Art

Outer Journey:

For my artist I chose George Rodrigue. He is most famous for his work on “The Blue Dog.” In the 1980’s a company approached George with a visual project that would depict Louisiana. He started painting his Cajun style paintings with large trees, and figures that had an almost ghostly appearance. In the back of the paintings there was an old house, that many times appeared to be haunted, and an evil dog with red eyes that was protecting it. This evil dog would prove to be an iconic masterpiece that shows both the best in Cajun art work, and also become a sort of symbol of Louisiana and New Orleans. These collections of paintings went on to be known as the Bayou collections. Through discussion with some people that worked at his studio, I found that originally, it is rumored, that George originally depicted a beautiful figure standing in front of the house, that showed no sign of intimate death, but later changed it to an evil dog that guarded the house. It was his dog Tiffany, however, that was his inspiration for the paintings of the blue dog. She had been his companion for years, and would always be up late at night with him watching him paint. Over the years he took hundreds of pictures of Tiffany and set out to paint a mural of her to “make her feel better” about being the runt of the litter. Although they joked, that he said she was a mean little dog and often would big guests and tear up things around the house. For years, he tried to convince people that the painting were not just paintings of his dog, which would ultimately hurt the imagine and not make it worth any more than a portrait of one’s pet, but a symbol of Cajun style artistry. George always painted with a sense of simpleness, but also was very deliberate with where he put each detail. This dog was largely unknown until the 1990’s, where it became known worldwide very quickly. The thing that set this dog painting apart of any other, was how George seemed to invent this new art from nothing. He didn’t use anything outside to draw a crowd such as symbols or a specific phrasing, he simply imagined it and it was there. This painting was 100 percent George. Before the blue dog he was known locally and somewhat nationally for his Cajun style paintings, and depictions of the people of New Orleans. My favorite Blue dog, was the sculpture of the blue dog that rotated at the front of his studio. This dog had three faces and with each face he had a different color, red, blue, and yellow. The detail in these scuptures was incredible. The way his lines were crooked almost made it seem like it was not professional, but then the symmetry and the bright color drew your attention even closer. The dog’s had yellow eyes, and no two eyes were the same. Each eye had a distinct shape, even if it had a small curve in the line, no two eyes were the same. These dogs originally had red eyes, but George later changed them to yellow to make it less frightening to people.

Inner Journey:

Throughout this trip there has been countless artist in this city. Some of the most beautiful, detail, and most complex art I have seen. So why would I choose a simple blue dog to write about rather than one of these? The answer is, I don’t really know why. When I walked up to this painting something just stuck with me. I think the simpleness of it is what really made me stop and try to make it more complicated than it was. This simple work made my imagination go wild. I have always been a creative person, but I am not an artist. I do however love looking at detailed art work. Which is why it is so surprising that I chose this artist. On the surface, George Rodrique work seems like there is not much to it, but the closer I looked and the more I talked with people the more I understood the significance of each painting. George put small details in paintings to make people stop and think about what the significance of that painting was. Their seemly was nothing in his paintings that was simply by accident. With the sculpture of the blue dogs with three faces, they say he created it to show the different moods that each dog represents. That, although George never came out and said it, with each color came a different mood or emotion that went with that particular dog. Each dog even, if you looked closely, had a slightly different facial expression. This artist work spoke to me because on the outside I look very simple, but if you look closer I have things about me that you would have never thought to look for. I feel like I can connect to his paintings in this way. The stories that Georges work tells are ones of history, good times, bad times, culture, and everything in between. His painting’s gave some insight into the everyday life of New Orleans people. The geniuses in the dog paintings, in my opinion, was adding a familiar object that everyone could recognize, that told a story of the place he lived. Many artists have come from New Orleans that painted about the culture, but none of them captured the attention of the world quite like George Rodrigue did. The particular statue that was my favorite of all of his piece didn’t necessarily tell a story, but rather gave an expression of the different phases the infamous blue dog had been. Now the blue dog is known as only blue by many, but it was interesting to me that George Originally planned to have different colored dogs for different situations. Overall, I felt that the George Rodrigue was the best artist I saw while in New Orleans, and if I had the money I would by many of his paintings.  

Music

Outer Journey:

Throughout this trip we have seen countless musical talents. From Jazz to blues, and everything in between we have seen it all here. The most interesting part of this city is the diversity of the music that is played. When walking down the street the first thing you notice in New Orleans in the music coming from every corner of the city. This town lives and breathes music. Some types of music that we heard include Jazz, blues, folk, big band, swing, pop, and even a little rock and rock on an acoustic guitar. There was literally every type of music that a person could imagine. When thinking of New Orleans usually the first thing that comes to mind is that this is the birthplace of jazz music. I saw two different styles of Jazz while being down here. The first was a traditional jazz that played more like the style of jazz that was played with a style that was like how the original jazz was played. There was not that much of this type of jazz in the street, but there were many different places in the city that premiered this traditional Jazz. The next was non-traditional Jazz or New Jazz and this was played everywhere. From street corner to street corner, it seemed that everyone was playing this style of music. Occasionally you would come up on someone playing some blues, or even some folksier music, but Jazz definitely dominated the streets of New Orleans.  Some people play very strange instruments. There was one man in particular that played an interesting looking Sitar. A sitar is originally a musical instrument with roots in India, but the style of music that traditional Indian music played was similar to Jazz. This man’s instrument sounds like a Sitar, but the interesting thing about it was that the bottom looked like a big banjo, and the strings curved around the long, think, neck like a spiral stair case. People showed all sorts of creativity, not only how they played their instruments, but also how they interacted with the people passing by. Some people were not the best musicians, but the made up for it by making the crowds laugh. I noticed that some people were actually better musicians, but would draw less of a crowd if they could interact with the people watching. With all of these different unique musical experience, the best one that I had was in a little record store outside the main tourist area. On my free day I decided to go see a part of the city that most people don’t go. I stumbled across this record store, and there was a folk band playing. They were incredible. I couldn’t believe I was seeing a band as good as this one in a small record store. I didn’t catch their name, damnit, but I did take a small video of the experience. This experience was hands down the best musical experience that I had while I was in New Orleans.

Inner Journey:

Music spoke to me in a profound way during this trip. I have often thought about pursuing music, but always made excuses why I shouldn’t. I come from a long line of musicians, dating back 5 generations. I have played music since I was five years old, and music to me is so much more than notes and words. While getting ready to come to New Orleans I thought about bring my guitar, unfortunately I thought the trip would be too hard on my instrument. I couldn’t have been more wrong. When I arrived in the city music was spewing from every crack of the city. I could hardly handle not having my instrument. It was a constant struggle to find someone with a guitar and play, if only for a couple minutes. This experience really made me realize how important music is to me. I got a tattoo when I was 18 of something my great uncle always used to say to me. He would say, “Music is not what you do, it’s who you are.” This kept running over in my head while I was in New Orleans. I found myself singing, whistling, and dancing everywhere I went. I couldn’t contain myself. When walking with the group it was everything I could do to keep my eyes on the group, while they were walking away, as I watched a band on the street. I was drawn to the music. I can’t explain the feeling of being surrounded by other people, that shared the same passion for music as I do. This trip made me realize that music has been the biggest source of happiness in my life. Without music, I really don’t know where I would be. Music is like a drug to me, if I don’t play for a couple days I start too grave it. This city spoke to me, and really opened my eyes to what is important. I could make excuses my whole life as to why I never did anything with music, but this experience showed me that would be a mistake; something I would regret greatly. In New Orleans the music is great, but I firmly believe that the reason the city is as beautiful as it is, and the people are so friendly is directly correlated to the vast array of music showered throughout the city. Music makes people happy. I have yet to meet someone that doesn’t like some type of music. The beautiful thing about music is, as bob Marley said, “when it hits you, you feel no pain” could not be more true. Music is an escape for many people. This is why I have resolved to really hit the ground running when I got back and start writing again. I strive to be a giver. Someone who never turns their back on someone in need, this is why I am becoming a nurse. As a nurse I can heal someone’s physical body, but as a musician I can heal someone’s emotional, and spiritual being. Without this experience of New Orleans, it may have been years before I had this revelation. I am so greatful to have had the chance to participate on this trip, and look forward to the day that I can return with my guitar.

Departure Day

Outer Journey: The best part of this trip was Jackson Square. From the second we first walked up I knew this was a place that I want to be. You could hear the music as you approached from blocks away. As we approached it started to become evident that the amount of talent here was limitless. They had street performers, painters, musicians, palm readers, and everything in between. The first thing I heard coming out of the square was a jazz trio with a trumpet, trombone, and a tuba. They played music that was inspirational, and upbeat. They definitely knew how to draw a crowd. This place felt that it was a paradise for creative minds, and that I would have fit right in. Everyone you met had a smile, and a kind word to say. Many people, however, would warn of thieves and that putting your wallet in your front pocket was a good idea. I especially enjoyed seeing the wide variety of different acts that were performed here. Jackson square seemed to be prime real-estate if you wanted to make money off entertaining people.  Everyone had their own unique talent. Some would paint their bodies a certain color and stand in one place of long periods of time, others would be giving psychic predictions about your love life, and other would play music from the bottom of their heart for everyone to hear. There was nothing that was off the table when it came to the direction you wanted to take your creativity in Jackson Square.  One lady even was selling art that was pictures of penises with cats inside. Literally, the strangest art I have ever seen, but she said it was the shock factor that sold so many paintings. Jackson square always had music playing, even on the coldest of days. The dedication that these musicians showed was inspiring. Some of the different types of music that was played varied from single players that played the saxophone and sang, two and three piece bands, all the way to full drum lines with 8,9,10 members. The variety was just as diverse as the numbers of people in the bands. You could start on one end, and start hearing traditional Jazz, then walk down 20 feet and here blues, then walk a little farther down the line and here a folk band. This kind of a melting pot of ideas is what I will miss most about New Orleans. I will definitely be coming back in the not so distant future. I would highly recommend visiting this place at least once in your life. It is a sort of magical place, that radiates talent and ingenuity. The best way I can describe the feeling this place gives you is to compare it to a child that is about to walk into a toy store. Everything around them is something that draws their attention, if only for a short while, and when they see something they like they stop play with it. The same is true for me, and everyone else I saw walking around Jackson square. The amount of talent was so vast that you felt like you had to keep moving if you wanted to see if all. Overall Jackson Square was one of the most beautiful places I have seen, and if you get the chance to go, GO!

Inner Journey:

This has been one of the best experiences of my entire year. New Orleans was a beautiful city, that was so full of culture and life.  This class really taught me the importance of the City of New Orleans to the culture of our entire country. When learning about the battle of Louisiana, all I could think was that if these other countries would not have found this place first that the culture here would be entirely different. I would say my favorite part of this class is having the guided help of Colleen. The activities she planned and the order she planned them in really enriched my experience in this class. For instance, we started the first day with a ghost tour and this basically just walked us around the city and got us more comfortable with the streets. It was also a good introduction to the history of the city. Every tour we went on taught us a little bit more, but the most valuable asset this class gave me was to have a teacher that was so passionate about the place we were at. She let us have autonomy and this helped us to get everything out of New Orleans that we wished to find. While at the same time, she guided us through the city, and told the history better than most the paid tour guide did. My favorite part of this trip was getting closer to my fellow classmates through our mutual new experiences. New Orleans has countless activities that could be done. This town could keep someone entertained for a long time. Through seeing this new city with others I formed new relationships with a few people that really will have a lasting impact the rest of the way through nursing school. My favorite place that we visited in New Orleans that was scheduled on our roster was the pharmacy museum. It was so interesting to see all the different types of old medicine that was used. It seemed that a lot of medicine that they had defied logic. Such as taking mercury injections to cure syphilis. On top of being an interesting museum that was full of old medicine and medicinal remedies, we had a tour guide at the end who was really great. It was knowledgeable and funny. He knew how to keep the crowd’s attention and told us many stories about how old medicine would affect people.  I thought it was really interesting that they would give women opium for almost anything which led to massive addiction rates. Overall, this city was such a great experience and I can’t wait till the day I can go back.