Thomas, 58, has been a New Orleans art star for decades, but since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the character of his work has changed somewhat. His solo exhibit titled ?The Power of Art as Healing? at the New Orleans African American Museum of Art, Culture and History in the Treme neighborhood is an opportunity to size up several of his post-K paintings as well as works dating back to the early 1990s.
Thomas said he was surprised in 2006 to hear the voice of Mayor Ray Nagin on the phone, asking him to create a poster to recognize the first anniversary of Katrina. In ?The Daughters of New Orleans: Faith, Hope and Love? he invented three mythic women to symbolize the recently sunken city. The patterns on their skirts depict the flood, the ongoing rebuilding and the promise of the future. On the second anniversary of the storm and flood, Thomas reprised the painting. This time the three women, now called ?The Mothers of New Orleans,? are seen against a cityscape that includes a FEMA trailer and cement mixer.
In the pre-Katrina era, Thomas said, he hadn?t painted outdoorsy Louisiana landscapes. But when his home/studio and gallery flooded and he was forced to evacuate to Lockport Louisiana, he became better acquainted with the wilderness and the people doing their best to save it. In two paintings, Thomas symbolically captures the plight of the shrinking coast while celebrating the ?Voice of the Wetlands? ecologically-oriented all-star band. In ?Fais Do-Do? he depicts Louisianians defiantly dancing on the roof of a flooded house as a brass band serenades them from a small red skiff. Look for the angelic orange alligators blended into the clouds. In the painting titled ?Let the Rivers Flow: We?re All in the Same Boat,? that Thomas painted after Hurricane Gustav in 2008, he surrealistically depicts people surviving the rising water by walking on stilts.
Before the post-Katrina rebuilding period, Thomas said, he wasn?t especially interested in painting sports themes. But the Saints? 2010 Super Bowl victory inspired him. It wasn?t just the gridiron success, he explained; it was the way that winning the big game rescued New Orleans from the endless recovery doldrums. Thomas? ?Dat Number? is a tale of two ceilings. In the center of the painting, we see the torn Superdome roof. Surrounding the damaged dome is Thomas? tongue-in-cheek version of the Sistine Chapel, with God reaching out to bless Drew Brees. ?Who Dat, We Dat and All That Jazz? is an elaborately detailed cityscape depicting home town fans celebrating the win, as mythical creatures ? based on the symbols of defeated teams ? float in the clouds above.
Thomas said he?s always used symbols and allegory in his work, but since New Orleans? 2005 trauma, the stories in his paintings may have become more detailed and explicit. He?s not 100 percent sure why his artistic emphasis has shifted. But, he said chuckling, Dr. Phil McGraw, the television psychologist, may have been on the right track. Sometime after the storm and flood, Thomas heard Dr. Phil offering onscreen advice to beleaguered New Orleanians. The important thing, the Doctor said, was to talk about what had happened. Thomas said that his series of complicated, symbol-rich paintings may be his way of talking it all out.
Thomas said that throughout his career he?s striven to create art that captures the unique character of Crescent City culture. With his recent allegorical paintings he certainly has. Anyone who has ridden the ups of and down of the New Orleans emotional roller coaster over the past seven years will understand these works perfectly. There will be plenty to consider. Take Dr. Phil?s advice: talk about it.
Thomas noted that Armstrong airport representatives have told him that his monumental lobby mural is being moved to another location.
The Power of Art as Healing
What: a selection of richly allegorical paintings that symbolically document the post-Katrina era in Louisiana.
Where: The New Orleans African American Museum of Art, Culture and History, 1418 Governor Nicholls St., (504) 566-1136.
When: Wed-Sat, 11 a.m. to 4. Through Sept. 29.
Admission: Adults, $7; Seniors and students, $5; children 2 to 12, $3.
Reach Doug MacCash at dmaccash@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3481. Read more art news at nola.com/arts. Follow him at twitter.com/DougMacCashTP.
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Source: http://www.nola.com/arts/index.ssf/2012/09/artist_richard_thomas_puts_the.html
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