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2014

Guided by several curatorial themes, P.3’s exhibitions, site-specific installations and new works will address: The New Orleans Experience,  Seeing Oneself in the Other, The South, Crime and Punishment, Movie going, The Carnivalesque, Abstraction, Visual Sound, and will seamlessly tie together the largesse of the show through commissions by several artists under the moniker, All Together Now.

Carrie Mae Weems, “The Louisiana Project” and “Lincoln, Lonnie and Me”
Commissioned in 2003 by the Newcomb Art Gallery at Tulane University to commemorate the biennial of the Louisiana Purchase, Weems’ Louisiana Project focuses, what she refers to as “the footnotes of history”.“The Louisiana Project” brings a critical perspective to the complex social and political issues involved in a landmark event.

Lincoln, Lonnie, and Me—A Story in 5 Parts, 2012, is a captivating example of Weems’ approach to art making through this notion of storytelling and her driving activist sensibility. In this multimedia installation, individuals from the past and a cast of characters from the present appear as holograms among red curtains drawn across a stage. Using the “Pepper’s ghost” illusion, individuals emerge telling stories of race, class, and gender, reminding viewers of our lingering past and challenging them to initiate a different future. Jazz music drifts throughout the space and the ghostly individuals address the viewers directly, transposing the onlookers from passive viewers to active subjects. The piece embodies Weems’ underlying premise of her entire oeuvre—inspiring viewers to continue asking ourselves where we came from, who we are, and who we aspire to be and love.

In June 2013, 21 North American and African artists met in South Africa for a two-week seminar to consider the roles that art has played there and to produce art that responds to what they encountered. The resulting exhibition Between the Shadow and the Light presents the artist as both piercing prophet and hopeful seer, and pushes viewers to consider the resonance of South Africa for North America and beyond. The exhibition includes 45 works in painting, sculpture, photography, collage, textile and book arts, installation, assemblage, new media and video. These works range from narrative to conceptual in a variety of styles and approaches. Together they create a vibrant visual conversation on issues relevant to us all no matter what our nationality or circumstance. The exhibit opens in September 2014 at Xavier University and McKenna Museum of African American Art in New Orleans—in conjunction with the national conference of the Lilly Fellows Program in Humanities and the Arts. The exhibit will appear next at Calvin College, where it will be featured at the Calvin Symposium on Worship in early 2015. Then it will travel across North America until 2018. A catalog will be published for the exhibition.

John Scott, a New Orleans native has had a huge impact on the art scene in New Orleans. Scott was known for working fluently between multiple mediums. He also had a profound understanding of the relationships that exist between art and music and often used these relationships as a driving force within his creative process. Scott was a McArthur Genius grant recipient and professor of art at Xavier for 40 years. John T. Scott inspired multiple generations of artists a across the city and the country.

This show will not only exhibit the wide breadth of Scott's artwork but also show his influence and the reach of his style and philosophy on other artists. The artists chosen for this show are either directly or indirectly influenced by John Scott.

Ayo and Carl were both heavily influenced by the aesthetic and processes of Scott's work. Carl met him as a teenager and visited his studio, while Ayo is his son and consequently grew up exposed to Scott's modes of thinking / working.

John Scott's legacy reaches far beyond his artwork. His philosophy of "passing it on" inspired an open Mic that became a staple of the New Orleans art community. The open mic attracted performers of all genre. Music and fellowship became as integral a part of the show as poetry. Due to this influence, this art exhibit will be paired with a series of performances including poetry, music and video curated by Gian Smith the co-host of Pass It On. These performances will take place at satellite locations where the artwork will be exhibited throughout the three months of Prospect 3.