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heelsorthink-blog · 1 year

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Creating a Sense of Wonder

The drive to New Orleans, LA from Stratford, ON is 1954 km or 18 hours and 10 minutes, not including stops to charge the car. This means one insanely long day, two long driving days, or three days if you want to stop at least occasionally.

I originally planned a route that would allow us to visit various art galleries along the way, but quickly realized that between many of them being closed on Monday and Tuesday, or only being open noon to 5, it would have have taken us well over a week. So, what made the most logical sense was a more curated plan which included late afternoon stop at the Atlanta Contemporary and then an overnight stay in Mobile, AL to visit the Alabama Contemporary and the @mobilemuseumofart.

The Mobile Museum of Art opened their exhibition For Children: 2020 - The Elements of Art & Design late 2019. Unlike many children's exhibitions which are contained in their own wing or section, this exhibition is adjacent to one of the museum's main temporary exhibition galleries and takes up a sizeable amount of gallery real estate. The strategic placement of this exhibition invites visitors of all ages to engage or at least walk through the exhibition, but more importantly, allows parents and children to make connections between what they experience in these kid friendly spaces and the contemporary exhibitions on view.

While the overall exhibition leaned towards the spectacular, with lots of WOW factor, and Instagram and selfie opportunities, there were still opportunities to engage and create such as the giant "Light-Brite" and "Lego" galleries

For little kids and anyone who grew up with Sesame Street, the room-sized inflatable Rubber Duck is so fun as it bobs along to the 1970's hit song Rubber Duckie by Jeff Moss and Joe Raposo and voiced by Jim Henson.

The red room plays with saturated colour, texture, and scale. A giant inflatable chair is juxtaposed with tiny wall cupboards with mini vignettes and peak-a-boo windows allowing one to glimpse an inflatable Spiderman.

For Children successfully merges an experiential journey through the elements of art and design with hints of nostalgia for adults.

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heelsorthink-blog · 1 year

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Here we go again ....

I started this blog almost exactly 10 years ago. I had just arrived in New Orleans to embark on a four month adventure and research exercise. At the time I was just entering the data collection stage of my PhD and my focus was on the Krewe of Muses, an all-female Mardi Gras krewe.

As a Canadian, Mardi Gras parades and parade culture were a pretty foreign concept and an even stranger subject for a doctoral thesis at a Canadian university. What started as a feminist investigation became a much broader look at the important role that art and creativity play in community building, community identity, and friendship.

When I returned home to Canada, I wrote a number of different versions of my dissertation but never defended. The version that resonated with my research participants, did not resonate at all with my dissertation committee.

‘Complicated” is one of the most common words writers use to describe New Orleans. It is a city of contradictions, which all make total sense when you are here, but are almost impossible to explain and to understand if you have never visited or had to opportunity to wander the streets to explore and experience all the city, and its people have to offer.

Last night I heard author Janis F Kearney read from her recent book Only on Sundays at Octavia Books. She spoke that as a writer, you need to “speak your truth”. I think that is the reason I never defended my thesis or received my PhD. I needed and wanted to speak the truth that the female members of the Krewe of Muses shared with me. I wanted to capture the spirit, the sense of magic, and excitement they shared with me. The experience of riding in Muses, glittering shoes, or watching the parade hoping to catch one of their coveted shoes or specialty throws did not fit neatly within a framework of critical race or feminist theory. It was complicated!

So here I am 10 years later, temporarily returning to the Irish Channel, the neighbourhood I called home a decade ago and ready to revisit a project that was shelved but not forgotten.

#mardi gras #krewe of muses #mardigras #irish channel #parade #krewe #janis f kearney #octavia books #new orleans #phd

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heelsorthink-blog · 9 years

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Paper boats filled with dreams

There are some objects and images that evoke memories, dreams, childhood, and imagination. Paper boats are one of these things.

Tucked in a corner, towards the rear of the exhibition , In the Eye of the Thunderstorm: Effervescent Practices from the Arab World and South Asia was a powerful, moving and thought-provoking work by Sadik Kwaish Alfraji.

Simply titled Ali’s Boat, the work consisted of four tiny folded paper boats tucked in the corner on the grey industrial carpet. The grey walls above contained the accompanying text, in black vinyl lettering.

Ali’s Boat

Ali is a young boy who I met in Baghdad for the first time 2009. He was 11 years of age then, and we only saw each other for a few days in the family house. Ali is my youngest nephew.

The morning I left Baghdad, he handed me a sealed envelope, which he sincerely asked me not to open till I returned hoe to the Netherlands.

I promised, and kept my promise, and I only opened his nicely decorated envelope when I reached home with my family. In it was a letter with the names of my children and his own name. In the middle a drawing of a little canoe-like boat with one simple sentence written, saying: “I wish my letter takes me to you.”

A simple, honest sentence and a boat, which held his dreams ... As if he hoped that these words and that letter, if opened in the right place, at the right time, would perform a kind of magic, his own Abracadabra or Open Sesame, which would take him for, far away just the way he used to go on this boat in his dreams. His letter in a sealed envelope was his attempt to escape reality, with a boat and a few words, to a strange world of fantasy.

He had put his dream on a boat not knowing that his humble boat had carried me to him instead of him to me. He didn’t know that his boat was actually my boat that I used to dream of, a boat that I could take to leave my house, my family and my homeland when I was young, eager to escape the misery and explore the world. And it is now the sam boat I dream of to carry me back there as a child embracing the playgrounds of my childhood that spread between the thresholds of our house up to the vast horizons.

My work is mainly built around that letter, the image of Ali’s boat and the impressions of that world of childhood where I grew up and where Ali is now.

Alfaji’s work was evocative. Telling a story of dreams, memories, and magic. It was a story that was at once heartbreaking, nostalgic, and at the same time hopeful. Within the words, the tiny paper boats, the image of Ali’s drawing and the accompanying video is the communicative and narrative power of art.

The theme suggested by the title In the Eye of the Thunderstorm echoed through each of the works in the this exhibit. Thunderstorms have the power to be both devastating and beautiful, powerful and fleeting, frightening and hopeful. Ali’s sorry is filled with love, hope, and the desire and need for peace and understanding.

Playing at the opposite end of the scale, Brazilian artist, is Vik Muniz’s Lampedusa. This 45′ vessel in the shape of a paper boat, sailed the canals of Venice alongside cruise ships, gondolas, water taxis, and vaporettos before resting in the marina on La Certosa. Muniz, known for his socially engaged projects, created this work in response to the 2013 tragedy when a boat transporting migrants from Libya capsized off the coast of the Italian island of Lampedusa.

Muniz’s paper boat, constructed out of wood, appears to be made from an oversized front page of an October 4, 2013 newspaper reporting on the tragedy. This work is topical, however, the playfulness of a giant paper boat can easily disguise serious discourse or discussion regarding the perilous situation facing migrants attempting to enter Europe.

However, like in Alfraji’s work, this paper boat is symbolic as a place of dreams. A magical object that has the ability to transport one to what they hope and believe is a better place.

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heelsorthink-blog · 9 years

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A Change of Scenery

Sometimes your head says “You need to keep working,” and your heart says, “You need to take a break and remind yourself what it feels like to feel alive and be inspired!”

I have always found art and architecture inspiring. When found in combination, I always feel like everything may be alright in the world. So -despite my head saying, “You need to stay home and finish this draft of your PhD.” At the very last minute (a mere five hours before our scheduled departure time) I trusted my heart, threw a couple pairs of sandals and a few summer dresses into my bag and headed for the Toronto airport and our flight to Venice.

Standing on the deck of the Vaporetto that was carrying us from Sant’Elena to Dorsoduro, the sun and hot humid breeze felt luxurious. Our first stop was We Must Risk Delight: Twenty Artists from Los Angeles. An official Collateral Event of the 56th la Biennale di Venezia this project by Bardo LA was inspired by the poem A Brief for the Defense from Refusing Heaven by Jack Gilbert.

Gilbert wrote “ ... If we deny happiness, resist our satisfaction, we lessen the importance of our deprivation. We must risk delight. We can do without pleasure, but not delight. Not enjoyment. We must have the stubbornness to accept our gladness in the ruthless furnace of this world. To make injustice the only measure of our attention is to praise the Devil. ... We must admit there will be music despite everything. ...”

That is why I was here - in Venice - when I should have been at home writing. It was to risk delight. To, as the website for the exhibition states: “to risk delight and celebrate the act of creating as humanity’s pathway to joy: both within ourselves and in the collective world around us.” It was also what my dissertation was really about. What I had been trying to communicate these past many months. That yes, there is injustice in New Orleans, but Mardi Gras, allows New Orleanians and those that celebrate with them to embrace “the artist’s vision of the world” and to risk delight.

I have to admit that one of the things I love about la Biennale di Venezia is the opportunity to explore the hidden interiors of the spectacular Venetian architecture. Being able to enter historic waterfront warehouses, palaces, churches, and palatial homes fills me with a sense of awe and wonder. Seeing contemporary art placed in juxtaposition to these amazing spaces forces one to look and appreciate both the architecture and the art in ways that differ from seeing work placed in a standard white cube, or wondering the halls of a building filled with period furniture.

The S.a.L.E docks is a contemporary art space located in what was a previously unused historic dockside warehouse type space on the tip of Donsoduro. Gallery walls were erected throughout most of the space occupied by We Risk Delight however, breaks in both the ceiling and walls allowed you to gain a sense of the scale and construction of the original structure.

Margaret Griffith’s aluminum spiral Staircase I rose 12 feet above the gallery floor extending towards the skylight through the gallery ceiling. Intricate, fragile, and monumental Griffith’s work speaks to her interest in permanence as fiction. Her delicate, twisting sculpture is a staircase in form and suggestion only, echoing a sense of nostalgia and opening possibilities.

Rebecca Niederländer’s There is a Nova in the Bed Next to Mine captures your attention as you enter the exhibition space. Small die-cut flowers crafted from vellum cascade from the ceiling puddling on the floor plinth, creating and environment that is both contemplative and ethereal. This work, originally created as the centre-piece for her site-specific installation, Axis Mundi, in the Museum of Contemporary Religious Art at the University of St. Louis holds its own amongst the diverse work in this group exhibit extending an opening gesture into a created and hopeful dream world.

Alexandra Grant’s mixed media work Century of the Self (2) provides a colourful counterpoint to the work of a number of the artists in the exhibit. Grant’s text-based work forces one to engage in a sort of dialogue with the images, text, and meanings inherent in both. There is a depth to her work that is intensified by the mirroring of the introspective text and language that demands our connection with it as we relate on both a linguistic and visceral level and explore our own sense of self.

Alexis Zoto’s installation Life is Relentless combines glittery and bejeweled found objects that combine to create a magical environment that references her Albanian Orthodox heritage and her experiences as a woman. The resulting work is rich with symbolism and a touch of nostalgia.

Other works in the exhibition include Stas Orlovski’s Chimera

Natasa Prosenc Stearns’ installation Night Spring and Wishing Well

Carolyn Castano’s light boxes and animated digital video Still from Mujeres Que Crean / Women Who Create.

Robbie Conal’s series of satirical oil on canvas portraits Dancing (Nelson Mandela), Kiss the Sky (Jimi Hendrix), Stir it Up (Bob Marley), and Come Together (John Lennon)

Other artists in the exhibition included: Brandy Eve Allen, Frank Ryan, Tanya Batura, Kenturah Davis, Sherin Guirguis, Shizu Saldamando, Jamison Carter, Amir H. Fallah, Ben Jackel, Carole Silverstein, Mark Licari, and Tony de los Reyes

#la biennale di venezia #venice #contemporary art #Robbie Conal #Margaret Griffith #rebecca niederlander #stas orlovski #Natasa Prosenc Stearns #carolyn castano #alexandra grant #alexis zoto #we must risk delight #jack gilbert #a brief for the defense #dorsoduro #installation #sculpture #painting

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heelsorthink-blog · 10 years

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Anniversaries

So, yesterday I received an email from Tumblr, congratulating me on my one year anniversary of my blog - Heels or Think! Receiving this brought back fond memories of the three months I spent in New Orleans doing ethnographic research on the Krewe of Muses, and reminded me about how disciplined I was during that time to take the time to sit down and write.

This congratulatory email, however, felt more like a not so subtle reminder that I have been slacking off. Not that I haven't been working, but somehow the renovations on our house, teaching during the fall term, and transcribing my research interviews has taken precedence. I also started feeling like I have been somewhat of a hypocrite.

Our house this summer in the midst of gutting chaos.

You see, blogging is a big component of the courses I teach. I have my students write a blog post each week, reflecting on the course readings, class discussions and presentations, the videos we watch in class, or anything that relates to course content (in the case of last term - Gender theory). Each time I use this blogging assignment it gets better and better and I am always impressed with the quality of writing, critical thinking and comprehension that develops over the course of the term. I have been invited, together with a few of my students to write a blog post about blogging in the classroom for the Centre for Teaching Excellence Blog: Ideas too big to keep in our heads. So, it seemed that these were all signs that my blogging hiatus needs to come to an end and that I need to get back and revisit this blog and start writing again.

So, here it goes ......

I have decided to change course a wee bit. This blog started out as a way to document my wanderings around New Orleans as I witnessed the preparation for Mardi Gras 2013. My blog posts barely skimmed the surface in describing the amazing experience I had or the incredible people I met. There are so many stories that still remain untold.

Monday was the start of a whole new Carnival season. KIng Cake is now available in stores and bakeries around New Orleans. Krewe flags are flying across the city and the first two parades Phunny Phorty Phellows and Krewe de Jeanne d'Arc rolled along St. Charles Ave and the French Quarter on Monday night. Mardi Gras is only 53 days, 8 hours and 53 minutes away. This also means only 48 days till the Krewe of Muses parade, which also means I have lots of shoes that still need to be glittered (but more about that later.)

Glitter Shoes almost ready for the Krewe of Muses parade.

This week was also the start of Winter term. I am not teaching, instead focusing on finishing my dissertation. I also decided to sit in on the graduate qualitative research seminar our department offers. I took this 5 years ago, when I first started my PhD. So it will be a nice way to end my grad school experience and a nice counter-balance to the more personal experience of analyzing and writing.

#New Orleans #Mardi Gras #krewe of muses #research #Renovations #blogging #Glitter #Gitter Shoes #PhD #phunny phorty phellows #Krewe de Jeanne d'Arc #king cake #carnival #Parades

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heelsorthink-blog · 11 years

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It's mid-March in the Irish Channel and that only means one thing ....

Friday, March 15, 2013

When you live in the Irish Channel a couple of blocks from Tracey's and Parasol's you have to expect that Saint Paddy's Day will take over the entire neighbhourhood.

The Krewe de Bones at the Red & White house on Magazine and Washington were ready as always for any occasion. In honor of St. Patrick's Day the Skeletons donned their kilts and grabbed their bagpipes. I continue to be amazed by the work and creativity that goes into each of these holiday themed installations.

While St. Patrick's Day decorations started to pop-up immediately following Mardi Gras, earlier this week the Port-o-Lets started being distributed along Third Street and in the front lawns of homes in the neighbourhood.

Parasol's was closed for a couple of days at the beginning of this week to give them a chance to get ready for the giant street party that began yesterday on Third St. between Magazine and Constance Streets.

As I walked across Third St. yesterday afternoon, I had to wonder if anyone had gone to work at all that morning, as our entire neighbourhood was busting at the seams in a sea of green, with lots of kilts and tutus on display.

The street party continued along Third this afternoon and will no doubt be going strong until the wee hours of Monday morning. I have never taken St. Patrick's Day seriously. I did not own any green clothes, or at least I didn't until now. I was told by various people in my New Orleans life, that I will have to wear green if I plan on venturing out of the house this weekend. I figured I could get away with not wearing green yesterday, but have expanded my wardrobe to include some green for the next three days.

So earlier this evening I put on my new somewhat 60's inspired wrap top with green, orange, black and yellow on white stripes together with a black tiered Zac Posen skirt I picked up at The Rival Outpost and headed to the French Quarter to catch the Molly's at the Market Saint Patrick's Day Parade. The Bearded Oysters invited me to parade with them this evening, but as the last few weeks have been pretty busy with interviews and other research activities I did not have time to get it together to meet with Katrina to get a costume. However, I wanted to be there to support Katrina, Shannon and the other Oysters I have met over the past few months.

The Storyville Stompers, Molly's at the Market Saint Patrick's Day Parade 2013

It was a great night for a walk and I managed to get to the corner of N. Peters and Decatur just before the parade reached us. I felt like a local as I explained to the tourists standing nearby how to catch beads. It is funny how these cheap plastic throws can generate so much joy, anticipation and excitement. The two women standing next to me had just arrived from Texas and they were thrilled that they were able to see a real parade. I handed them the beads I caught, which they wore proudly.

Irish Zulu, Molly's at the Market Saint Patrick's Day Parade 2013

French Quarter parades are much more intimate and less elaborate affairs with an emphasis on walking and marching groups rather than elaborate floats. The Irish Zulu were handing out decorated potatoes, a take-off on the decorated coconuts thrown by the Krewe of Zulu. Tourists not familiar with this Mardi Gras tradition, seemed reluctant to take the offered potatoes. I went home with a potato painted in white. Unlike the coconuts which are prepared so that they can be kept on display, I am not sure how long my potato will last before drying out or getting moldy?

Abita Queen Bees Pleasure & Social Club, Molly's at the Market St. Patrick's Day Parade 2013

Like Mardi Gras, the Saint Patrick's Day Parades provide varied opportunities for New Orleanians to dress up, take to the streets and have fun.

Kazoozie Floosies, Molly's at the Market St. Patrick's Day Parade 2013

The Muff-a-lotta's, Molly's at the Market St. Patrick's Day Parade 2013

Two Mardi Gras parade favorites, The Muffalotta's and the Bearded Oysters were out to strut their stuff and entertain the crowds. Both of these groups provide women with the opportunity to parade, but also to get together with other women developing bonds and friendships.

The Bearded Oysters, Molly's at the Market St. Patrick's Day Parade 2013

Katrina, the founder of the Bearded Oysters rode one of her fabulous tricycles as a sort of Grand Marshall for the Bearded Oysters. Katrina is one of the most creative, interesting, visionary and entrepreneurial women I have every met. It has been a pleasure getting to know her and spending time with her in her studio. She spotted me from down the block and gave me a big smile and wave. As she approached she asked me if I wanted to hop on and ride with her for the remainder of the parade. I declined as my bright striped top was at odds with the white and silvery costumes of the Oysters. However, I have to admit now, that this would have been an experience of a lifetime.

I will miss the parades when I head home in a few weeks. Parading in New Orleans is ingrained in the culture. It is about getting together, living life to the fullest and never forgetting that it is sometimes it is important to just let loose and have fun.

The dusk turned to darkness as I made my way home. Some of my neighbours were still out putting the final touches on their decorations getting ready for the parties this weekend.

As I turned down Third Street, it was eerily quiet. However the large Irish flag inspired shamrock reminded me that it would not be like this for long.

#New Orleans #Irish Channel #Saint Patrick's Day #St. Patrick's Day #Saint Paddy's Day #Irish #Magazine St.#french quarter #Molly's at the Market #Parades #Bearded Oysters #Krewe de Bones #Tracey's #Parasol's #Muff-a-lotta's #Storyville Stompers

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heelsorthink-blog · 11 years

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Sharing the love of books: One free book at a time

Sunday, March 10, 2013

I have been meaning to write about this for awhile now, so what better time than now on an early Sunday morning. Sunday morning is the time when many of us curl up in bed with a cup of tea or coffee to read a favorite book or the Sunday paper. Others may sit in a nearby cafe reading the New York Times Sunday Book Review or perhaps the sports section of our local paper.

While most local libraries will not open till at least noon today, and others may be closed, there are little libraries popping up on street corners and front yards around the world that are open 24/7. I love to read and I love books. So when I first heard about the Little Free Library movement I was more than a little interested. However, I had not had the opportunity to experience one of these little gems until fairly recently, when I discovered one at 1404 Louisiana Avenue a block north of Magazine St.

Started in Wisconsin in 2009, the Little Free Library movement is growing as they say "one free book at a time." Little Free Library, Ltd. (http://www.littlefreelibrary.org) is a tax-exempt non profit organization. Each Little Free Library branch is operated by a Steward who is a local member of your community that wants to share their love of books and reading by making books accessible to their neighbours and their community.

By becoming an official Little Free Library Steward you can have your own Little Free Library placed on the map, you can purchase a ready made Little Free Library building, or build your own, you receive a special plaque to place on your Library and you are eligible to receive books from select publishers for the cost of shipping. The surprising thing is that it only costs $34.95 USD plus the cost to buy or build your own library to become an official Little Free Library Steward. But the true value of being a Little Free Library Steward is that you get to share your love of books and reading with everyone in your neighbourhood and put access to books within the hands of everyone.

As soon as I saw this library on Louisiana, I knew that I would have to incorporate this into the landscaping plan for the house we are renovating back home. I love the idea of having art or sculpture in the garden and what better way than to have a piece of sculpture that not only serves a purpose, but also creates interaction and engagement with others and is part of a larger international network.

The only question that remains is - How can I possibly limit my selection of titles to fit in one Little Free Library?

#Little Free Library #books #reading #community #Magazine St.#art #sculpture #new orleans

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heelsorthink-blog · 11 years

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They Call Them Baby Dolls: Coming to terms with gendered language

Thursday, March 7, 2013

I have been forced to rethink how I feel about gendered language. At home in Toronto, if someone called me baby, doll, honey or sweetie, I would be offended. Very offended! Although on occasion, I have found myself referring to my friends or a group of women as "the girls", in general I find this demeaning and patronizing.

Over the past few months, I have been giving this issue of how we use and react to gendered language a lot of thought. I have come to realize that gendered language, like all language relies heavily on the context in which it is used and to a certain extent, on who uses it.

One of my more elderly neighbours greets me each morning as I walk Pookie by his house with "Hey baby girl! How's my girl this morning?" I don't know his first name. He doesn't know mine. But each morning I stop and we chat. If I head out a bit too early, or too late I miss him and my day is not the same. For some reason being called baby girl by my neighbour, or hon and sweetie by the bus drivers and cashiers at Walgreens does not bother me one bit! Actually, I kind of like it. Instead of irritating me, for some reason it actually makes me feel like someone cares.

Baby Dolls, 2012 Krewe of Zulu Parade

Which brings me to the 'Baby Dolls.' My first experience with the Baby Dolls was during last years Zulu parade. Why, I wondered would these young women dress in those frilly sexist costumes with their faces painted to look like porcelain dolls. Doesn't this just reinforce and conform to stereotypes? Is this not further oppressing women? When my friends back home saw these images they were similarly outraged and offended.

In reality we were missing the point of Mardi Gras or Carnival. We were viewing this through our own lens ignoring the history and context from which this tradition arose. So, I was quite intrigued when I noticed a small announcement in the Times-Picayune on Monday, February 4th inviting the public to attend Professor Jim Gabour's 2013 Mardi Gras forum on Treme's Underground Culture: Skeletons and Baby Dolls at Loyola University.

Skeleton appearing at "Treme's Underground Culture: Skeletons and Baby Dolls," at Loyola University. Monday February 4, 2013.

I headed out in what became a pouring rainstorm and arrived just in time to get the last seat in a packed lecture hall. Kim Marie Vaz, Associate Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences at Xavier University recently published The Baby Dolls: Breaking the Race and Gender Barriers of the New Orleans Mardi Gras Tradition. She spoke with Gabour about her research on the Baby Dolls and the important place the Baby Dolls hold in Mardi Gras history and traditions. Vaz emphasized how the Baby Dolls provided a space for African American women to rebel against social norms and to "celebrate and promote their fierce spirit and independence."

The Baby Doll tradition dates back to 1912, when the Million Dollar Baby Dolls were formed in Storyville. During this period black women had few opportunities as the Jim Crow laws were deeply entrenched. However, prostitution was a legal occupation, and black Storyville was the legal red-light district where black prostitutes served black and working class white men.

The women who formed the Million Dollar Baby Dolls, a social aid and pleasure club, worked as domestics, prostitues, or other working class jobs. They tended to be single and tended to be known as women who liked to have a good time. The Baby Dolls dressed in short satin dresses, stockings with garters and bonnets.

Although the Baby Dolls were invited to join the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club, this original group of women opted to as Vaz quotes Baby Doll Beatrice Hill as stating "We told [Old] Johnny [Metoyer] we were out to do up some fun in our own way and we were not stopping at nothing, no indeed. Yes sir, the Zulus had their gang and we had ours."

Vaz traced the history of the Baby Dolls in her discussion with Gabour. She explained how other black women from throughout the Treme area, wanted to be be part of this group that gave black women the opportunity to parade, to celebrate their love of jazz and dancing, transcending the oppressive aspects of everyday life.

She quotes Lionel Batiste as saying, "The Baby Dolls were my momma, my aunt and the older women in the Treme area ..." For some, the Baby Dolls were the real life versions of the dolls that poorer young black girls yearned to own.

In my work on the Krewe of Muses, I have discovered that women's involvment in Mardi Gras remains largely unstudied and undocumented. In her February 12, 2013 post on the MsMagazine.com blog, Vaz writes, "The Baby Doll masking practice continues today as a living art form. This tradition has never been studied before, either because as working-class Black women the Baby Dolls were devalued or not taken seriously, and because the predominant male researchers studying New Orleans music, dance and masking traditions routinely overlooked women's participation in various aspects of New Orleans culture."

The "Baby Dolls": Breaking the Race and Gender Barriers of the New Orleans Mardi Gras Traditions is an engaging and informative contribution to Mardi Gras scholarship and the history and role of women in New Orleans life and culture. Vaz's work on the Baby Dolls is accessible to both scholars and a general audience and would be of interest to anyone interested in New Orleans or Mardi Gras history and culture, as well as to those interested in issues surrounding race and gender.

Baby Doll Costumes, They Call Me Baby Doll (Installation view)

Accompanying Vaz's text is the exhibit I visited earlier this week at the Louisiana State Museum's Presbytere on Jackson Square in the French Quarter. They Call Me Baby Doll: A Mardi Gras Tradition opened January 19, 2013 and is scheduled to run through early 2014 on the second floor of the museum.

New Orleans Baby Doll Ladies Costume (2011). Designed and worn by Millisia White.

Vaz organized this exhibit together with Millisia White, the founder and artistic director of the Baby Doll Ladies which brings the history and culture of the Baby Dolls to life through historic photos, informative text panels and Baby Doll costumes.

Baby Doll Ladies Centennial Costume (2012). Designed by Olga Italy. Worn by Millisia White in The 2012 Zulu Parade.

Vaz and White did an excellent job of connecting the history of the Baby Dolls with present day practices, explaining how the traditions of the Baby Dolls had been revived by individuals such as Miriam Batiste-Reed. Batiste-Reed, the daughter of Golden Slipper Baby Doll Alma Trepagnier Batiste, revived the tradition which had been laying dormant for many years, in the 1970's and again over the last decade assisting both the Ernie K-Doe Baby Dolls who formed in 2004 and the Baby Doll Ladies who formed a year later in 2005. Since their inception one hundred years ago, the Baby Dolls have been a source of empowerment for women, as they continue to claim the streets through song and dance, dressing like the dolls that are so precious to children. As Vaz has claimed, calling themselves Baby Dolls had many meanings. African American women were not traditionally considered precious and doll-like, so claiming the name that men called them anyway, appropriating male behaviours such as smoking and throwing money at men, and dressing in baby doll costumes while at the same time coming across as red hot was seen as being empowering and subversive.

I would have loved to see the exhibit given more space, especially as the exhibit Mardi Gras: It's Carnival Time in New Orleans makes little mention of women's Mardi Gras traditions and no mention of the Baby Dolls. I highly recommend both the exhibit and Vaz's book and I know that they will both help to inspire me and inform my own work as I write up my dissertation on the Krewe of Muses over the summer.

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heelsorthink-blog · 11 years

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Embracing my inner tourist: Or just doing research?

March 5, 2013

I have one month left here in New Orleans. So, time to seriously get down to business. I had another great interview with one of the members of the Krewe of Muses yesterday. We met at Parasols, the Irish Channel institution that will be the epicentre of the Saint Patrick's Day festivities in about ten days time.

I have been thinking that it is about time that I check out Mardi Gras World. I have to admit that I have been somewhat skeptical of Mardi Gras World since my first visit to New Orleans. Touted as giving one "an authentic Mardi Gras experience all year round," and with their colourful shuttle buses ready to pick you up and drop you off at area hotels, my tourist rip-off radar was on high alert.

However, on my first weekend here in January, I met Virginia the Chairwoman of the Krewe of Muses Float and Theme committee at Mardi Gras World where she was giving a talk to a group of college students. Before heading into the giant float storage warehouse, Virginia introduced me to Damon Bowie, who is the Art Director and Designer for Blain Kern Studios and responsible for helping to create the vision and bring the magic of Mardi Gras alive. Seeing the massive floats up close was impressive and I knew I had to come back before my three month stint here in New Orleans was up.

So, this morning I decided to take a 25 minute walk and head to Mardi Gras World. As one would expect, the admission ticket was a strand of beads with what else but a Mardi Gras medallion. I showed them my university ID and received the reduced student admission rate of $15.95. Tours are offered every 30 minutes and start from the theatre located adjacent to the gift shop. So far it was feeling very touristy!

We were ushered into the theatre, where we were greeted by a guide with a rack of Mardi Gras Krewe costumes. The idea was to try on the costumes and have our photos taken in front of the various props displayed around the perimeter of the room. I declined and was told "Don't be shy! This is your chance to experience what Mardi Gras is all about." I hardly think that trying on costumes and having my photo taken beside a prop is going to give anyone the feeling of what Mardi Gras is about - but I have to appreciate that they are trying to create an experiential environment.

After what seemed like an eternity, but was probably only 10 to 15 minutes, we were asked to take our seats as a short movie on the history of Mardi Gras was about to start. We were reminded that we were welcome to come back to the theatre after the tour if we wanted to take more photos in our costumes! I wondered to my self - Does anyone ever do this?

The movie was actually pretty good. It provided a pretty good overview of Mardi Gras, the parades the history of Blain Kern Studios and the evolution of float design. I liked that they included historic footage of parades together with more recent images. As I am sure the majority of visitors to Mardi Gras World don't actually have the opportunity to experience Mardi Gras, this gives them a pretty good taste of some of what Mardi Gras, at least the parade portion, is about.

Once the movie was over we headed into the working warehouse / prop studio. Mardi Gras World is the publicly accessible portion of the Blain Kern Studio operation housed at this site. The place is massive and for obvious reasons, they can only take the public through certain portions.

We started the tour in the workshops - the design and fabrication areas. It felt weird walking through while the artists, designers and fabricators were working.

My husband's background is Occupational Health and Safety, so I have accompanied him on a number of factory tours over the years and have always found the experience a little disconcerting - sort of a human zoo feel! This was no different. Except this time my discomfort was all mixed up with my fascination with and my love of being in artists' studio spaces.

One of the best parts of being a curator is the studio visit. I love the ordered chaos of artist supplies, paints, and materials. The notes and sketchbooks. The kaleidoscope of colour. The discussion. However, this time there was no interaction. The artists worked away in their public studios obviously conscious that they were on display, but avoiding any interaction with the tourists they were meant to entertain.

After weaving our way through the workshop we entered the float storage area. Blain Kern Studios designs floats for the majority of the big Mardi Gras Krewes including Rex, Bacchus, Orpheus, Endymion, Zulu, Muses and many others.

Each year the floats are reconfigured and decorated according to the new theme. The props which appear at the front and sometimes the back of the floats are removed to be refashioned or redesigned for different floats and sometimes different Krewes.

It was interesting wandering around these props many of which now stood like discarded statues, waiting for their chance to be once again brought to life.

The warehouse was relatively empty in comparison to my last pre-Mardi Gras visit. Only the Orpheus floats were on site today. Large float warehouses, or dens as they are referred to, are located throughout New Orleans. Many Krewes have their own dens, while others shuffle their floats around in various dens owned by Kern Studios.

The Krewe of Orpheus, which rolls on Lundi Gras night, is one of the most beautiful parades. The floats are all adorned with giant three dimensional painted flowers with metallic and glittered highlights.

Seeing these floats up-close makes them all the more impressive. These floats are truly works of art. What makes them all the more astonishing is that each of the twenty or so floats in a parade, with the exception of the one or two signature floats that remain the same each year, are recreated each year for a two to four hour event that individuals along the parade route will only see for a few minutes.

We were allowed to stay as long as we liked, so I wandered around the warehouse taking photographs long after everyone else in my group headed back to the coffee shop for their free slice of King Cake.

I am not sure if Mardi Gras World provides you with an authentic Mardi Gras experience, as Mardi Gras is really about friends, family and community. However, if you are not able to visit New Orleans during Mardi Gras and experience the parades along the Uptown parade route, then Mardi Gras World does provide you with a sense of the artistry that goes into creating the magic along the parade route.

As I left the building, I spotted a bike tied to one of the railings decked out in beads and purple, green and gold garland. Another tangible reminder that the spirit of Mardi Gras lives on in the hearts of residents here.

#Mardi Gras World #Mardi Gras #New Orleans #Parades #Krewes #Krewe of Muses #beads #floats #Krewe of Orpheus #Krewe of Zulu #King Cake #Tourism #research #Irish Channel

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Jazz, violence and painted pigs

Friday, March 1, 2013

My friend Karen is staying with me for a week. This is her first visit to New Orleans and it has been fun sharing my adopted city with her. Karen has been the perfect house guest and over the past few days we have developed a routine that works for both of us. Yesterday, I stayed home to get some work done, while Karen took the Streetcar to City Park to check out the New Orleans Museum of Art and the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden. Last night we met up at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art for Ogden After Hours.

I think the Ogden is one of my favorite art museums in New Orleans. I love that it focuses on Southern Art and includes art from a variety of genres, time periods and styles. As always there were a number of excellent exhibitions on view and the experience was made all the more pleasant as Micah McKee and Little Maker performed in the atrium to a packed house.

Having spent most of my career working in and around art museums, I have come to realize just how important it is to recognize, support and promote the arts of a particular region or area. It is all too easy for institutions to bring in popular blockbuster exhibits that will guarantee audience and in turn much needed revenue. However, what our art institutions really need to be doing is to recognize those artists that have made important contributions to local and regional culture and in turn educate their audiences about these artists.

I think the Ogden does a great job of this and I appreciate how successfully they are able to bring together exhibitions of historical, contemporary, craft and folk art together. Adding to this mix, each Thursday night the Ogden hosts Ogden After Hours filling the galleries with the music from mostly local artists. There is something very appealing about wandering through the galleries while listening to live music.

Sharon Kopriva (2008). Resurrection. Wood, fabric and found object.

During my last few visits to the Ogden I have found myself drawn to Sharon Kopriva's Resurrection. Kopriva's work seems particularly haunting here in New Orleans, where images of flooded homes and street and the remembrance of lives lost or changed forever will be etched into the memory and experience of everyone living here.

Benny Andrews (1981), Dottie Oil on Collage

I first discovered Benny Andrews' work while I was the Director of the Albany Museum of Art in Albany, GA. However, it was an exhibit of his work that I saw here at the Ogden last year that really made me appreciate his work.

Benny Andrews (1992), Grandmother's Dinner, Oil and collage on canvas.

Born in Plainsview, GA, Andrews moved to New York City after graduating from the Art Institute of Chicago. Andrews was an ardent believer in social, racial and gender equality and actively fought against the exclusion of women and artists of colour from major arts institutions. His work depicts rural and family life, making these scenes come alive with his clever use of oil and three-dimensional collage.

Benny Andrews, Grandmother's Dinner (detail), 1992, Oil and collage on canvas.

I have become increasingly drawn towards skeleton imagery over the past few months. I found Herbert Singleton's Boyfriend, 1992 very appealing with his wide-toothed grin and fancy colourful boots.

Herbert Singleton (1992), Boyfriend, Enamel paint on wood

Folk art and art that embraces local vernacular traditions and practices captures the heart and soul of a region and its people. The folk art traditions of the U.S South are particularly rich, providing valuable documentation and illustration of the history and lives of the people here.

George Andrews (ND), Painted Pig Figure, mixed media

I am sure there is some important significance to this that I am obviously missing. I noticed a number of artists who incorporated elephant heads on female human bodies. Each of these works were titled Elephant Woman.

Sultan Rogers (1994), Elephant Woman and Woman in Red, Carved and painted wood.

Reverend Howard Finster (1984), Elephant Woman, Paint on wood

Reverend Howard Finster (1916 - 2001) was an artist and Baptist preacher. He claimed to be inspired by God to spread the gospel through his garden parks and his art. His work is based in the traditions of folk, outsider, naive and visionary art.

Reverend Howard Finster (1986), World of the Happy and Free, Mixed media construction.

This colourful multi-layered work illustrates the detail Finster used to bring his visions to life.

Reverend Howard Finster (1986), World of the Happy and Free (detail), Mixed media construction.

I will admit that I typically rush through the exhibits of 18th and 19th Century landscapes. It is not that I don't appreciated the painterly qualitiy or how these artists capture atmosphere and light. It is just that I find myself drawn to more contemporary work that pushes the media or technique or which provides social or political commentary.

Lulu KIng Saxon (1890), Uptown Street, oil

One of the things that has really struck me during my short time here in New Orleans is the powerful sense of place that the people of New Orleans possess. The importance of place is as the text panel for the exhibit of Southern Landscapes states "one of the defining concepts of Southern art."

While much has changed along Magazine Street over the past 100 years, I am beginning to understand this metaphysical approach to place and meaning and know I will miss my daily walks along Magazine Street when I head back home to Canada in a month.

Deborah Luster (2002). #05-02, black & white photography

Deborah Luster's Tooth for an Eye: A Choreography of Violence in Orleans Parish is an evocative and powerful portrayal of intimate relationship this city has with violence.

The text panel accompanying this image simply stated:

Location: St. Philip Street above Rampart (Treme)

Date: April 26, 2002

Name: Richard Temple (22)

Notes: Died from gunshot wound April 27, 2002

As I walked through the gallery, I found that I recognized many of these spots where the photographs were taken. Luster poignantly reminds us that the homicide rate in New Orleans is almost ten times the national average. These victims become an invisible population, remembered by their family and friends, some of whom Luster captured on video and by the empty scenes of violence.

Deborah Luster (2013). A Tooth for an Eye: A Choreography of Violence in Orleans Parish (Installation view)

The galleries were eerily quiet as visitors looked at and contemplated Luster's work. Many took their time. Lingering, thinking and possibly remembering. Others, left immediately - not ready or willing to think of the legacy that the continued violence marks on this city.

There is no easy answer or fix to address and deal with this violence. Education and opportunity are key, but the poverty here in New Orleans is systemic only made worse following the aftermath of Katrina and the levee breaks that took hope away from so many.

Shawne Major (2001), Sacred Dragon Rocking Horse. Mixed-media

Shawne Major responds to the experience of growing up in poverty in Southwest Louisiana by creating what she refers to as "magical and sacred spaces" that serve to both celebrate and critique our ideas, memories and fragments of experience. Using found objects, personal memorabilia, beads and craft store supplies she also challenges the aesthetics and norms of the world of fine arts.

We walked down the stairs to the lobby, stopping to listen to the last set. It was a beautiful night, a bit cool, but perfect for a walk home. We walked along Camp to Magazine in search of a spot still open for a late dinner. Lucky for us there was a large party who were not yet finished, so we were able to sneak into Gott Gourmet just before they closed and enjoyed a fabulous dinner.

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Keeping Up

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Okay, I am a bad blogger. I start posts that never get finished, or leave partly finished postings that will be posted later. The fact is I have been busy.

I am still sorting through the thousands of photos I took during the Mardi Gras parades and have to decide what to do with all the beads that have accumulated in my house. I go through these obsessive compulsive periods and found myself sorting all the beads we gathered by colour, size and strand length. Really! What was I thinking and why did I do this? Maybe I just needed some sort of mindless activity. Regardless the beads are all sorted and ready for something. Most likely a trip to ARC or one of the local schools that collect and recycle beads.

Last week I headed home to Toronto to help Phil, my husband get ready to move. I am not sure why we figured that moving while I was 2000 miles away was a good idea? But obviously at the time it made sense. So last week, I headed back to the cold and spent the week packing, organizing and painting to get ready for our tenant.

While Phil is moving into a gutted house, I got to fly back to New Orleans for my last five weeks. It is hard to believe that my time here is almost over. I have come to love the city even more, but mostly I love the people I have met. Although it is not yet time to say good-bye, I know it is going to be hard when I do.

But in the meantime there are the Azaleas, making me forget all about the cold back home and reminding me to appreciate life and live one moment at a time.

#New Orleans #Blogging #beads

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It's V-Day

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Today is V-Day! Yes, I know it is Valentine's Day, but V-Day is and means something much more than this. V-Day was started on Valentine's Day in 1998 by activist and playwright Eve Ensler together with a group of women in New York City. The woman behind the Vagina Monologues, a play that broke ground dealing with women's sexuality and the social stigma surrounding rape and abuse.

V-Day's mission demands that the violence against women and children must end. A cause that everyone should get behind. As part of global effort to raise awareness for V-Day and to stop violence against women and children, 1 Billion Rising has been billed as the Biggest Mass Global Action to end violence against women and girls in history.

Around the world women, girls and the men who love them have been invited to strike, dance and rise. To come together in dance and spirit and raise awareness for this important cause.

We decided to shake off the post-Mardi Gras blues by heading to Congo Square and joining the New Orleans chapter of this global movement. The Pussyfooters once again proved that they are so much more than a Mardi Gras dance troupe, with a number of their members attending and performing for the crowd.

Swedish percussion band Kiriaka, dressed in their Mad Max inspired costumes, created a memorable soundtrack that was as interesting to watch as it was to move to.

We all held hands standing in a circle as we listened to the powerful words of the various speakers and spoken word artists.

Not everyone agrees with the concept of rising and dancing as a means to raise awareness to end the violence and suffering of women and children around the world. Their point is well-taken, as dancing may seem as an inappropriate response to the violence and suffering that so many women endure, however, it is through these global movements that the eyes of the world focus on issues that deserve our attention. And we just pray that this attention will result in action being taken and provide some small solace for victims of violence to not feel so alone.

The air was charged with love and emotion, sharing and caring and the realization that we all need to be there to support one another, to reach out and rise together to end discrimination, violence and suffering. To this I say - dance on!

#New Orleans #Pussyfooters #Congo Square #Kiriaka #V-Day #Feminism #Women

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It all leads up to this.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Today is Mardi Gras Day, Fat Tuesday or just February 12th depending on who and where you are. While the rest of the country headed to work or school, here in New Orleans it was a holiday. Almost everything is closed and almost everyone is out on the streets.

We got up at 6 am as we knew that our neighbourhood would be bustling with activity. On the corner of 2nd and Annunciation just blocks from our house is the home of the Irish Channel Corner Club.

It was not yet 7 am, the music was blaring, the guys were dressed, enjoying a quick drink or two, and getting ready for their walk through the Irish Channel, the Garden District and eventually along the Saint Charles Parade route.

We headed up Third to Magazine and caught the Mondo Kayo Social & Marching Club assembling outside Tracey's.

We had seen the colourful vehicles being assembled over the past few days and it was delightful seeing these fanciful bikes and wagons so early on a dull morning.

The group was still gathering and not quite ready to venture out,

so we decided to head up Washington as we knew there was another walking group leaving from Commanders Palace.

We passed the old Firehouse just in time to see the old wagon decked in beads and Mardi Gras purple, green and gold, being hitched to its horses.

We arrived at the corner of Coliseum and Washington only to learn that the walking group that was supposed to meet there had left early. All that was left was a costumed nymph riding her bike and checking her iPhone.

While the big parades are spectacular, it is the numerous small walking parades that are really special.

I continue to be blown away by the creativity, ingenuity and work that individuals put into their costumes.

From the super adorable,

to those who cleverly comment and satirize timely and newsworthy events.

Elaborate historical costumes are always popular.

As are those that play to fantasy and desire. Everyone seemed to want to get their photo taken with Gucci Guy!

Costuming is serious business here in New Orleans as each year one needs to come up with a new costume or idea.

While bits and pieces of costumes can be recycled, few individuals will wear the same costume more than once.

These two rode around the Quarter stopping every block or so to dance and entertain.

While this man proves that gender is a construct that can be bent and played with. Tights, tutus and wigs are not just for women here.

There is something pretty special about wandering around the French Quarter on Mardi Gras day.

This is what Mardi Gras is to the people who live here. It is costumes, friends and family.

It is about getting together and having fun.

About seeing others and being seen.

What it is not, is flashing your breasts on Bourbon Street for beads. No one who lives in or is from New Orleans does this!

It is almost impossible to live here and not get caught up in it all. Even Pookie and I dressed the part, posing for as many photos as we ended up taking.

We ran into some friends in the Quarter who told us that they had just come from the Backstreet Cultural Museum where they saw some Skeletons and where the Fi Ya Ya Mardi Gras Indians were about to come out.

We headed out of the Quarter and across Rampart and got to Backstreet just as the Fi Ya Ya were coming out.

The Mardi Gras Indians only come out a couple of times a year, on Mardi Gras Day and again on Saint Joseph's Day in March.

The costumes are breathtaking with intricate bead and feather work.

Historically, it is said that the various Mardi Gras Indian tribes would meet on the street and fight, today the tribes still meet on the street, often gathering on Claiborne St under the Interstate, but instead of fighting they compete to be seen as the prettiest, with the best and finest costume and beadwork.

We caught a bit of the Zulu parade on our way to the French Quarter in the morning and completely missed Rex, trading in the spectacle of the big parades for the more intimate spectacle on the street. I continue to be amazed at the creativity displayed and embraced by the people of New Orleans. At how the people of this city embrace and celebrate life.

I was also very excited to find myself standing behind Ashton Ramsey at the Backstreet Cultural Museum. I first saw Ramsey's work at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art during Prospect.2. Ramsey describes himself as a folk artist historian, maker of costumes and a story teller and reader. He started making his unique Mardi Gras costumes out of easily sourced and inexpensive materials such as newspaper and magazine clippings as at the time he could not afford to create the costumes he would need to mask as a Mardi Gras Indian.

#mardi gras #mardi gras indians #costumes #french quarter #new orleans #Irish Channel #Zulu #krewe of rex #Super Sunday #Ogden Museum of Southern Art #Saint Joseph's Day #skeletons #Irish Channel Corner Club #Mondo Kayo Social & Marching Club #Fat Tuesday #beads

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Non-Stop Parades: The Final Weekend of Mardi Gras (Bacchus)

Monday, February 11, 2013

As the sun went down, the parade route began to feel more like giant street party. Speakers blared out a mixture of party favorites and New Orleans bounce. Everyone was ready to have a good time.

The Krewe of Bacchus was formed in 1967, heralding in the reign of the Super Krewes and changing the nature and expectations of Mardi Gras parades. Celebrities rule as the King of Bacchus and this year G.W. Bailey reigned over the parade.

The theme for the 2013 parade was "Bacchus Sails the Seven Seas," successfully entertaining the swelling crowds with a mixture of beautiful new floats as well as a number of old favorites.

As Bacchus is the God of wine and vegetation, grapes are a common symbol adorning the floats as well as many of the signature throws.

And the Bacchus parade certainly sailed the seven seas with stops in the French Market in New Orleans,

to Oceania,

the animal kingdom,

and the deep seas.

It is difficult to compete with beads flying off the floats, but the real stars of the parades are the kids of the high school and college marching bands that create the soundtrack of Mardi Gras.

These talented young people are true professionals, who march and dance on whatever the weather and despite the inevitable stops and starts along the parade route.

The105 foot, three-piece Bacchagator, one of the cherished signature floats first appeared in 1986 and holds 86 riders.

While the party continued along the parade route we rushed home to change into our party clothes and grab a cab to the Ernest N. Morial Convention Centre.

The invitation stated: Krewe of Bacchus Commands your Presence at their Rendezvous. Strictly Formal. Tuxedo / Floor Length Formal Gowns.

The cavernous Convention Centre was buzzing with excitement. The feeling was not that different from that along the parade route, just the clothes had changed.

It was kind of exciting seeing the large floats as they wound their way through the hall and fascinating to see this well-heeled crowd clamouring for throws.

I think my favorite part was watching the faces of the kids in the marching bands light up as they saw themselves on the large screens strategically placed around the hall.

I attended numerous black-tie events during my previous life as a museum director, but had never attended an event quite like this. I was used to rubber chicken, over-cooked fish or well-done steak; or to endless buffet lines or an array of appetizers and finger foods. However, I had never attended a formal event where you bring your own cooler and drinks!

We were obviously the only ones that did not know the routine, and were starving as we had been at the parades all day. Fortunately, each table was stocked with ice, plastic glasses and 2 liter bottles of mixers. So our late night dinner consisted of Coke on ice.

As if we had not collected enough beads from a day on the parade route, the riders were unloading beads and whatever throws they had left on us as they wound through the Convention Centre hall. While most of the floats exited the Convention Centre they parked a number of them inside allowing guests of the ball to check them out and even climb on board.

It was a bit of a challenge to climb on to these floats in a long fitted formal gown. But anything is possible if you try hard enough. We discovered that there is very little space inside these floats. Hard to believe that most of these floats hold about 45 riders plus all the throws they need to last the entire parade route. It was also amazing to see just how solidly these floats are constructed with steel i-beams, heavy duty chassis and solid rubber wheels.

It was also shocking to see just how many throws were left on the floats. We found dozens of unopened bags of beads and plush, handfuls of doubloons and the floor of the floats littered with beads.

#Krewe of Bacchus #Mardi Gras #Parades #throws #beads #New Orelans

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Non-Stop Parades: The Final Weekend of Mardi Gras (Okeanos, Mid-City & Thoth)

Monday, February 11, 2013

Yesterday was a full day. The first parade of the day, The Krewe of Okeanos rolled at 11 am and we got home from the Bacchus Ball around 2 am this morning.

The Krewe of Okeanos was founded in 1948 by a group of community leaders who were committed to bring a parade to Saint Claude Ave. Like most Carnival Krewes each year the Krewe pick a theme for their parade, this year it was Getaways.

Okeanos produced a colourful and entertaining parade. I have to admit that I really like the smaller scale floats which provide a closer more intimate experience between the riders and the crowds and are often more sculptural and creative.

These smaller morning parades also tend to attract smaller crowds meaning more room on the parade route and better chances to catch lots of throws.

In addition to the marching bands which were in for a long day as many of these young musicians also marched in Bacchus later in the day were a number of walking groups. Even skeletons wear tutus, at least the skeletons in Skinz-N-Bonez, a female bone gang founded less than two years ago.

The floats in the parade were fun and colourful representing fanciful and exotic getaways from Mexico,

to Monte Carlo.

And of course Canada! There are not a lot of reminders of home here in New Orleans, so it was fun to see the Banff float complete with Mounties, mountains and Canadian flags.

While the Krewe of Okeanos was a playful kick-off to a Sunday full of parades, I have to say I absolutely loved the colourful foil floats in the Krewe of Mid-City Parade.

The Krewe of Mid-City is the fifth oldest parading Krewe and this year celebrated its 80th year.

Designed by New Orleans artist Ricardo Pustanio, these foil floats are truly shimmery rolling works of art.

Pustanio is quoted as saying he puts his heart and soul into his creations and it truly shows.

The floats were fanciful, imaginative and sculptural. Even though it was overcast, the light bounced and reflected off the shimmery foil. I can only imagine how fabulous this must look when the sun is shining.

There was something truly special about these smaller scaled shimmery floats.

The smaller size, attention to detail, sculptural props and the overall artistry of the floats created a magical feel like you were in a special place and a special time.

I really loved the Krewe of Mid-City parade and it was nice to experience a parade with floats that were truly different from anything else.

I had time between the Krewe of Mid-City and the Krewe of Thoth to run home for a quick lunch. As I walked down my block, one of my neighbours commented as I passed by, "So you went to the little parades. That is nice." I don't think it was meant to be condescending, but the comment did suggest that somehow these "little" parades were not worthy, or as important as the big night parades.

Personally, I think the Mid-City parade was infinitely more interesting and more creative than the flashy light show, spectacle and extravaganza of Endymion the night before.

The Krewe of Thoth is a favorite of many as this Krewe, started in 1947, makes a point of parading past hospitals and nursing homes giving those stuck in these institutions a chance to participate in Mardi Gras.

Named after the Egyptian god of wisdom, this Krewe now has 1200 riders and 40 beautiful floats.

In addition to the colourful and sculptural floats adorned with flowers and props and costumed riders, the parade features dance Krewes including the ever popular 610 Stompers,

walking groups,

and marching bands.

The Krewe of Thoth concluded almost four hours of non-stop parading but still leaving us time to go home and get ready for the Bacchus parade and Bacchus Ball.

#Mardi Gras #Parades #New Orelans #Krewe of Okeanos #Krewe of Thoth #Krewe of Mid-City #610 Stompers #Floats #Skinz-N-Bonez #Krewe of Bacchus #throws

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Non-stop Parades: The final weekend of Mardi Gras (Tucks & Endymion)

Monday, February 11, 2013

In the museum field we talk about museum fatigue. The point where no matter how wonderful the museum is, or how much you love the work on exhibit, you reach a point where you just don't care anymore. I am sure, somewhere in the language of Mardi Gras there must be a word for parade fatigue.

This weekend was full with varied parade experiences. We started Saturday morning with the Krewe of Iris. I couldn't stay to watch the Krewe of Tucks parade as I had a meeting over by Audubon Park, so I decided to walk the parade route against the parade on my way. I discovered that this is one of the most efficient and time-effective ways to actually see a parade. It is definitely not the same as standing, watching and engaging with the parade and does involve a great deal of strategic maneuvering - but it does allow you to see the entire parade quickly.

Tucks whose theme this year was 'Tucks Uncovers History: Beer, Bourbon, Booze, Broads' is always an entertaining and fun parade.

The Krewe of Tucks was started in 1969 by a group of Loyola University students. The parade is known for its irreverence.

The King of Tucks, this year Kabir Kalsi, rides a giant white porcelain instead of the gilded throne rode by Rex.

Individual floats including from First Penetration to It's Just a Little Prick combine sexual humour with political incorrectness and a touch of irony.

The bathroom humour is a symbol of Tucks who are known for throwing rolls of Tucks embellished bathroom tissue into the crowds and up in to the trees, as well as for their toilet seat sunglasses and other toilet themed throws.

The Krewe of Tucks is a crowd pleaser and everyone young and old seems to put their inhibitions and propriety on hold as they get into the creative spirit and irreverent world of Tucks.

While the Krewe of Tucks is known for their spontaneity, creativity and irreverence, the super krewe, the Krewe of Endymion is about spectacle and celebrity.

This year Kelly Clarkson was the Grand Marshall, riding in the parade and performing at the Endymion Extravaganza at the Super Dome later that evening.

The Endymion King was decked out in his feather and finery and accompanied by his Queen and other members of his royal court.

We watched the parade from Lee Circle where we together with thousands of others were contained behind barricades providing an entirely different feel than what we were used to from watching the parades on Saint Charles Ave.

One can not argue that the Endymion floats were beautiful and impressive, with lots of colour and light.

The theme this year was Ancient Mysteries which did not translate equally well for all floats. However, this seemed to be of little importance to the crowd that was more interested in the spectacle and pageantry of it all and in the catching throws.

While I would love to focus on the impressive floats, my lasting impression of Endymion sadly was not the floats but the throws.

I know that many individuals judge parades by the quality and amount of the throws as much as by the floats.

I get it, the throws make the parade interactive. A game where I as someone in the crowd need to catch the attention of one of the riders in an effort to get them to throw me something.

I totally get the excitement and fun of it all and like everyone else get caught up in the thrill of reaching up and catching that strand of beads as it swings through the air.

However, I do not get the point of throwing bags of beads! I understand when a rider sees someone they know in the crowd and they recognize them by handing them down a bag of choice beads. But I do not see the point, or the safety in hurling bags of large beads into the crowd like you are trying to win the Superbowl. This is not a football game, it is a parade.

I am not sure if we were standing at a particularly bad location, or if this was common practice along the entire route, but instead of getting in the game of trying to catch beads, we were defending ourselves from being hit by bags of beads that were being hurled with an incredible force and at an alarming rate. A young woman standing behind us ended up with a huge bruise on her upper arm, a friend staying with us and who was experiencing his first Mardi Gras parade got hit on the head resulting in a nice red bump. I got a scratch above my right eye.

I love Mardi Gras and I love getting caught up in the catching of throws. However, I think for the safety of everyone involved throwing bags of beads like they are weapons needs to stop.

#Krewe of Tucks #Krewe of Endymion #Krewe of Iris #Krewe of Rex #Mardi Gras #Parades #throws #beads #new orleans #saint charles avenue

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heelsorthink-blog · 11 years

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From Cleopatra to Iris: Women and Mardi Gras

Saturday, February 9, 2013

There are many firsts in the Carnival Season in New Orleans. January 6th is the official start of the Carnival Season with the Phunny Phorty Phellows riding the Uptown Streetcar and the Krewe de Jeanne D'Arc parading in the French Quarter. On Saturday, January 19th Krewe du Vieux and krewedelusion paraded through the Marigny and French Quarter and are thought by many to be the first parades of the season.

However, it is the first Uptown parades, this year appearing on Friday January 25th that signal to the community that it is officially Carnival Time!

The Krewe of Oshun traditionally kicks off the Uptown parade season and this year was followed by the Krewe of Cleopatra. Although small compared to the crowds that appear closer to Mardi Gras Day, it was great to see so many people out for these first parades. As the woman standing beside me stated, "The first parades of the year are always so exciting."

After 39 years parading on the Westbank, this was the first year the Krewe of Cleopatra rolled along the Uptown parade route. Founded in 1972 in Gretna, LA, the Krewe of Cleopatra is an all-female Krewe named after the legendary Queen of Egypt.

As the Krewe's moto states: Her beauty is timeless, her age is now ... forever! The theme for this years parade was Cleopatra's 40 Years.

I have to admit that I was not paying close enough attention to how each of these floats fit into the overall theme.

While Drew Brees is very much a local celebrity and star, his relationship to Cleopatra is a bit of a stretch.

It was great to see the Pussyfooters invited to participate. These women always seem to have such a great time parading and bring smiles to everyone watching.

The Pussymobile (not sure what it is officially called) looked great all decked out in pink tulle, lights and foil.

What I did not realize at the time, but which became clear as I watched future parades and looked at my photos is that many of the parades rent their floats.

The golden lion and movie star floats were used by both the Krewe of Cleopatra and the Krewe of Nyx.

This Cher look-a-like float was also seen in the Krewe of Nyx parade.

As was this Chihuahua. Although I failed to catch the connection between the various floats and the parade theme and both me and the woman standing beside me caught throws that had been recycled from other Krewes, I thought these women did a great job of putting on a fun and entertaining parade especially as this was their first time in front of the Uptown parade crowds. It is also nice to see another female Krewe claiming their place in Mardi Gras.

Kicking off a Saturday of parades was the Krewe of Iris at 11 am this morning. We headed up to the parade route to claim our spot around 9 am, only to discover that the street was already bustling with eager parade goers setting up chairs and ladders.

While these ladders were still standing from the parades last night,

encampments like this one on the Neutral Ground had sprung up early this morning and the party was in full swing well before parade time.

One of the things that makes Mardi Gras parades so different from other parades is that everyone is a participant. It is virtually impossible to just watch a Mardi Gras parade.

Throws force everyone to get in the act, and as this was the first morning of Mardi Gras weekend, many individuals gathered to watch the parade were in costume.

The Krewe of Iris is the oldest all-female Krewe. Originally founded in 1917, the Krewe first paraded in 1959. Today the Krewe has approximately 900 riders on 32 floats.

Named after Iris, the Goddess of the Rainbow and Messenger to the Gods, the Krewe of Iris follows strict carnival traditions of masks and white gloves and royalty. Unlike the Krewe of Muses, who made a conscious decision to break with the tradition of appointing carnival royalty, the Krewe of Iris has many Maids and Dukes,

Ladies in Waiting and Junior Maids,

and of course a Queen.

The Krewe of Iris selects themes for its parade that are "light and happy and geared towards the family." This years theme "Festivals of Louisiana" was no exception.

Louisiana certainly embraces the festival spirit and the diversity of festivals represented was truly outstanding, with everything from the Frog Festival to the Crawfish Festival.

The New Orleans Film Festival,

Oktoberfest,

The Pie Festival,

Strawberry Festival,

and Zoo to Do.

Mardi Gras parades would not be compete without the excellent high school, military and university marching bands. I am continuously amazed when I see these same kids in parade after parade and know that many of these young people marching this morning will be repeating their performances this afternoon and evening in the Endymion Parade.

I enjoyed the Krewe of Iris parade. It did not have the satirical edge of Muses, Chaos, Tucks, Druids or D'Etat, but it had a well-orchestrated theme with creative and colourful floats and these women really knew how to cater to the kids and their families.

It was so much fun seeing the kids get so excited; and being a morning parade, this parade was truly for them and their families.

#Krewe of Iris #Krewe of Muses #Mardi Gras #Krewe of Cleopatra #Krewe of Oshun #Parades #Uptown #new orleans #feminism #throws #costumes #Krewe de Jeanne d'Arc #Krewe de Vieux #Mystic Krewe of Nyx #pussyfooters #phunny phorty phellows #french quarter

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