Art and Design seniors exhibit in Diboll Gallery

The Department of Art and Design at Loyola University New Orleans will boast the works of more than 15 of its seniors during three new exhibits in April and May. All events begin at 5 p.m., are free, open to the public and set for the Collins C. Diboll Art Gallery, located on the fourth floor of the J. Edgar and Louise S. Monroe Library.

“Flux,” this year’s installment of the annual graphic design senior student show, will be the first in the series, opening Thursday, April 11. The artists will exhibit specific assigned projects as well as their individual final projects, based on the word “Flux,” which refers to them graduating and moving on to another chapter of their lives.

The Bachelor of Arts studio exhibit will open Monday, April 22, and the Bachelor of Fine Arts exhibit will open Monday, May 6. Both senior shows are a culmination of a year’s worth of work in which the artists develop their own body of work that expresses ideas and processes derived from individual question and concerns.

“The maturity and professionalism that each student brings to their work is superior. Their individuality and perception are very moving and poignant. The work speaks to real issues that have affected each personally; issues they feel deeply about are addressed,” said visual arts professor Mark Grote. “In spite of and because of each one’s private search, their work has a universal appeal.”

FLUX: A Continued Flow.

A Constant Change.

Graphic Design 2013 Senior Exhibition

Opening Reception:

Thursday, April 11, 5 – 8 p.m.

Rachel Guillot

Christopher Knibbs

Max McKenna

Max Pluenneke

Brian Rome

Vicky Tran

Rachel Winters

Sisi Yang.

Bachelor of Arts

Opening Reception

Monday, April 22, 5-8 p.m.

Robert Cappelli

Nicholas Rodriguez

Morgan Scalco

Alexandra Shafer

Sarah Tortorich

Bachelor of Fine Arts

Opening Reception

Monday, May 6, 5-8 p.m.

Bria Brown

Elyria Grote

Jenna Knoblach

Hans Kuebler

Morgan Lirette

Did you know Loyola used to have a thriving football team? The university boasted an undefeated team in 1926 and had a stadium which eventually seated up to 16,000 people! Check out these historical photos of Loyola’s football field and stadium.

Aerial Image of campus and football field - 1925

Loyola's football stadium before a second deck was added to the bleachers.

A view from the opposite end. Note Bobet Hall at the far end of the field.

Loyola's double decker stadium bleachers.

Found in the Archives is a recurring series of crazy cool stuff found in the Monroe Library’s Special Collections & Archives.

Did you know that Loyola once own three huge mansions which sat on the corner of St. Charles and Calhoun Street? As the university expanded, these structures became less functional due to lack of space and the constant upkeep required. When plans for the new Communications/Music complex were underway, university officials realized they had to demolish these mansions to make room for the new building. Many older alumni remember these homes with fondness. Can you imagine sitting through class in the attic or ballroom of an old St. Charles mansion?

Thomas More Hall

Thomas More Hall was purchased in 1942 and originally used to house the School of Law. In 1973, the Law School moved into what was then their brand new Branch Knox Miller Hall (known today simply as Miller), allowing the Education Department to move into the mansion. At this point it was renamed Elizabeth Seton Hall after the first native-born American Saint, a woman dedicated to education and the Catholic Faith.

MacDonald Hall

Purchased in 1932 for the newly formed School of Music, MacDonald Hall served in this capacity for over 50 years.

Cummings Hall

Named after former Loyola University President Reverend Edward A. Cummings, S.J., Cummings Hall was offered to the university by the estate of the former residents, the Fenner family. The mansion, which sat on St. Charles Avenue between the School of Law and the College of Music buildings, originally housed the Alumni Office and the Sociology Department but was eventually taken over by the College of Music, which had outgrown its space in MacDonald Hall. In March of 1974, the structure was gutted by fire and took over a year to repair.

For more information on these buildings and their subsequent demolition, check out these historic articles from the Times Picayune:

October 18, 1982

February 12, 1983

October 29, 1983

July 24, 1984

Found in the Archives is a recurring series of crazy cool stuff found in the Monroe Library’s Special Collections & Archives.

Replacing the old gymnasium, the Loyola Field House was completed in 1954. The largest basketball arena in the South when built, the facility was the site of New Orleans’ first non-segregated sporting event when Loyola played La Salle, the defending national basketball champions, in 1954.

Loyola Fieldhouse

The Loyola Field House could accommodate 6,500 people. It was neither heated nor equipped with air conditioning and fans were known to build small fires on the cement floors for warmth in the winter. Loyola discontinued intercollegiate athletic competition in 1972, so the building was renovated in the late 1970s to function as a recreation and intramural center.

Loyola Fieldhouse Interior

In order to truly comprehend the size of this massive structure, check out this image of the Fieldhouse sitting directly behind Buddig Hall during construction of the latter in 1966.

Loyola Fieldhouse During Buddig Hall Construction 1966

The Fieldhouse was razed in 1987 to make room for the new combined recreational complex and Freret Street parking garage.

Loyola Fieldhouse Demolition - 1987

Found in the Archives is a recurring series of crazy cool stuff found in the Monroe Library’s Special Collections & Archives.

Thanks to modern photography we have the ability to view our campus as it grew and evolved over the last 100 years. Check out these aerial photographs taken of the campus approximately every 25 years since Loyola’s inception. See anything interesting? If you have any questions please feel free to post them here to the blog or stop by Special Collections and Archives!

Aerial Image of Campus 1925

Aerial Image of Campus 1950s

Aerial Image of Campus 1975

Aerial Image of Campus Today

Found in the Archives is a recurring series of crazy cool stuff found in the Monroe Library’s Special Collections & Archives.

Did you know that before the University Sports Complex, even before the infamous Loyola Field House, Loyola had a tiny little gym located at the very northern edge of a huge football field? This land is now mostly the residential quad, but you can see the field and the old gym in this aerial photograph from 1925.

Loyola University Campus - 1925

This little clapboard structure served as Loyola’s Gymnasium for over 30 years. Here it is just as construction was finishing and again before it was demolished to make way for the Loyola Field House.

Loyola Gymnasium

Flip through some more historic campus images found in the 1924 Wolf Yearbook!

Found in the Archives is a recurring series of crazy cool stuff found in the Monroe Library’s Special Collections & Archives.

Did you know this is how the interior of Holy Name looked upon its completion in 1918? The church took over five years to build and was considered at the time “the largest and handsomest church building in New Orleans” (Times-Picayune, May 30, 1917). The construction was made possible thanks to an extremely generous donation of $150,000 from a Miss Kate McDermott. Remember, that’s in 1918 dollars. Today that sum equates to over 2.25 million. The dedication and consecration of the church took place on Monday, December 9, 1918, and was attended by such notables as His Excellency the Right Reverend John Bonzano, the papal delegate to America, as well as Archbishop John W. Shaw.

For more information about the church check out the Holy Name of Jesus Parish website.

Holy Name of Jesus Church Interior

Found in the Archives is a recurring series of crazy cool stuff found in the Monroe Library’s Special Collections & Archives.

On November 13, 1910, prominent Catholics from around the country gathered here on Loyola’s campus for the laying of the cornerstone of Marquette Hall. According to the Times Picayune of November 14, the cornerstone contained the following items: A cross blessed by Pope Pius X, the names of ecclesiastical and civil authorities, the names of members of the Marquette Association, the names of benefactors and founders, the names of the members of the college faculty, the history of the Jesuit Fathers in Louisiana, the history and charter of the Marquette Association, a button signifying New Orleans as the logical point of the Panama Exposition, newspapers of the city and a letter from President Taft.

Marquette Hall Cornerstone Ceremony

This image features the visiting dignitaries performing the Cornerstone Laying Ceremony in the shadow of the construction scaffolding for Marquette Hall. The building took less than a year to build, as classes were held there in September, 1911.

Trowel Used for Laying the Marquette Hall Cornerstone

This image and the trowel are currently on display within the Centennial Exhibit in the Special Collections and Archives Reading Room on the third floor of the Monroe Library.

Found in the Archives is a recurring series of crazy cool stuff found in the Monroe Library’s Special Collections & Archives.

Have you ever passed that little brick structure tucked away behind Holy Name of Jesus in the shadow of Marquette Hall and wondered what was inside? Well wonder no more! You have just passed the oldest permanent structure on Loyola’s campus. The Burke Memorial Seismograph Laboratory was built in 1910 thanks to a generous donation from Mr. and Mrs. W.P. Burke in memory of their son, Nicholas, a Loyola student. The seismograph has been recording the earth’s tremors for over 100 years as it is still in use today!

From June 2011 to April 2012, Special Collections and Archives had on exhibit reproductions from one of the most beautiful volumes in our collection, Deutschlands wildwachsende Arzney-Pflanzen by German botanist Johann Gotttleib Mann.

Published in 1828, Deutschlands wildwachsende Arzney-Pflanzen (Germany’s Wild Medicinal Plants) contains hand-colored lithographs of medical plants, flowers, and fruits. Following the illustrations is the Latin name and German description for each plant.

In the introduction to the volume, Mann states that his goal in publishing the work was two-fold: to present a collection of realistic drawings of medicinal plants for the use of doctors, veterinarians and pharmacists who would not otherwise have the time or opportunity to study the plants in nature, and to give a simple and precise description of the plants along with where they may be found and when they are in season. Mann’s illustrations transcend their original, utilitarian purpose of assisting medical professionals, however; they are works of art.

Although the display has been replaced by the Loyola Centennial Exhibit, images from Deutschlands wildwachsende Arzney-Pflanzen are now viewable in the Louisiana Digital Library.

To view the book in its entirety, contact Loyola University Special Collections & Archives at archives@loyno.edu or come see us on the third floor of the Monroe Library.

Found in the Archives is a recurring series of crazy cool stuff found in the Monroe Library’s Special Collections & Archives.