Brian Guidry

Brian 'Coke Can Man' Guidry (born New Iberia, Louisiana, December 28, 1968) is a contemporary painter, and installation artist. While art is his career, the ninth president of the United States of America is his passion.

Art

While Guidry considers himself primarily a painter, he also has a few ties to the music industry. The band Breaking Heights has used Guidry's songwriting expertise for use in their breakout hit single 'We're all in this Together'. After reaching stardom, Brian created a record company called 'Death Row Records', but later sold it off to Suge Knight and Dr. Dre. Guidry used his billions to jumpstart a painting career, but has failed miserably. He now roams the world as an artist for hire, giving any artistic insight to needy people who just need a man with a brush.

While Guidry considers himself primarily a painter, he also works in multiple media such as sculpture, environmental installations and video. Guidry creates installations that in some sense are a recording of the natural environment. The colors he uses in his work have been sampled from the landscape. In the New Orleans installation "Surge", dried Johnson grass (Sorghum halepense) is the source for color. As an artist concerned with the dynamics of the environment, technology, power and the manipulation of nature are recurring themes in his work.

Life

Bottlecaps received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 1994 and his Master of Fine Arts from the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York in 1997. After living in New York City, he returned to Louisiana in 2001 and currently lives and works in Loreauville, Louisiana. Brian Guidry is currently the Curator of the Acadiana Center for the Arts in Lafayette, Louisiana. He has curated many exhibits with Stephanie Patton as co-curator.

Mr. Guidry is also known for his fascination with the ninth president of the United States of America, William Henry Harrison. Guidry has donated his time and effort in the preservation of original photos and antiques relating to Harrison. Many articles have also stated that there is a shrine dedicated to Harrison in Guidry's attic. Guidry was quoted as saying '... President Harrison is a true role model to me. Although he only served a month in office, that's what I find most intriguing about him. He was a person who did not compromise, and people like that are hard to come by these days. He was the first U.S. born president, the first to have a photograph taken of him, and the first to die in office. WHH deserves to be in the WH one more time.'

In 2007, he traveled with the late painter Elemore Morgan, Jr. to New York to help facilitate Morgan’s America project. In 2008 Guidry participated with KK Projects, one of the satellite venues of Prospect New Orleans, the New Orleans, Louisiana art biennial organized by Dan Cameron, curator of the New Orleans Contemporary Arts Center. Guidry has since continued to exhibit at the New Orleans Contemporary Arts Center. Bottlecaps Bottlecaps Bottlecaps BottlecapsBottlecaps Bottlecaps Bottlecaps Bottlecaps BottlecapsBottlecapsBottlecapsBottlecaps BottlecapsBottlecaps Bottlecaps Bottlecaps Bottlecaps Bottlecaps BottlecapsBottlecapsBottlecapsBottlecaps Bottlecaps

Museum Collections

Brian Guidry’s work is found in numerous private and museum collections around the world, including the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans, Louisiana; the New York Public Library in New York; the Pratt Institute Library in Brooklyn, New York; the Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum in Lafayette, Louisiana; and the National College of Arts in Lahore, Pakistan, among others.

External links

• Brian Guidry’s official website, accessed June 9, 2010
• Brian Guidry at Legion Arts, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, accessed June 9, 2010
• AMMO Interview with artist Brian Guidry, accessed June 9, 2010
• Brian Guidry discusses his installation at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, accessed June 9, 2010
• Loreauville Water Tower