“These phenomenona, these wonders of New Orleans, are for the most part simply not explainable in terms of history and culture alone. There is obviously another force at work here, another system, a world of secret realities which is continuously and quietly in confrontation with our own.” In other words, folks: we’re not on Bourbon Street any more.
John d'Addario
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 him at jonno.com.
Posted inOpinion
Spotted In Soho: Gaia’s Giant Cock
This short video starring street artist Gaia creating a giant mural on the side of the Rag & Bone store on Houston and Elizabeth streets in Soho last week combines three of my favorite things: paintings by Pieter Breugel, time lapse photography, and giant roosters.
Posted inArt
Touring The Barnes Foundation That Was
Visiting the Barnes Foundation was always high on my list of things to do during my next visit to Philadelphia. Unfortunately, I still haven’t managed to make it to Philadelphia. Good thing the New York Times has stepped up to make a visit to the Barnes easier than ever, at least virtually.
Posted inArt
Tuesday Video: A Murakami For The Whole Family!
Pity the poor parents who want to introduce their tots to the work of a contemporary artist like Takashi Murakami. Sure, all those laughing daisies and dancing bears are adorable, but how do you explain to Junior on a Saturday afternoon trip to the museum why that lady’s breasts are so big, or why that blonde dude is twirling a lasso of white stuff that’s coming out of his … uh, never mind.
Posted inArt
Microtrend Of The Week: Google+ Fan Art
After all the serious back-and-forth debate about social media-based art around here lately, we figured it would be nice to lighten things up a little …
Posted inArt
“Artist, Entrepreneur, Opportunist”
Mention the name Kirsha Kaechele (assuming you can pronounce it) to folks in the New Orleans arts communities and you’re likely to hear a wide range of opinions—and her story brings up a host of interesting questions regarding the complex and often conflicting mix of motivations, ego, and consequences behind community-based art projects.
Posted inArt
The (Other) C-Word
(via Steve Lambert/kickstarter.com) Quick—what’s the dirtiest word you can think of? The one that makes people the most uncomfortable? The one you wouldn’t dare say at a party for fear you’ll spend the rest of the evening alone in a corner with everyone around you doing their best to pretend you’re not there? Artist Steve […]
Posted inArt
Postcards from New Orleans: Walking the Marigny
Although it’s currently one of New Orleans’ most happening neighborhoods, it’s easy for me to take the centuries-old Faubourg Marigny for granted since I’ve lived here ever since moving to New Orleans nearly fourteen years ago. I went for a walk today to remind myself how visually rich it is, and this is what I saw.
Posted inArt
Grant v. Lee: The Battle Continues
150 years after the conflict began, the Civil War provides the subject matter for a group show at the Good Children Gallery in New Orleans. But far from being a mere exercise in nostalgia,”Grant v. Lee”, curated by Sophie Lvoff, gave artists the opportunity to “gently and subtly evoke the times and culture of the Civil War while bringing up significant questions about race and nationalism that we continue to ask today.”
Posted inNews
Here’s Looking at You, Kyle McDonald
In a project that was either a canny statement about surveillance and consumer culture or just plain creepy, artist Kyle Macdonald staged a “photographic intervention” on public computers in Apple stores around Manhattan via a custom application that snapped photos of people browsing the computers without their knowledge and then uploaded them to a Tumblr site. Which was all fun and games until the Secret Service stopped by and confiscated his laptop.
Posted inArt
Videos by Dave Greber: Life, The Universe and Everything
New Orleans artist Dave Greber’s video work addresses issues of optical phenomena and universal spirituality. It’s also a hell of a lot of fun to watch.
Posted inNews
Prospect 2: Now With 66% Less Art!
New Orleans is a city of excess: we eat more good food, show more skin (at least during Carnival season), and have more fun than just about any other city in the United States, or anywhere. And when the Prospect.1 art biennial rolled into town in the fall of 2008, we could add “see more great art” to that list as well. Hopes were high that the followup would match or even exceed the scope and ambition of curator Dan Cameron’s first installment (81 artists! 39 countries! 22 venues!). But it’s not 2008 any more, and Prospect New Orleans has become subject to the New Austerity too.