2019 Gumbo final - Book - Page 73
History in the
Walls
Allen Hall has more to it than just classrooms
nside Allen Hall, dozens of murals line the top of the
walls, depicting various images of farming, science and
education.
“There is no single answer to [what the murals depict],” said art
history professor Darius Spieth. “There are multiple parts of it.
The primary thing is to show how LSU is relevant to the state with
research and agricultural elements.”
These frescoes were painted by University art students in the
1930s, Spieth said. They were all students of Conrad Albrizio, a
professor in the school of art. Stylistically, these murals are very
similar to Albrizio's work.
Albrizio is famous for the murals in the Union Passenger Terminal
train station in New Orleans. He painted them in 1954 and, by
this time, his style had changed. They are very colorful and cubist
inspired, according to “Art Rocks!” a Louisiana Public Broadcasting
television series.
Albrizio also did frescoes in the Louisiana State Capitol that are
very similar to the ones in Allen.
These murals in Allen date back to the time of Work Progress
Administration (WPA) Art. During the New Deal, the WPA funding
became available to construct large-scale art projects. The artists
produced work for the public. Mural paintings are seen in post
offices, state capitols and public buildings.
Jackson Pollock is an example of an artist that created WPA Art. A
common art style at the time was figurative while some included
bulky figures. A lot of the work of the WPA included depictions of
local history.
According to “The Murals of Allen Hall: Reclaiming a Legacy,” a
book designed and produced by the College of Art and Design
and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, the Allen Hall
murals did not have WPA support because they were student
projects, but they did have influence from the WPA.
The murals in Allen Hall are not real frescoes as real frescoes are
plastered into the wall. These murals are painted on the drywall
with oil paints, according to Spieth.
According to “The Murals of Allen Hall”, Allen Hall is very
significant to the University's campus. The hall is a part of the
library group with Hill Memorial Library and Peabody Hall. Peabody
and Allen frame Hill Memorial Library. Allen Hall is also the first
building along the western edge of the main quadrangle.
Some murals in Allen are missing today because they have been
covered up. Some frescoes were destroyed. In the original murals
before they were restored, some frescoes included political
content, which included World War II and rise of fascism. There
were political comments about Hitler and Mussolini in the murals.
An administrative assistant insisted they be removed.
The frescoes on the western end were visible until 1962 when the
stairwell in Allen was modified to gain access to the third floor,
at which point they were covered by the stairwell addition. Each
student had a segment, and were allowed to paint whatever they
wanted which led to political content.
For decades, the murals were covered up. A restorer in the 1990s
removed a layer of paint and so the murals became visible again.
Some of the original artists were still alive when the murals were
restored.
In 2001, the comprehensive conservation campaign of the fresco
cycle of the 1930s began with the restoration of murals on the
interior of each end of Allen Hall. These murals had never been
painted over and remained visible, although not as vivid as they
once had been.
In 2001, the murals were chemically analyzed with a non-invasive
cleaning methodology using dry cleaning followed by deionized
water applied to Japanese rice-paper for the removal of the
accumulation of surface dust and deposits. Minor repairs were also
made, especially near a window where a leak had been present,
according to “The Murals of Allen Hall”.
In 2012, when the stairwell in Allen Hall had been reconfigured
and the recovery of the murals on the western end began, the
removal of the layers of overpainting was carried out by means of
a compatible solution applied to small areas.
Story // Sophie Liberto
Photo // Reveille Photographer
Design // Catherine Carpenter
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