A Prospect.6 installation at the Contemporary Arts Center in New Orleans
Prospect.6 is a contemporary art triennial in New Orleans that started in 2007 and is in its 6th iteration. This year’s exhibition has fifty one artists presented across twenty one venues across the city.
Summary
Perhaps the most striking and high-profile piece at Prospect.6 is a giant scarlet heart wearing a golden crown by Mexican artist Raúl de Nieves. It sits atop a 60-foot column in Harmony Circle.
The roundabout on St. Charles Avenue, which is famous as a Mardi Gras parade route, was once named Lee Circle. On the column rested a statue of Robert E. Lee, a Confederate general. The statue was removed in 2017. The heart is apropos for the space and represents a new beginning.It is beautiful to see in person.
Joke break: Always follow your heart; it artery knows.
Full disclosure: I’m not an art critic and don’t know much about art, so don’t expect me to go in depth on anything in this article. (In fact, it’s just a quick run-through so I can tell you the exhibition is kind of awesome and you should check it out.) I knew the first part of this article because I did read in depth about it the piece. My mother says I can do anything I put my mind to, but I think P.6 would be over before I get my BA in art.
On this trip to NOLA, I was only able to visit a couple of venues: The Ogden Museum of Southern Art and The Contemporary Art Center. The museums are across the street from each other and around the corner from Harmony Circle, so it’s easy to check them out after seeing the installation. They are also near Julia Street, a row of art galleries, if you get the itch to purchase some art after looking.
My first stop was the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, which featured P.6 on the 4th and 5th floors. From whimsical sculptures to straight-edged pieces, they were quite fun to look at, and some seemed straight out of Beetlejuice.
There was a cool multimedia room with birds.
When should you buy a bird? When it’s going cheep!
Then there were fun paintings, of course, most of them very colorful, which I always enjoy. There was also an exhibit called ‘The Neighborhood,’ which created a whole odd world to explore; I probably spent 15 minutes in a single room reading everything.
Across the street at the Contemporary Arts Center, on the first floor, you could see an interesting sculpture with several hands intertwined, visible from the street and surely drawing people in. Large fabric sculptures with cartoon characters led me past paintings to a multimedia room in the back.
On the second floor there was shadow art, pop art, a kind of serene yet depressing take on how pollultion and oil are messing with nature, and another multimedia room that was also very calm.
As someone who doesn’t know art I can’t explain it well, all is can do is tell you to go see it, because it’s worth it!
Check out www.prospect6.org/
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