"Out of There" was originally part of the International Sculpture Conference, held in New Orleans in the spring of 1974. It was later purchased for installation in the Hale Boggs Federal Plaza under the Art-In-Architecture Program, designed to provide works of art for federal buildings across the country.

A lover of jazz music, Meadmore described the work's elements as reflecting the curve of the Mississippi River. "It seems appropriate," said the artist, "that it should have found a place in New Orleans."