William Pope.L (via artistsspace.org)

CHICAGO — By the ordinary way of reckoning such things, there are considerably fewer artists participating in this year’s Prospect.2 biennial in New Orleans than in the event’s first iteration three years ago. But if artist and provocateur William Pope.L‘s piece for the exhibition turns out according to schedule, there will be a lot more artistic visions on view around New Orleans this fall than the smaller number of artists might lead you to expect.

Last month, Pope.L published an open call for collaborators for his Prospect.2 project, which involves answering a simple pair of questions:

When you dream of New Orleans, what do you dream of? // When you wake up in the morning, what do you see?

According to the notice:

The images will be part of a video installation, mounted on a truck that will traverse the city’s neighborhoods like a magic lantern, as part of the inaugural events celebrating the opening of Prospect.2, the International Arts Exhibition to open October 22, 2011.

Anyone familiar with Pope.L’s work might wonder exactly what kind of spin the artist will put on the material he collects, or whether it will simply be a sincere and heartfelt tribute to the city that the Prospect biennial calls home; this is, after all, an artist whose previous performance pieces include wearing a skirt made out of dollar bills and attaching himself to a bank in midtown Manhattan with a length of sausage and a series of works in which he and fellow participants crawl across great distances in locales all over the country on their knees and elbows.

YouTube video

While Pope.L’s call is directed primarily at those who call the Crescent City home, the question begs to be answered by anyone who carries around a piece of New Orleans with them. You already have an idea of what my own dream landscapes of New Orleans look like. What about yours?

John D’Addario is a veteran blogger (since 1996), adjunct professor of arts administration at the University of New Orleans, professional arts educator, photographer and man of the world. You can visit...

One reply on “Do You Know What It Means To Dream About New Orleans?”

  1. My dream landscape of New Orleans is world of giant snowballs. Sort of like Candyland but only Orleans style sweets. I still love to tell people the joke – well its true – but it’s so funny – that in New Orleans, a very popular flavor is the ice-cream flavored snow-cone. You don’t need ice cream. What you really need is a snowcone that tastes like it. The simulacrum can be scrumptious. John, are there any other favorite sweets that must be included in this Candy land bayou edition?

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