New Statue in City Park, New Orleans

Happy Mardi Gras

There's a new statue in City Park, up the street from us.  Actually, there are two statues, but I think one of them is ugly and I can't make myself take a picture of it.  What is it about post-modern art, anyway?  Either you love it or you hate it.  I don't like the new sculpture that's been installed next to the art museum.  Some people call me an old fuddy duddy, though.

Of course, the newest sculpture you see is the one on the front lawn in front of the art museum.  Did I mention I'm not going to take a picture of the sculpture I think is ugly?  I don't mind saying it again.  You'll have to walk up there to see it for yourself.  The sculpture I like is a bit deeper in the park, by the Festival Grounds where they hold Voodoo Fest.  

It takes about twenty picturesque minutes to walk from our house to City Park to see the ugly statue that I didn't take a picture of.  It takes a bit longer to get to this one:

Iconic roses

It's a spray of roses that could have been cast by Cleas Oldenburg if they were painted differently.  Oldenburg was a Pop artist, not a post-modern one.  We can debate that last point if you choose, but I'm sticking with the assertion.

Everyone who sees the rose statue talks about it at breakfast.  Nobody talks about the other sculpture (I can't bring myself to call the other one a statue; it's just a gaudy thing). 

Look up close at the roses:

It could be a Febreze ad

It's made of painted stainless steel, Nida-Core, fiberglass and paint. That's what the plaque says.  It was made by William Ryman (b. 1969) and was made in 2011.  It's called "Icon."  That's as good a name as "Roses," I suppose.

If you go into the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) you'll see a gold log cabin that Ryman also made.  See what you think.  I have little to say about it.

I go to NOMA all the time.  They have a very good photorealist show in there right now.  They have a little bit of everything.  NOMA isn't MOMA by any stretch of the imagination, but it's a nice place to spend some time to see some really good art.  I find the permanent collection very interesting and enlightening.  If you go the third floor, you'll pretty much have the place to yourself.  It's full of African, Asian, and Polynesian art.

There are all sorts of things to see in New Orleans.  If you get bored here, it's your fault.  It's not the city's.  The city is a cornucopia that overflows with delights for all the senses.

A rose as tall as a tree

You'll see when you get here.  There is a genuine Claes Oldenburg statue in the sculpture garden behind NOMA.  It's of a giant safety pin.  I like that one, too.  It's almost as good as the Oldenburg in Minneapolis.  

À votre santé,
La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast.