Life in the Paint: Nathaniel Landry

Since his earliest days, Fine Arts professor Nathaniel Landry had a purpose in the world of art. As the son of two Southern graduates who also shares his passion for art, he has been surrounded by creativity since his earliest days. 
“Both my mother and father graduated from Southern; my dad actually graduated from here in the art department,” said Landry. “So my dad is an artist, my mother she was an educator but also a singer. So I was always surrounded by art, I came out of the womb just surrounded by it. At a young age, I kinda knew what I wanted to do. It was no secret.” 
Although he experimented with other pathways, including sports, he always had a special devotion to art. “My parents…encouraged me. Whether it was bringing me to art shows or just seeing my dad just do it. I learned by watching his example…he was working constantly, alot. I’d just do it….I had a love for it.” said Landry. 
This devotion to the arts has influenced the way Landry views himself to this day, especially as a former student of Southern. “Southern has impacted my life because it was my first full on black experience, as far as schooling. I went to private school pretty much the majority of my life, and thus was the first time I really got absorbed by the black experience. I learned so much about not only myself…all the history and literature.” 
For him, his parents represented a shining example of the values of Southern, as they always encouraged him towards his interests. “If there was any science fiction or fantasy movie, they’d take me to go see it. I’d just be inspired by the images that I saw. You have to understand that I grew up in the 80’s, so whenever there wasn’t computer or CGI, everything was done by hand.” said Landry. 
All of this exposure created a value of art for Landry, and he hopes to instill this same value in the current students here at Southern. “The students are great, they’re receptive. But what I try to teach them most is really just about having a sense of pride, accountability and responsibility. Because I made some mistakes when I first came to Southern, and I took some time away. Fortunately, my late mother gave me an ultimatum: go back to school or get a plant job. I came back, and everything started to just fall into place.” His own experiences molded him to be able to understand his students, as well their journey. He recognizes their love for creativity, and hopes that the institution can fulfill them. 
Being able to be back at Southern making a difference in the lives of the students under his tutelage is Jude one of the many things he appreciates about the university and department.  
“To get the art department back, it has to become accredited again, and it has to become a major again. There are talented students across the campus who want to be majors. I think that’s one of the things they have to get back to the forefront in this department. Without the arts – whether it’s visual, music, dancing or drama – the world would be a very stale place.”

Gallery • 2 Photos

“Upwards In Direction, Forward In Dimension”. Created In 2018 And It’s 11X14 Pen And Ink On Canson Watercolor Paper. (Courtesy/Nathaniel Landry)