Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Uncategorized Land Marks: For the love of books and photography
Posted by Jeremy Abernathy on Wed, Jun 24, 2009 at 10:23 PM
The VESTIGES Project is a collective of artists and writers based in New Orleans, a "vestigial burg" that, as one member puts it, has become "the biggest vestige-display territory" in the nation. But what's a vestige, you ask? Don't worry: I had to look it up, too.
Let's ask the wise and almighty InterWeb:
ves?tige
-noun
1. a mark, trace, or visible evidence of something that is no longer
2. a surviving evidence or remainder of some condition, practice, etc
In the original Latin, vestige referred to a footprint. In biology, the term could be used to specifically describe the human tailbone, i.e. evolutionary features that are, for lack of a better word, obsolete. But in the context of Opal Gallery's newest photography exhibition, you can think of it as the dwindling footprints of a city's evolution, or, specifically, the evolution of New Orleans and what it means to live there both pre- and post-Katrina.
Of course, please don't expect these VESTIGES artists to simply mourn for the New Orleans that once was, or equate them with mere genre photography (Southern nostalgia). The scope, here, will embrace traditional media, such as bookmaking, as well as more experimental media, including video and an audience participation project by Debra Howell, Photovella!, where the artist gives you a chance to write your own short novella (illustrations welcome). Plus, since Opal is right next door, it doesn't hurt to drop by A Cappella Books while you're there ….
The opening reception will take place at Opal Gallery on Thurs., June 25, from 7-9 p.m. The VESTIGES delegation will deliver a talk about their previous projects, moderated by local curator Andy Ditzler, at Eyedrum tonight, June 24, from 7-9 p.m. The group will also discuss their plans for creating urban public art installations in Atlanta for this year's ACP Festival.
(Photo by Michael Varisco/courtesy Opal Gallery)
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