms. Both are often perceived as alternative to mainstream practices, offering individuals a canvas for authentic representation and personal narrative. For many in the queer community, handpoke tattoos provide a means to reclaim their bodies on their own terms, celebrating identities that may otherwise be marginalized. This intimate, hands-on approach to tattooing fosters a sense of empowerment and self-determination, echoing the broader ethos of queer culture's resilience and creativity in defining one's own narrative.
Follow & Support Colin:
Instagram: @tattoo.dude
LSU Theatre presents: The Book of Will
Recently, I was hired to photograph the dress rehearsals for LSU Theatre’s production of The Book of Will, by Lauren Gunderson, where Shakespeare’s friends work together to publish a complete collection of his life’s work to make sure his memory stays alive following his death. The show runs February 15 - March 5 in the Claude L. Shaver Theatre.
Director | George Judy
Set Design | James L. Murphy
Costume Design | Bethany Sassen
Lighting Design | Smaida Massatt
Sound Design | Tyler Kieffer
Props Design | John Michael Eddy
Associate Director | Makaylee Secrest
Stage Manager | Isabelle Louis
Originally commissioned and produced at the Denver Center Theatre Company
A division of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts
(Kent Thompson, Artistic Director)
Subsequent Rolling World Premiere produced by
Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, Garrison, New York
(Davis McCallum, Artistic Director; Kate Liberman, Managing Director)
The Book of Will is presented by special arrangement with Broadway Licensing, LLC, servicing the Dramatists Play Service imprint. (www.dramatists.com)
RENT at Theatre Baton Rouge
Theatre Baton Rouge presents, RENT, performances Nov. 10 - 19, 2023
“Five hundred twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes
How do you measure, measure a year?”
Below you will find a collection of promotional photography captured of Theatre Baton Rouge’s primary leads for the upcoming production of RENT.
Art Direction, Bradley Sanchez
Photography, Charlie Champagne
Costume Curation, Abrielle DeCuir
Mark Cohen, played by Brady Lewis
“Why am I the witness?
and when I capture it on film,
will it mean that it’s the end,
and I’m alone..?” - Mark Cohen
Roger Davis, played by Brandon Smith
“Glory,
beyond the cheap colored lights.
One song,
before the sun sets.” - Roger Davis
Mimi Marquez, played by Diane Elizabeth
“There’s only us,
There’s only this,
Forget regret,
Or life is yours to miss.
No other road, no other way,
No day but TODAY.” - Mimi Marquez
Maureen Johnson, played by Victoria Clement
Joanne Jefferson, played by Juniper Cassaway
“Take me for what I am
Who I was meant to be
And if you give a damn
Take me, baby
Or leave me”
Tom Collins, played by Tadrian Taylor
“I think they meant it,
when they said you cant buy love.
Now I know you can rent it,
a new lease you are my love,
on life… be my life.” - Tom Collins
Angel Dumott Schunard, played by Dion Sideboard
“I've longed to discover
something as true as this is,
so with a thousand sweet kisses
I'll cover you.” - Angel Dumott Schunard
Benjamin “Benny” Coffin III, played by Nick White
“Rent!” - Benjamin “Benny” Coffin III
LSUMOA presents A Panel Discussion on the Queer Experience
LSUMOA presents a panel discussion on queer identity and social constructs on Friday, September 1, 2023 during the opening reception of their current LGBQIA+ exhibitions. Photography and Documentation by LSUMOA photographer, Charles Champagne.
On Friday, September 1, 2023, the LSU Museum of Art held a panel discussion during their FREE opening reception of their two newest ehibitions, “Reveal: Photographs by Jerry Siegel” and “The Shaping of Us: Queerness in Ceramics.” The panel discussion included dialogue about gender identity and social constructs by speakers: Heather Mae Erickson, Greg Williams, Jr., Danielle Simone Boutté, and facilitated by Shannon Walsh.
As a queer artist, especially someone who has been photographing and documenting exhibitions at LSUMOA for the past 5 years, it was reassuring to be a part of these two exhibitions. I litearlly cannot think of a time in my history with the museuem where the queer experience was given this much space. It was special to be able to come together and hold space to discuss our experiences as a marginalized community and to also celebrate the victories and things that keep us moving forward.
Thank you to the team at LSUMOA and thank you to the incredible panel for your experience and insight.
Please enjoy some photo highlights from Friday’s opening reception, and you can find the full gallery of photos below.
Grease Promo Shoot at Theatre Baton Rouge
Theatre Baton Rouge 2023 Production of Grease, promotional photography by Charles Champagne.
Theatre Baton Rouge hired me to capture some promotional images of their current cast for the 2023 production of Grease. Tickets are still on sale, so make sure to go out and support our local community of talented performers!
Please enjoy some of my favorite shots, and you can find the full gallery of images below.
Please enjoy the full gallery below
The Inaugural Baton Rouge Pride Talent Show
a reflection of the First Inaugural Baton Rouge Pride Talent Show
On Saturday, June 03, Leur and Baton Rouge Pride hosted the Inaugural Baton Rouge Pride Talent Show at Theatre Baton Rouge as a way to celebrate the talents of the LGBTQIA+ community here in the capital city.
After a series of rehearsals, the small cast of LGBTQIA+ youth and young adults were selected:
(from left to right) Noelle Allison, Cade Allison, Victoria Simmons, Drew Vessel (host), Piper Ward, Syndle LeJeune, Brian Howell.
My intention with this event was to provide an opportunity for our local community of LGBTQIA+ storytellers, singer-songwriters, entertainers, and all performative artists of the like. I’d imagine performers of all ages coming together and sharing their stories through a series of various mediums of storytelling. After hosting our auditions on April 29, at Theatre Baton Rouge, most of our auditions consisted of LGBTQIA+ youth and young adults aged 13 -18.
WINNER - Brian Howell, 16
(He/His/They/Them)original poetry reading of "Picture a Body"
Brian was unexpected for me. I had my fingers crossed for a poet to show up, and Brian was our one and only poet for auditions. As someone who normally deals with poetry submissions via email, it was refreshing to hear Brian read about his trans experience. From his tempo to his descriptive imagery, the poem was a personal plea for understanding, respect, and survival. Here are some of the lyrics from Brian’s reading of his original piece, “Picture a Body”:
“In the beginning, I wanted your understanding. Now I just want your silence. When you ask me the first time, the second, third, forth, fifth, hell even the sixth time, I wanted you to understand - but there is only so much of myself that I can give to you before I run out. And I have given up on understanding.”
I give you the “pretty” definition. I give you the “sterile” traumas, the pushes and shoves. I give you my aorta in a blood-red corsage box. But, for once, i need you to see.”
“Picture a body, it is yours, but it is not. The hand that grabs the lump in his throat is made of chicken wire, and it reminds you of the day you flossed plaster off of a wired sculpture unable to face yourself in the mirror because you couldnt visualize living passed fifteen.”
The remainder of Brians poem goes on to talk about how no matter how many metaphors he can use to describe his experience for other people to understand, they truly will never know the dysphoria of being trans. He then goes on to dedicate his poem to his trans community acknowleding the troubles and tribulations they go through on a daily basis:
“I am reaching out to every trans person in the audience. Every trans person hearing this right now, every one of us who has had to explain the inexplicable to people, who depsite their intentions will never understand. I am reaching out to every trans person who has been told you are too angry, too hurt, too scared, too sad, too stuck on this - too much of anything - by people who have never had to rise and wrangle the half-ghost of a soul into the slip of an unyielding and unwanted body.”
Brian will be performing a reading of “Picture A Body” on Friday, June 16, 2023, during the Why Pride reception at the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge, from 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Victoria Simmons
(She/Her/They/Them)stand-up comedy performance
Our comedic performance of the night was performed by Victoria Simmons, a multi-talented artist here in Baton Rouge. Victoria has performed in several productions with Theatre Baton Rouge, such as A Christmas Carol, and she is also a craft artist in her spare time. She will be joining the list of local queer artists participating in The Queerative Market, A Southern Queer Arts Market, on Saturday, June 24, 2023 as part of the Baton Rouge Pride Festival. Make sure to come and check out Victoria’s LGBTQ+ wearable resin pieces including earrings, charms, and pins.
Syndle LeJeune, 13
(She/Her/They/Them)performance of an original song
Syndle was the youngest contestant in this year’s cast. She had written an original song about a girl falling in love with another girl, who ultimately ended up not choosing her in the end. For her young age, she showed a refreshing sense of maturity, as well as a passion for performing. Syndle also shared her experience of growing up and being adopted by her father who is a trans man, and how that experience has shaped her own journey of self-expression and acceptance.
Her father, Kennedy LeJeune, learned about the talent show after connecting with Baton Rouge Pride and tabling during our recent Spring fundraising event, Call Me Crawdaddy: A Community Crawfish Boil & Social. This is an excellent example of how these small family-centered events can allow more opportunities for our local LGBTQIA+ families in Baton Rouge to be involved.
Piper Ward, 16
(She/Hers)performance of "Waving Through A Window" from Dear Evan Hansen
Since her audition, Piper has shown the most growth in her confidence and in her overall delivery. From laughing at herself during rehearsals, to improving her overall showmanship for the final performance. She was a delight to listen to during her cover of Waving Through A Window. During her interview portion, Piper talked about how she could relate to feeling isolated as an outsider who is still figuring out their identity, and why she chose that particular song for the pride focused talent show.
Noelle Allison (She/Her) & Cade Allison, 18 (They/Them)
performance of "Fragile Things" from Centaur World
Noelle & Cade were our final duo of auditions, and within five seconds of listening to their family dynamic, I knew they were something special. Cade began sharing how they came to the realization of them being non-binary during the pandemic, and Allison shared how nonchalant Cade was in their delivery of, “ Hey mom, I asked a girl out and she said yes…”
“That’s exactly how casual I imagined that ever being if any of my kids were to come to me about their sexuality.” Noelle shared. It was comforting hearing the story of how loving and accepting a mother can be for their queer and questioning children. Noelle also shared with us, how she learned more about herself thanks to Cade and their discovery of themselves. “Now, I feel that we have more language today to help us navigate our identities and become more aware of how special we all are.”
For their performance, they covered the song “Fragile Things” from the Netflix animated show Centaurworld. The song was about the contrasts between a controlling and smothering “mother-like” character and the rebellious and independent character who believes that “only you can take care of you”. The dynamics of learning how to balance taking care of others, as well as taking care of yourself.
Basically, how to foster inner strength and confidence in those you care for, while still supporting them in their self-confidence and autonomy. It was such a special song to hear between a mother and their queer child. It made me think about how many parents of queer kids worry about their child’s safety, but also understand that their children will have their own strength and confidence in navigating the world.
Thank you to Theatre Baton Rouge for partnering with us to produce this successful fundraising event for Baton Rouge Pride. We look forward to making this event even bigger next year!
Entities: A Field of Imaginary Games by Thrasyvoulos Kalaitizidis
LSU Art & Design MFA Thesis Exhibition by Thrasyvoulos Kalaitizidis
Candice Lin - The Agnotology of Tigers
The following images are photodocumentations taken by Charles Champagne for the LSU Museum of Art. LSU MOA presents Candice Lin: The Agnotology of Tigers from October 20, 2021 through March 20, 2022. This exhibition is part of an annual collaboration featuring an LSU School of Art visiting artist.
Candice Lin: The Agnotology of Tigers features recent works based on archival images from LSU, alongside a new configuration of Lin’s tobacco version of La Charada China.
Lin’s installation illuminates sublimated histories of social violence and a politics of forgetting that obscures the history of indentured Chinese labor and its dehumanizing effects still manifest in global policies and lingering stereotypes. Lin’s most recent works explore how these processes intersect with LSU football’s “Chinese-bandits” and cheerleaders who dressed as “coolie” laborers.
The installation derives from a syncretic, divination-type gambling game practiced in the Caribbean primarily by Chinese laborers. In Lin's hands, she speculates that this game could have functioned within the community as a way to redistribute wealth.
ABOUT THE ARTIST Candice Lin works primarily in sculpture and installation. Born in Concord, MA, Lin now lives and works in Los Angeles where she serves as Assistant Professor of Art at UCLA. Lin is also a Prospect.5 artist: work featured as part of Prospect.5 will further explore her research into Louisiana’s history of indentured Chinese labor.
The porcelain sculpture was created on site with LSU School of Art students Kyra Jackson, Matt Jones, Nickeyia Johnson, Cecelia Moseley, Gillian Harper, Lu Colby, Paul Acevedo Gomez, Thras Kalaitzidis, and Ali Saunders during Candice Lin’s visiting artist workshop. This sculpture will be eroded over time by the distillation system of La Charada China (Tobacco Version).
A distillation system drips a tincture of tobacco, tea, sugar, and poppy onto an unfired porcelain sculpture. This tincture of valuable colonial commodities speaks to the intertwined histories of plants and humans both within plantation economies and herbal medicine. As it drips, it erodes the unfired porcelain—metaphorically dismantling the presumed associations of whiteness with purity, superiority, and hardness. In this exhibition, Lin will work with students at LSU to create the porcelain sculpture that will later be destroyed in the liquid process.
This exhibition is a collaboration between the LSU College of Art & Design, the LSU School of Art, and the LSU Museum of Art. Support is provided by The Winifred and Kevin P. Reilly Jr. Fund and generous donors to the Annual Exhibition Fund.
Supported by a grant from the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council, as administered by the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge. Funding has also been provided by the National Endowment of the Arts.
LSU MOA thanks the generous donors to the LSU MOA Annual Exhibition Fund: Louisiana CAT; The Imo N. Brown Memorial Fund in memory of Heidel Brown and Mary Ann Brown; The Alma Lee, H.N. and Cary Saurage Fund; Robert and Linda Bowsher; LSU College of Art + Design; Mr. and Mrs. Sanford A. Arst; and The Newton B. Thomas Family/Newtron Group Fund.
“Body/Mind:Matter” by Mary Ratcliff
LSU College of Art & Design MFA Thesis Exhibition Series
I was recently asked to photograph the installations of two LSU MFA students, Mary Ratcliff & Stephanie Cobb. Here are the images from “Body/Mind:Matter”, by Mary Ratcliff.
Artist Statement:
“to find solutions, we will need to reimagine our place in nature, our responsibilities as members of communities, and the meaning of a good life–which is to say, “we will require a shift in consciousness as radical as any mutation in our evolutionary history.”
- Scott Russell Sanders
Body/Mind:Matter presents the unfiltered experiences of living in a period of momentous instability. Three life-sized figurative sculptures stage my emotional journey towards mindfulness as a direct response to the pandemic and my growing concern for our future. A winding network of crocheted yarns and growing vines interweave the troubled figures to signify our complex dependenceis upon one another and the world around us.
The condition of the disabled bodies is a result of the worried mind. In each figure, a source of matter is imagined as means of reconciliation. Decaying surfaces reveal new life; intricately fused wires uphold under immense pressure; soft woven fibers form a protective web. The paradoxical relationships that are formed indicate a pursuit of healing and seeking balance.
“Fun House” by Stephanie Cobb
LSU College of Art & Design MFA Thesis Exhibition Series
I was recently asked to photograph the installations of two LSU MFA students, Mary Ratcliff & Stephanie Cobb. Here are the images from “Fun House”, by Stephanie Cobb.
Artist Statement:
The expression “fun house” seems empathetic and joyful, but has potentially melancholy connotations. Fun houses are participatory. They allow guests to move freely through their colorful halls. At the same time, they do not organize guest’s experiences. Usually, we are thoughtful of all possible contingencies that make the world so unpredictable. We prefer certaintly to doubt and try to avoid risks. However, reason and order have limits. To feel alive, we must take risks. The connotation of the paintings in Fun House may imply either a sunny mood through tenderness between figures or a tense ambivalence that lingers in their expression. This hazy territory separating certainty and improbability gives room for an artist to construct ambiguity into narrative.
The paintings in Fun House function as representations of figures in personal and domestic environments. They are private moments made public and the subjects are closely tied to personal experiences. Only closeness between artist and model allows for intimacy in a portrait. The hope is to evoke with clarity our closeness, or our distance.
You can contact Stephanie Cobb by:
website: www.stephaniecobbart.com
email: stephaniecobbart@gmail.com
instagram: @stephmcobb
The Day The World Became Glass
On Febrary 15, 2021 freezing temperatures collided with heavy precipitation in the Greater Baton Rouge area transforming the everyday Louisiana landscape into a botanical oasis frozen in time.
The following photographs were taken around the Spanish Town neighborhood in Baton Rouge, La. by Charles Champagne. 
Traverse City, MI
a collection of photographs taken during my visit to Traverse City, Michigan.
see something you like?
like something you see?
A Stroll Through Spanish Town
With the unruly timing of both mechanical failures and the current COVID-19 pandemic, I was without a camera for almost 5 months. Now that I finally have it back, I decided to take it for a walk downtown and through Spanish Town.
see something you like?
see something you like?
