ART UNBOUND: URBANATURE Opening Event February 3, 2012, 6-8 p.m.

LSU Press and the LSU School of Art have partnered to present ART UNBOUND: URBANATURE, a juried student art competition and exhibition. The aim of this cross departmental, university-wide project is to encourage students to explore and express the deep relationship between visual arts and the written word. The competition challenges student participants to use books as the subject, medium, or inspiration and apply the 2012 School of Art theme of “URBANATURE.” The first of its kind, this collaborative opportunity seeks artwork that focuses on the interplay between the visual arts and literature within the setting of cityscapes and natural environments. Entrants were encouraged to interpret this statement with creativity, paying special attention to the LSU Press’s mission to disseminate knowledge and culture through books of the highest academic and cultural merit.

Opening reception and award presentations will be held at LSU Foster Gallery on Friday, February 3, from 6-8 p.m. and the exhibition will be on display from February 3-17, 2012.

Jurors for the competition include Dan Cameron, Founding & Artistic Director of Prospect New Orleans; Jacqueline Dee Parker Artist, Poet, and LSU College of Art and Design Instructor; and Thomas N. Whitehead, Professor Emeritus Journalism, Northwestern State University, and LSU Press author of Clementine Hunter: Cane River Artist (fall 2012).

Winning artists will receive cash prizes, made possible with the generous support of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Galantucci and Donna and Rick Richard, III.  Entry to this competition was free and open to all LSU students. For complete information and prospectus, visit http://design.lsu.edu/art/competition.