November 1, Charlie Miller played trumpet and flute.
November 2, Michael Juan Nunez played Dobro.
Jeremy von Stilb filmed during this event for future projects.
Presented with support from the Joan Mitchell Foundation.
Oil paintings by Dona Simons that were flooded by Hurricane Katrina will hang from the studs in her now cleaned and gutted former home and studio where they sat in seven feet of water for three weeks in September 2005.
Simons' work often depicts undersea settings, painted at aquariums in New Orleans and the Caribbean. In 2004 she painted a series titled "Louisiana Music Below Sea Level" portraying contemporary musicians performing in these same undersea settings. The underwater environment was her own visual metaphor for New Orleans - before Katrina. Because of this series, French newspaper Nice Matin labeled her work, "Sans doute visionaire." In a sense the work foretold its own fate.
Before and after Katrina, Dona's favorite subjects include specific Louisiana musicians who inspire her with their creativity.
"Art as Artifact" tells a story of Simons' life and work. In addition to prescient aspects of the work, the story resides in the stains, tears and waterlines on the canvas as well as in the shell of her former home and studio.This installation speaks of a specific event in a specific time and place, adding a dimension of historical significance to the work. Traumatic experience transformed into a testament to history. The paintings are collaborative works with Katrina as the final artist.
Katrina resides now in history. "Art as Artifact" provides a glimpse into its effects as well as the world Dona Simons created in her oil paintings.
for further information e-mail Dona Simons