New UA Little Rock Exhibit will Feature Artwork Made Using Historical Printing Techniques
The University of Arkansas at Little Rock will host a new exhibit featuring photographs made using historical printing techniques created in the 1800s, called gum bichromate printing and cyanotype.
The exhibit, “Apophenia,” will be on display in the Ann Maners and Alex Pappas Gallery in the Windgate Center of Art and Design from March 13 to April 8. A reception will be held from 5:30-7 p.m. Friday, April 7, in the Taylor/Mourning Lobby on the first floor of the Windgate Center.
Joli Livaudais is an associate professor and head of the Photography program in the UA Little Rock Department of Art and Design. Livaudais created the featured works during the Fall 2021 semester by putting samples of insects, plants, and old film negatives under the microscope, photographing them, and pairing them together to make a series of diptychs.
“Reminiscent of the 19th-century alchemists, who studied nature in search of ways to purify and transform the spirit, I use a microscope and camera as my tools,” Livaudais said. “The chemical processes alter color, value, and texture in response to the hand and will of the maker, transforming the final image. It does not escape me that perhaps my search has uncovered hidden unity, or perhaps my desire has created it where none truly exists.”
Livaudais received her bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in experimental psychology from the University of Texas at Arlington and her Master of Fine Arts degree from Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, Louisiana. Her fine art photography explores both historical photographic processes and contemporary alternative methods, including gum bichromate printing, photo sculpture and installation, and incorporates her interest in both psychology and spirituality.
Her artwork has been exhibited in the “Paper Routes – Women to Watch 2020” exhibition at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C. She was also featured as an artist in Christina Anderson’s two-part book, “Gum Printing: A Step-By-Step Manual, Highlighting Artists and Their Creative Practice.”
The UA Little Rock Art Gallery is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, and 2-5 p.m. Sunday. For more information, contact 501-916-5104 or email Nathan Larson, interim art gallery director at UA Little Rock, at nglarson@ualr.edu.
