Visiting Artist - Louie Palu
Visualizing Conflict in a Post 9/11 World
February 20, 2025, 4-5:30pm
UTA Fine Arts Building 148
In conjunction with Solace in Painting exhibition, Visiting Artist Committee hosted photographer and filmmaker Louie Palu who presented a public lecture in the Fine Arts Building and met with the graduate and undergraduate art students over the course of a few days.
Louie Palu’s work has examined social political issues, such as human rights, and conflict for 30-years. His projects have been selected for a Guggenheim Fellowship and World Press Photo Awards. His work has appeared in National Geographic and The Washington Post and has been featured in museums including the National Gallery of Art and many festivals worldwide. Palu is based in Washington DC and holds an MFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art.
Palu’s talk at UTA focused on how visualizing war, trauma, and politics has changed since the attacks of 9/11 and how this process is evolving in the current moment as the United States faces unprecedented threats that exist on platforms or in visual forms that are difficult to see. During the lecture, Palu shared his images and experience covering some of the challenges facing the United States including the war in Afghanistan, Ukraine, US-Mexico Border, and most recently his trips to the Arctic where he has been observing conflicts related to the region’s untapped minerals for mining and oil.
A dedicated bookshelf with literature and media resources recommended by Louie Palu has been on display at the UTA Fine Arts Library building throughout Spring 2025 semester. The display prepared by the Library staff in collaboration with the Visiting Artist Committee featured books and films about various conflicts that contextualize Palu’s practice, including publications about the Korean War (This Is War! by David Douglas Duncan), Vietnam War (Dispatches by Michael Herr), and books about the crucial role photographers can play in capturing political violence (A Choice of Weapons by Gordon Parks, The Cruel Radiance by Susie Linfield).
Palu’s talk at UTA focused on how visualizing war, trauma, and politics has changed since the attacks of 9/11 and how this process is evolving in the current moment as the United States faces unprecedented threats that exist on platforms or in visual forms that are difficult to see. During the lecture, Palu shared his images and experience covering some of the challenges facing the United States including the war in Afghanistan, Ukraine, US-Mexico Border, and most recently his trips to the Arctic where he has been observing conflicts related to the region’s untapped minerals for mining and oil.
A dedicated bookshelf with literature and media resources recommended by Louie Palu has been on display at the UTA Fine Arts Library building throughout Spring 2025 semester. The display prepared by the Library staff in collaboration with the Visiting Artist Committee featured books and films about various conflicts that contextualize Palu’s practice, including publications about the Korean War (This Is War! by David Douglas Duncan), Vietnam War (Dispatches by Michael Herr), and books about the crucial role photographers can play in capturing political violence (A Choice of Weapons by Gordon Parks, The Cruel Radiance by Susie Linfield).
VISITOR INFORMATION
Location:
148 Fine Arts Building, 502. S. Cooper St., Arlington, TX
Admission:
All lectures are free, non-ticketed, and open to the general public.
