Art History Student Art Awards

The Newcomb Art Department is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2021 Art History Student Awards.

The Henry Stern Prize for Best Paper in Art History: Abigail McDade

Abby McDade wins the Henry Stern Prize for her paper, "Social Practice Art: The Role of Audience Encounter," which discusses works by California-based contemporary artist Suzanne Lacy and the Pittsburgh-based artist collective Conflict Kitchen. Abby examines how these artists' socially-engaged works attempt to grapple with structural violence, by promoting community-driven resilience through shared meals, community discussions, and civic actions, as well as exhibitions and traditional art objects. Abby's paper is notable for its innovative use of both art historical analysis and public health research by Kaiser Permanente and the Prevention Institute. Abby is graduating with a B.F.A. in printmaking, and will be moving to New York to continue developing her artistic practice.

 

The Marilyn Brown Award for Outstanding Art History Major: Lindsay Hardy

Lindsay receives this award for both her excellent performance in her art history classes, as well as her significant research and writing achievements in her honors thesis. Lindsay consistently contributes insightful comments to class discussions, and she has tackled some particularly challenging and ambitious research topics. Her honors thesis, “The Casa Group: Confronting Tradition and Modernism Through Art in Post Protectorate Morocco,” argues that the artists and teachers of the School of Fine Arts in Casablanca (the “Casa Group”) actively valorized Moroccan culture, and therefore Moroccan national identity, after the country gained independence from France in 1956. Her thesis is highly original and demonstrates Lindsay’s superb abilities as a researcher and writer.

 

The Nell Pomeroy O’Brien Award for a sophomore in Art History: Alessandra Fraim

Ali has performed exceptionally well in her art history courses thus far, proving herself to be an excellent writer, a valuable participant in class discussions, and a perceptive viewer of works of art.  But what stands out most about Ali is her admirable enthusiasm for learning and her eagerness to challenge herself.  I'm consistently impressed by these qualities in her, which make her a particular joy to work with.

The Nell Pomeroy O’Brien Award for a junior in Art History: Alex Landry

Alex is an extremely talented student who has performed at the very highest level in her art history courses. She combines a keen intelligence with a profound curiosity about the material, and she consistently makes tremendously astute comments in class, elevating any discussion that she is part of.  Alex is constantly pushing herself to delve deeper into the material and to take on important questions, engaging with whatever topic is at hand in a remarkably sophisticated way.  It's been a great pleasure to have her as a student.

 

The Marilyn Brown Award for Senior Honors Scholar: Reina Proetzel

Reina has been an outstanding student throughout her time at Tulane. Her honors thesis, “The AIDS Epidemic in the United States: The Artistic Response,” examines three artworks created in response to the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s and 1990 within the contexts of politics and postmodern theory. Reina is a brilliant writer, and her sensitive exploration of these historic issues surrounding the AIDS crisis retains a human dimension while deftly pointing to similar, contemporary issues surrounding the epidemic of Covid 19.