Expressions of Place

The Contemporary Louisiana Landscape

John R. Kemp

• Publisher: University Press of Mississippi
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781496808264
• Topic: Kunst
• Subtopic: Kunst Allgemein

Expressions of Place embarks on a journey across the rural and urban landscapes of Louisiana via the talents of thirty-seven artists located all around the state. Many are acclaimed professionals whose paintings are included in major private and public collections regionally and nationally. Others have found their followings closer to home. All, however, strive to express impressions of the land with artistic styles that range from traditional to the symbolic and almost totally abstract. Such a variety of interpretation becomes possible in a landscape that changes from dark cypress-shrouded bayous, trembling earth, grassy prairies, the gritty streets of inner city New Orleans to vast wind-swept coastal marshes and the piney hills of north and central Louisiana.

Rather than stand as an encyclopedia, catalog, or history of the visual arts in Louisiana, Kemp's book is instead a celebration of the state's evocative landscape in the work of accomplished contemporary artists. It includes an introductory essay, which places these creators and their works in historical context. Expressions of Place provides readers with individual essays and biographical sketches in which the artists, in their own words, give insight as to what they paint, how they paint, where they paint, and why they are drawn to the Louisiana landscape. Particularly inspiring, the artists discuss their interpretations of that landscape directly with the viewing audience.

Expressions of Place remains as much about the landscape of the artists' imaginations as it is about the land itself. With each painting, they have created visual poetry of a land and environment that has become a defining part of their lives.

Artist Profiles and Paintings

Reconciliation, 2007, charcoal on paper, 76 x 68 inches, private collection.

Photograph of Ron Bechet by Troi Bechet.

Ron Bechet

BORN

New Orleans, 1956

RESIDENCE

New Orleans

LOUISIANA LANDSCAPE LOCATIONS

New Orleans inner city and coastal regions of south Louisiana

INSPIRATION AND INFLUENCES

Richard Johnson, Jim Richard, Sam Gilliam, John Scott, Willie Birch, Joseph Raphael, Robert Duncanson, Joan Mitchell, Buford Delaney, Bob Thompson, Gretna Campbell, and others

ART TRAINING

Bachelor of arts, University of New Orleans; master of fine arts, Yale University School of Art

CAREER AND APPROACH TO PAINTING

When Ron Bechet talks about the south Louisiana landscape, he uses words that transcend literal and obvious visual references to speak in terms of place, life and death, reality and perception, and dialogues between the sacred and secular. His masterful paintings of the thick, entangled landscape are metaphors for “community, where our lives are lived organically and death is respected, all through traditions of celebration, the mingling of joy, grief, pleasure, and suffering.”¹

Bechet, who works en plein air and in the studio, has spent most of his career drawing inspiration from the inner-city neighborhoods of New Orleans and from the thick, tangled swamps and marshes of south Louisiana. “I tried the Northeast, but there is nothing that is like the light and the combination of forms that make New Orleans and south Louisiana a special and spiritual place,” he explained in 2013. “The proximity and influence of the water in the atmosphere, how light describes form, and how cultural history has been influenced by this place gives this place spiritual context that is like few other places.” As to what aspects of the New Orleans and coastal landscapes interest him most, he continued: “Primarily, it is the connection between the inner city and the coastal marshes. I respect the struggle, man’s shortsighted appearance of conquering nature’s systems. It reminds me of the struggle within us.”

Born in New Orleans and a relative of the late and great jazz musician Sidney Bechet, Ron Bechet has had a long and successful career as a working artist and teacher. After receiving his bachelor’s degree in art from the University of New Orleans and a master of fine arts from Yale, he returned to New Orleans in 1982 to teach art first at Delgado Community College and later at Southern University in New Orleans. Since 1998, Bechet has been a member of the art faculty at Xavier University in New Orleans, where he has served as chair of the art department and professor of art.

Over the years, various people have influenced Bechet’s art—even as a child in elementary school. “Sister Mary Hue showed me it was possible for a young African American fifth grader to aspire to have an art career,” he said. “[Artists] Richard Johnson and Jim Richard as my teachers in [University of New Orleans] undergraduate school gave me strong foundations. [Washington, DC, painter] Sam Gilliam—I met him as a developing young student, [and he] helped me to understand that the use of visual language is as valid as written language. I learned work ethic and imagining materials from [sculptor] John Scott. [New Orleans artist] Willie Birch continues to teach me about risk-taking, being true to your art, and the responsibility of the artist.”

The spirituality of place, with all of its cultural implications, is the essence of Bechet’s work. “The features of the land, the climate, and the forces of nature drive our actions and interactions in our communities and our insight about life,” he explained. “I use my work to mediate an unpublished history and as a continuing connection to ancestors and the stories we know, but are not often told.” His complex and layered paintings delve into the city’s long-held cultural traditions, especially those in the African American community. “The images reflect community,” he continued, “where our lives are lived organically and death is respected, all through traditions of celebration, the mingling of joy, grief, pleasure, and suffering. In the . . . layered environment of New Orleans, I sense both dynamic and subtle dialogue between the sacred and secular simultaneously. The intensions are for my compositions to act as metaphors for difficult concepts, questions of what is authentic and what is illusion. The rich visual traditions, icons, and symbols from my rearing in New Orleans influences this work, and my awareness of rituals and formal spiritual practices, particularly from African-based cultures, are connections to my ancestors. . . . My work attempts to validate who we are and link us to our mysteries, difficult histories, and connection to legend through place. The layered, rhythmic mark-making, vibrant color, and recurring motifs, for me, continue as ritual connections.”

To create those visual metaphors, Bechet often incorporates in his paintings images of thick, vine-covered, gnarled tree trunks set deep into shadows. “What seems attractive and alluring is not,” he contended. “Usually vine-like forms are associated with aspects of reality that are less for the tree. In general, the roots have several sets of meanings taken from cultural and symbolic associations. Most cultures have cultural associations with trees. The tree is often symbolic for life. Trees are multidimensional organisms. They have their roots deep down in the earth, nurturing the tree and signifying their connection to the Underworld. Their trunks and lower branches are in our world, which in spiritualist terms can be called the Middle World. The branches of tall trees reach high in the sky, which makes them a bridge into the Upper World.”

For the most part, scenes in his paintings are more symbolic and representative than being of specific locations. “I make drawings from places where I can be surrounded by trees and vegetation,” he explained. “Some of those places are located in the city limits. Some places no longer exist and have now become new roads, homes, and new communities for people. All places are or were within ninety minutes of New Orleans.”

NOTE

1. This profile, including quotations, is based on the author’s correspondence with the artist on September 2, 2013.

Piety, 2010, oil on constructed wood panel, 48 x 62 x 4 inches, collection of the artist.

Fecundity, 2005, oil on shaped wood panel, 89 x 58 x 8 inches, collection of the artist.

Sacred Fire, 1997, oil on canvas, 72 x 97.5 inches, private collection.

Wildflowers Grow Everywhere, Seventh Ward, New Orleans, 2011, charcoal and acrylic on paper, 81 x 60 inches, collection of the artist. Photograph by Mike Smith.

Photograph of Willie Birch by John R. Kemp.

Willie Birch

BORN

New Orleans, 1942

RESIDENCE

Seventh Ward, New Orleans

LOUISIANA LANDSCAPE LOCATIONS

New Orleans inner city

INSPIRATION AND INFLUENCES

Life

ART TRAINING

Southern University, Baton Rouge; Southern University, New Orleans; Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore

CAREER AND APPROACH TO PAINTING

Willie Birch has described his landscape paintings of inner-city New Orleans as metaphors for the human condition. “I have a family history of knowing the community and, true to my creative aesthetic philosophy, I create my best work from what I know and live,” said Birch in 2013. “Most of the images in this body of work come from what I see around me. They reflect what is lost and what is saved in the humble, sometimes harsh, and constantly changing environment, reinforcing the idea of what it means to be human. With that said, the idea of the landscape becomes a metaphor for the human condition.”¹ Throughout his successful career, those images of his inner-city experiences have been present. In a 2010 review, New Orleans art critic D. Eric Bookhardt wrote that Birch “has always r...