I have been in New Orleans for 8 days working and living in a glass octagon, being part of an incredible artists residency that just about blew my mind. In fact it has quite stumped me how to write about it, since it all feels like a weird dream, but I will try.
I will begin with a picture.
This building used to be a restaurant in the Eiffel tower, but it was dismantled into 11,000 pieces and brought to New Orleans. I stayed in this building nearly the entire time, eating, sleeping, working, drinking, peeing with something called a p-style, of which I had varying success. Part of the piece that I made will go into the skylight at the top. It is two embroideries of the amazing Bob Tannen and Jeanne Nathan, artist and creative campaigner, respectively. They were the founding members of the Contemporary Arts Centre in New Orleans. They let me into their home and photograph them naked after they laid out a table of breakfast, having only been informed that I would be arriving the previous night. When I told Bob that I envisaged them as taking on the the role of the Mother and Father of all creation he scoffed, but when I looked around their house it felt like a rather true description. It seemed like everything Bob touched turned to art.
The people I was working with, Kirsha Kaechele, Pamala Bishop, Tora Lopez, Elliot Coon, Rya Kleinpeter, Daphane Park, Anne Koch, Amanda, what joy.
And the shocking emotion of the collaborative performance piece which will follow soon will be etched in my memory forever.
ILOVENOLA
