Art

Outer Journey

The art in New Orleans is everywhere.  There are local artists everywhere.  There are painters, musicians, dancers, and chefs all over the city.  We went all over the city looking at all kinds of art, from photography to paintings, to jewelry makers, to psychics.  I could have picked so many different artists.  I tend to love photography and I loved so many pictures of the architecture around NOLA.  There were so many cool buildings and doors and streets.  I could have spent all day looking at buildings and taking pictures.  The cemetery was another favorite spot that I would have spent hours taking pictures at.  We went to the Garden District on our free day, and we met an artist that was selling his artwork in a studio he had.  He was so polite and talked to us about his art and took pictures with us.  His name was Terrance Osborne and his artwork was colorful and gorgeous.  Terrance grew up in the heart of New Orleans.  He has a Fine Arts Degree from Xavier University of Louisiana.  He taught Fine Arts in the public-school system for five years before Hurricane Katrina came.  He and his family evacuated and went to Georgia and he started painting full-time.  He later returned to New Orleans to pursue his career in art.  He has received many awards and commissions for being able to depict the city with his artwork.  He was voted the city’s Best Artist in Gambit Weekly’s Best Of….Edition.  He now lives in New Orleans with his wife and business partner and their three kids.  He had pictures hanging all around the walls of his art work and he had an atmosphere that was welcoming and soothing.  He had lavender oils going and a soft rug to stand on.  He had pictures of Mardi Gras, Katrina, jazz musicians, and animals.  He uses bright and bold colors that stand out and tell a story.  Growing up in New Orleans gave him the inspiration to paint.  The bright colors are symbolic of Mardi Gras and all the fun that people have in New Orleans.  My favorite picture was called “Lady Mardi Gras.”  This painting is Terrance’s tribute to the social scene in New Orleans.  It is a picture of a female wearing face paint and beads and holding a mask.  She has colorful hair and a house on her head with birds on the house.  When I look at that picture, I see New Orleans.   I see Mardi Gras and all the colors and uniqueness of the city.  I feel like it depicts the city and how different everyone is in New Orleans.  All his paintings show different aspects of New Orleans and many depict events that have happened or do happen in the city.  Terrance’s Katrina paintings show what the city went through when Katrina hit.  He has several that depict the solutions of the hurricane including putting houses on stilts, evacuations, and boats.  Others were titled post hurricane blues.  These paintings are just so impactful.

 Terrance Osborne

Cemetery 

Inner Journey

The reason I chose this particular artist, was not only his artwork, but his personality.  His presentation was like no other.  When you walked in his gallery, the smell of lavender instantly hit you and then you walk on his plush rug, and it is so soft under your feet.  He greets you with a warm smile and answers any questions you may have. He took the time to take pictures with all of us and was kind the entire time.  When learning that he is from New Orleans, and hearing what he went through with Hurricane Katrina, it made me like him and his artwork even more.  The vibrant colors he uses instantly drew me to his work.  The stories his art tells are amazing.  Knowing that he went through Hurricane Katrina makes his artwork even more meaningful.  He was not just telling a story, he was telling his story.  Looking at his artwork, I could see the story he was trying to tell.  The way he paints in an eclectic way but still capturing the meaning is what drew me in.  Putting houses on top of vehicles and boats showing what the victims of Katrina had to do to get out of harms way was beautiful and devastating at the same time.  I am not sure that if he was from another town, he would be as inspired as he is growing up in New Orleans.  Another reason I chose this artist was after visiting the Presbytere Museum, I was so impacted by the stories of the Katrina victims.  I had no idea what really happened and how many people were left and not rescued and why.  Knowing the background about the hurricane made his paintings more beautiful.  Katrina was the story that impacted me the most of all of the places we visited.  Knowing that people were left because they were poor.  Knowing that nothing was done to prevent the seriousness of the hurricane just blew my mind.  If this had been going on in a richer city, would things have turned out the same way?   Knowing that local people were heroes and were staying behind to save lives was one of the most heart wrenching stories.  All of these things were seen in his paintings.  Then he had the happy paintings.  The paintings that showed the music of New Orleans.  The paintings that showed Mardi Gras.  Sunset paintings.  All of these things are also New Orleans.  I think many of the artists of New Orleans have their own depiction of what New Orleans means.  I think the reason so many people take photographs of the city is because it is so unique and has so many areas of town that are beautiful and colorful and stand for what the city means.  There are so many different ways to capture the city and the history and what it means.  Terrance Osborne is able to tell his story of his town in a colorful way that is both tragic and beautiful.

Terrance Osborne's work

Music

Outer Journey

New Orleans is full of music and the people there changed music in a way that only New Orleans could.  Most people think jazz when they think of New Orleans.  Jazz originated from New Orleans’ African American communities. Blues also originated in New Orleans in the 1920s.  R&B, Zydeco, and Bounce also define the musical history of New Orleans.  We learned about Buddy Bolden, Louis Armstrong, Pete Fountain, Al Hirt, and Harry Connick Jr.  My favorite song was “Thought I heard Buddy Bolden say,” by Jelly Roll Morton.  Seeing places like Maison Bourbon, where Harry Connick Jr learned about music was cool because I know who he is.  Hearing about funerals having the celebratory music was also neat.  I had no appreciation of this type of music before this trip.  The history behind it makes it more impressive and changes the way I hear it.  Thinking about people playing it years ago, makes me appreciate it more and makes me imagine what the streets looked like years ago.  I can just see the people playing and singing and everyone crowded around singing along.  There seemed to be music all around the city no matter where you went.  We heard people playing on the streets and sidewalks.   We saw people playing in bars.  Music was everywhere.  Milton was amazing at sharing the music with us as he talked about the history of what we were listening to.  The tour with him, was by far my favorite tour.  I had no idea how much New Orleans impacted the music industry.  I loved hearing the people in streets playing the saxophone.  That is one of the sexiest instruments and seeing these people play just fascinated me.  The talent blew me away.  The people playing on the streets were more talented than some people that are famous musicians that make millions of dollars.  The people playing music had so much passion, you could hear it when they played.  We also saw a couple of different groups tap dancing with cans that were smooshed on the bottom of their shoes.  When I first heard it, I thought they had tap shoes.  Both groups that we saw were young boys.  They were just trying to make an honest living and even though it was cold, they were out their working their butts off.  When we went to one of the bars, BMC, Balcony Music Club, the guys were playing blues music.  There was a guy on the saxophone, guitar, drums, and a singer.  It was fun to see local bands playing in the local bars.  My favorite music was when we heard it on the sidewalk from random artists that were just playing because they loved to play.  It was predominately males, for some reason.  The city was just a happy city.  Even though there are a lot of homeless and poor people, they are still happy.  Maybe it’s the music…..or maybe it’s the alcohol.  Either way, the music is incredible and everywhere.  I had no idea what I was going to experience, and I am so glad I got the chance to hear the music.

 Maison Bourbon

https://photos.app.goo.gl/dIgn1p0brpzF0Mg62

Link to street music.

Inner Journey

New Orleans would not be New Orleans without music. It is one of the key defining attributes of NOLA.  You could tell a story through the music of New Orleans.  Listening to the music as we walked from street to street, it was something that you just got used to hearing.  If you didn’t hear music for a short period of time, you noticed and thought “where is the music.”    As I listened to the music, I thought about all the history and all the people that went through so much to survive in the city.  People play music to survive, to tell a story, to entertain, and to express themselves.  I learned so much about the culture through the music.   It’s hard to describe the feeling of walking through the streets of New Orleans and what it makes you feel.  I realized how much I enjoy music.  The city spoke in a beautiful way you can only experience by going to the city.  The passion that you hear in the voices and the tunes of the instruments is unlike any other.  If I am writing about music, I feel like I must mention the music on the train ride home.  We had a fellow passenger that was having his birthday and they brought drinks for everyone and were playing music.  As soon as they started playing music, everyone started dancing and cheering.  The mood of the train changed.  It instantly got happier and livelier.  People that didn’t know each other before all came together and had a good time.  People left with friends made and warmer hearts.  Music brings a sense of community instantly.  It puts people in a good mood and makes people move whether they realize it or not.  That is how I felt the entire time in New Orleans.  The music is a part of the community.  Without the music playing, the city would not be the same.  The music tour made learning the history of New Orleans easier to understand and easier to follow.  I was a little nervous about learning about so much history, because I am not a history person, so I was pleasantly surprised.  It was more powerful to listen to the music to feel the emotion of the singers and feel what they were going through.  There was one group that we saw playing in the street.  They were all young and looked like they had all their belongings with them.  They played, and it blew me away at the talent.  This groups members all played an instrument, and some sang.  It was hard to imagine that these people had this talent, but don’t have enough money to have a nice home and the necessities to live a nice life.  That is one of the things that touched my heart the most.  Seeing people pour their heart into their music or art, or whatever their talent is a kind of heartwarming feeling that I have only experienced in this city.  This trip would not be the same without learning about the importance of the music that originated from New Orleans. 

The birthday boy, Jon, on the train ride home.