The Abstract Pirogue and Other Acadiana Artventures

What is Louisiana art? One definition might be —art that is unique to Louisiana.

The market expects a certain version of Louisiana. And so we give consumers what they want: alligators, bayous, pirogues, French, spices and so on.

People want authentic Louisiana. And what they think of as “authentic” doesn’t quite reflect reality. That’s the drawback of having a flavor that sticks out in the American melting pot: People want what they want.

Let me propose another definition. Louisiana is art made by Louisiana. Too broad? Maybe so. But it’s much closer to reality. Louisiana is alligators and bayous, but it’s also lots of other stuff.

Dustin Rousseau is a Louisiana artist with a palette influenced by architecture and industrial design.

Dustin Rousseau, thanks to Ellen DeGeneres and her wife you can find his art in Restoration Hardware

Dustin Rousseau, thanks to Ellen DeGeneres and her wife you can find his art in Restoration Hardware

Dustin is an architect by trade, but fell back into painting as an outlet to cope with stress on the job.Pretty soon, his colorful abstractions caught on through his Instagram page, and he later hooked up with General Public, a company that renders 3D prints of paintings for resale. That landed his work in Restoration Hardware.

Dustin grew up in Lafayette and now lives and works in Baton Rouge.

Alexis Braud wears a lot of creative hats. She’s a writer, illustrator, podcaster and artist. But primarily, she’s a storyteller.She calls herself the Lafourche Raconteuse — a spin on the Acadian Raconteur.

Alexis Braud, illustrator and Acadiana's Cajun raconteuse

Alexis Braud, illustrator and Acadiana’s “Lafourche Raconteuse”

Alexis grew up in Cut Off — that’s Lafourche Parish. She is the author of several children’s books and has illustrated even more. She also hosted a podcast called “The Bayou Home Podcast” which explores what it means to be a Cajun.

Christiaan Mader, researcher Lea Urdiales, Dustin Rousseau, and Alexis Braud, Out to Lunch at Tula Tacos

Christiaan Mader, researcher Lea Urdiales, Dustin Rousseau, and Alexis Braud, Out to Lunch at Tula Tacos

Out to Lunch Acadiana is recorded live over lunch at Tula Tacos and Amigos in downtown Lafayette. Photos snapped on his iPhone by our audio engineer Dylan Babineaux! 

For more artventures, check out recent lunchtime conversation about Acadiana art with Francis Pavy and Erica Fox.