SU Alumnus Presents: Crescent City Stroll

On view through March 8, 2018, Morris “Taft” Thomas is exhibiting a little more than ‘prismacolor on paper’ right in Hayden Hall in Southern University’s Visual Arts Gallery.
In 1955, Thomas embarked upon his journey at Southern University, choosing to study Art Education, with a minor in Social Studies and Spanish. After earning his bachelor’s degree in 1960, he later returned to earn his Masters of Education in Supervision and Administration.
In 1963, Taft became the first African American to become a member of the Central Louisiana Art Association. His work has long since impacted, and caught the attention of numerous prestigious entities such as the Greater Alexandria-Pineville Chamber of Commerce, and the Rapides Parish Police Department.
Thomas’ current exhibition on display in Hayden Hall is titled, “Crescent City Stroll,” named after New Orleans, Louisiana, his inspiration for the collection.
Associate Professor of Visual Arts and curator of the exhibition, Randall Henry raved about the collection, especially noting that it represents a real-world experience featuring hand portraits of well respected artists, including the likes of Frank Hayden himself, and Jean Paul Hubbard.
Mediums used by Taft in the collection include bronze, wood, aluminum, copper, pencil on paper, and watercolor on paper, with prismacolor on paper being the bulk of the exhibition.
“He captured a prismacolor work of Frank Hayden, who was my teacher here at Southern University. And he captured [this] work of Jean Paul Hubbard who was my painting professor … these are works done with extremely intense coloring pencils,” explained Henry.
According to Thomas, his intentional artistic methods are meant to elude a three-dimensional presence, giving viewers a realistic experience.
“My metal sculptures and mixed media paintings, though contemporary, reflect simplicity, yet are explicit and unambiguous enough to convey a message from past to present,” he reflected.
In addition to featuring former SU professors, the collection includes a portrait of Martin Luther King Jr. and a few drawings of recognizable landmarks in New Orleans, including Big Easy Tattoo & Co. on Canal Street.
The show includes thirty original pieces, that were all created between 2015 and 2018, and as an 82-year-old man, Thomas feels that he has finally reached his creative peak.
“Now that my chronological age and mental maturity have evolved, there is urgency for me to reflect and document social events as they occurred during my era of social change,” he reflected.
Standout pieces in the collection include, “Dancer”, “Freedom”, “Bongo Player”, and “Mask-Akin”, as they were all created with a three-dimensional medium, and offers the audience Thomas’ attempt at reflection.
“Through this wakening as a painter and sculptor, an attempt has been made to reflect and visually document with the use of metal sculptures, mixed media painting, and life experiences as they were during my formative years from childhood to adulthood,” Thomas said.
Students at the university are allowed to visit the exhibit from Monday through Thursday between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. while the show is on display, and some have been taking advantage of this.
Junior Mechanical Engineering major from Sacramento, CA Johnathon Banks is a reoccurring fan of the Southern University Visual Art Gallery.
“I always go and support the art being showcased and I’m never disappointed, so it wasn’t surprising that the Crescent City Stroll collection really tapped into my memories of my time here in Louisiana and made me feel at home,” Banks admitted.
The exhibition will be open until March 8, 2018. For more information, visit the Southern University Visual Arts Gallery in Hayden Hall.