Inside Art New Orleans: David Byrne on "Perfect" Cities

Paul Chan: A Lawless Proposition

What happens when it is the making that instructs the maker? What happens when the art makes the artist? When I make a work, there is sometimes a turning point; a moment when the conceptual and sensuous materials bind in such a way that the composition begins to resist my attempts to shape it according to my original intentions, and develops, against my will, its own sense of what must be done in order to be itself. It doesn’t happen all the time. But when it does, I feel relieved, because it means the minutes, days, or years of working up to this point were worth the effort. But there is also a degree of despair, because the initial conception of how the work ought to be no longer holds sway in how it will continue to evolve. I am no longer the prime mover of the work. My directions are no longer followed. Beyond this certain point there is no return. This point has to be reached. More>>

Best of Prospect.2 Reviews

From Pelican Bomb:

The moment the sky turns dark is transformative. In the Brulatour Courtyard, it’s the time when Dawn DeDeaux’s portrait of Ignatius Reilly comes to life, converting the historic courtyard into the dark imaginings of John Kennedy Toole’s A Confederacy of Dunces. Those familiar with the iconic New Orleans novel will recognize central elements from the narrative in this installation. The Lucky Dog cart, and Reilly’s hunting cap all make appearances; while his slovenly bed occupies center stage of the courtyard, fountain spewing... More>>

NY Times on "The Music Box"

It is a collection of tumbledown wooden and metal structures built on the site, and almost entirely from the remains of a late-18th-century Creole cottage that collapsed a couple of years ago here in New Orleans' historic, bohemian Bywater neighborhood. Each structure houses an instrument, or two or three. In some cases the structures are musical instruments themselves. There is the thatched-roof hut that is home to an elaborate arrangement of Balinese vibraphones, the shack with amplified floorboards, the rusty spiral staircase that is also a foot-operated pipe organ and the little glass house containing what looks like a giant, bell-lined hoop skirt. They are all clustered together on the narrow lot, like a fairy tale set in a junkyard. “The Music Box,” as art installation and orchestra, has three scheduled performances — one Oct. 22 (see video, above), one on Nov. 19 and a third on December 10. More>>

Traviesa stars in Greber's A.r.t.i.s.t S.t.a.t.e.m.e.n.t.

New Orleans art experiences rapid change even as some things remain the same. Here Jonathan Traviesa -- a 20-something UNO student a mere decade or so ago, but now something of a gray eminence to a new generation of emerging artists -- stars as Dave Greber, an emerging 20-something video savant in this self-produced "publicity" piece on Vimeo. "Released specifically to combat growing rumors that Greber was losing a battle against pretension, this "artist statement" sets out to show that a typical day for the 'Grebster' is more playful than you'd think. Greber puts on an impromptu fashion show and sits in a comfortable-looking chair reflecting on life and art." More>>

A Tour of Banksy's New Orleans Landmarks

From Nola Vie

by Brianna Smyk

In 2007, Banksy focused his social commentary on New Orleans, when he painted a series of street art pieces around the city. These pieces marked the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and attempted to refocus national awareness on New Orleans. Now, four years later, some of the pieces have been painted over, while plexiglass coverings protect others. These plexiglass coverings broach a discussion about the ephemeral nature of street art. It originally is created to be temporary, but in the wake of its increasing popularity (due to its high selling prices in auction houses and galleries, as well as its inclusion in recent museum exhibitions), people are finding better ways to preserve street art. But that is a conversation for you to have during your own tour. More>>

Occupy Go Round: The Circularity of Influence

“Bloomberg Beware. Zuccotti Park is Everywhere.” —Nov. 17 #OWS chant

The influence of concentric circles in the contemporary world is subtle. Most of us don’t realize how affected we are by concentricity. Most people aren’t privy to the prevalent use of concentric circles for applications such as data mining, or protocols for tactical response by the police and military, or the design of our communities, both virtual and actual... We don’t realize that Microsoft researchers are mapping community dimensionally and using concentric circles to generate algorithms that enable programmers to create simulated environments to appeal to our basic human (circular) sensibilities. More>>

Mirror of the Buddha at the Rubin Museum

In early Tibetan painted portraits, founding masters of important Buddhist schools were often represented as holy personages. Using artistic conventions developed in India, Tibetan artists expressed the Buddhist ideals embodied in a particular person, exalting their human subjects to the level of buddhas. Mirror of the Buddha presents exquisite examples of these portraits, painted primarily in the eastern India-inspired Sharri style. Marking the third in a series of exhibitions that explores important Tibetan painting styles, Mirror of the Buddha will also analyze inscriptions and lineages, which are often overlooked yet of critical importance, as tools for dating these works of art. Mirror of the Buddha will be complemented by a full-color catalog rich with new scholarship, by curator David Jackson. More>>