We as artists hold all powers to transform our lives and communities. New Orleans, nearly six years after Katrina, is in the midst of a cultural renaissance driven by artists. Representing Artist Trust as part of the Joan Mitchell Foundation’s Creating a Lasting Legacy (CALL) program cohort, my introduction to New Orleans was deeply inspiring. Perhaps like a Joan Mitchell painting, my experience there was a deep impression of momentum, color and truth. Let me share a little with you.
Stepping outside the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, the spice of the bayou wafted through the warm humid air, and my adventure began. Whisked away to Faubourg Tremé, into the fold of Southern hospitality that is the Joan Mitchell Center and all of the Foundation team, I found myself on two lush acres of a former indigo plantation, turned bed and breakfast, turned new arts center and future artist residency. I spent the late evening on a porch reading and writing, porch living to me being the quintessential enjoyment of visiting the South. In the morning, woke up to swim in the outdoor pool in the midst of blossoms and their multitudinous fragrances carried by warm breezes.
On Sunday the French Quarter Festival was in full vigor. My hospitable hostess dropped me off at Jackson Square where painters had set up to sell their works. Music was everywhere. I stumbled onto the Dutch Alley Artist Co-op where I met UW alum Kate Beck. Her Katrina story is indicative of the renaissance I mentioned. A textile artist, Kate works in shibori, a Japanese term for several methods of dyeing cloth with a pattern. When Kate was evacuated, her surroundings were more amenable to felting. Now, back in New Orleans, Kate has created an innovative art form that combines shibori and felting. You might see me wearing my new warm-as-New-Orleans scarf any time of year in Seattle. Also enjoyed the fleur de lis glass art of Gerald Haessig.
The Joan Mitchell Foundation kindly invited us to a screening of Chasing Dreams: A Leah Chase Storyat the famous Dooky Chase Restaurant. This short film was visually gorgeous and inspiring on many levels, integrating the story of Leah Chase as restaurateur, chef, civil rights leader, art collector and role model. Only thanks to our earlier visit to the Back Street Cultural Museum, was I able to read several of Mrs. Chase’s paintings. There, we had a complete introduction to the Mardi Gras Indians, Jazz Funerals, Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs, Baby Dolls and more. Sylvester was our guide. His sheer commitment and openness to helping us understand the New Orleans culture and history was remarkable.
Two inspiring people at the screening reappeared the next day: Keith Calhoun and Chandra McCormack. This photographer-couple had left town the day before Katrina hit, and they returned to find their home and their own photographic works full of toxic mud and debris. As they started to throw it all away, their son said stop! They froze their slides and developed them, creating elegant abstract colorful works that retain fugitive images of people and ceremony. Their collection is at the L9 Center For The Arts. Located in the lower ninth ward, Keith and Chandra have taken the opportunity to introduce neighbors to art making. They invited us to walk on the river bank where the river was poignantly calm, the sky pure blue, with a delicate breeze. Later that afternoon, I visited the Jean LaFitte Preserve for a swamp nature encounter! My new art buddy, Kathleen of Springboard for the Arts had brought watercolor supplies for two! We walked the shaded boardwalk with the geckos and alligators then perched atop a high bridge to take in the verdant view by painting it.
On Thursday, the Ogden Museum of Southern ArtAfter Hours provided musical accompaniment by David Torkanowsky while exploring paintings by two “old friends” and several new ones. Notably, Bo Bartlett and Walter Anderson. Bo Bartlett is a painter from Georgia who resides on Vashon Island. I first discovered him via his exhibit at the Frye Art Museum in Seattle. His painting Young Life was on view to remind me of his scant and meaningful paint application. A friend introduced me to Walter Anderson a few years ago on the occasion of Katrina, by lending me Approaching The Magic Hour. To view his Don Quixote was a real find.
A video installation at the Ogden called Hostile Takeover: The Lower Ninth Ward and Other Evidenceby Andrew Garn as a Central City Artist Project showed the former homes, five feet below sea level, that have not been rebuilt, now occupied by dogs, opossums and the like.
Waiting for the airport shuttle, I got to talk with George the doorman, who lamented that as a visitor to New Orleans, I would have only seen what “they” wanted me to. Reflecting over the plentiful week, I realized that approaching the City through art had given me quite a truthful exposure. And listening to an interview with a New Orleanean jazzman on All Blueswith John Kessler last Sunday, I found I’d learned a new language.
~Sheila Siden April 2011
