Art + Culture Diaries: Prospect.1 New Orleans
What is the value of an “art biennial”? For Dan Cameron, Founding Director and Chief Curator of US Biennial, Inc. and Prospect.1 New Orleans, it’s a twofold opportunity. Firstly, to bring the world together through the largest international exhibition of contemporary art ever presented in the United States, and secondly, through that action, to foster an idealized view of the world via an imposed harmony. Although the goal sounds like a beautiful bouquet of flowers, the process reveals the blood, sweat and tears required to pull it off as of October 2008. At the most basic level the artistic inspiration imbued in the land and people of New Orleans, Louisiana (both the ancestors and the living), represent the projects foundation. Next up comes Dan Cameron’s 20+ year romance with the city, the devastation of hurricane Katrina and his longing to give something back to a place where his soul found its peace. And finally, this trajectory has culminated in the birth of the idea, concept and manifestation of Prospect.1. Known for Jazz, Creole life, Blues and Mardi Gras to most of the world, New Orleans has a deeper layer of rich and intricate popular local culture that is being re-built one brick and heart at a time post-Katrina. According to Cameron, ”New Orleans is our Venice,” and is to this day under-recognized as one of the United State’s most valuable artistic treasures. Prospect.1 New Orleans is Cameron’s way of making a contribution not only to the re-building of one of America’s sacred cities, but to a new chapter in the identity of the country as a whole and the establishment of New Orleans as a major center of contemporary visual art exhibitions.
(Left to right: Dan Cameron, Founding Director and Chief Curator of US Biennial, Inc. and Prospect.1 New Orleans. Mark Bradford, photographed by Juan Carlos Avendano.)
Mark Bradford, one of seventy-five artists invited to participate in Prospect.1 New Orleans, speaks of a very thoughtful and challenging process when it comes to the development of his work for the project. His initial open-ended exploration of the Lower 9th Ward led to a working relationship with a couple, Keith and Chandra, and their organization L-9, the only non-profit in the area, as well as an organic unfolding of experience and artistic inquiry. Recognizing that all biennials have a different context, Bradford immediately felt the “heavy” context of the Lower 9th Ward, while simultaneously watching a truth unfold - life exists after devastation. This experience not only tested his resolve, but made Bradford realize, “I had to believe that what I do has value.” One way Bradford’s cultural capital revealed its value was through a fundraiser for L-9 that raised enough money for the organization to really get up and running. Now several other artists are also creating projects in the Lower 9th Ward for Prospect.1 with L-9 acting as a cultural hub in the neighborhood. Both Bradford’s and Cameron’s non-object oriented collaboration with L-9 and the city of New Orleans respectively, reflect the possibilities of art and artists as tools in the economic and cultural recovery of communities.
(L-9 Center for the Arts, Lower 9th Ward, New Orleans, Louisiana.)
In a city that deals with disaster through celebration and resilience, Prospect.1’s use of art and creativity as a tool of empowerment suggests a new direction for a red hot art market. And, as Bradford is careful to note, the possibility (not the responsibility) for artists to pick up the conversation that pulsates beneath the surface of Prospect.1 as a biennial, is ripe for consideration.
(Mark Bradford, 1 Cat Seen, Ark Project, 9th Ward, New Orleans, 2008, poster)
Other artists who will exhibit work at Prospect.1 New Orleans, in addition to Mark Bradford, include: Wangechi Mutu, Julie Mehretu, Gajin Fujita, Sanford Biggers, Fred Tomaselli, William Kentridge, Cai Guo Qiang and many more…Prospect.1 New Orleans will open to the public on November 1, 2008 and run until January 18, 2009.
