“Once a person tries hard enough and long enough without results, the last place they expect to be recognized is in their own backyard. George Rodrigue could not be more excited about this exhibition or the turnout of public support if his art were on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.” That’s basically theContinue reading “Blue Dogs and Cajuns on the River: A Painting, Print and Exhibition”
Monthly Archives: April 2011
Iry LeJeune, Cajun Accordion Player
Spring is festival season in Louisiana, and this history, particularly regarding Cajun music, exists visually in the musicians’ portraits painted by George Rodrigue. Since the early 1970s he painted dozens of music-related scenes, Southern music legends including everyone from Elvis Presley to Mahalia Jackson. (See the post “Musicians: A Series of Paintings”) However, the CajunContinue reading “Iry LeJeune, Cajun Accordion Player”
A Distinguished Eagle Scout
On May 12, 2011 the Boy Scouts of America honor George Rodrigue with their highest honor, the Distinguished Eagle Award. Since established by the National Eagle Scout Association in 1969, only six Eagle Scouts from the New Orleans area have received this honor, the last one twenty-two years ago in 1989. Never have I seenContinue reading “A Distinguished Eagle Scout”
Monroe (that’s MUN-roe), Louisiana
Until recently I thought I understood Louisiana, its ins and outs, its people, its terrain, and its history. Yet we spent much of this past week in northeast Louisiana, and I found town after town unfamiliar, including our destination, Monroe, a city of cypress groves, 60,000 people, and tremendous state pride, located 270 miles northContinue reading “Monroe (that’s MUN-roe), Louisiana”
The Sketchbook
I titled this post and immediately laughed, because it reminded me of “The Reunion,” “The Body,” “The Therapist,” or any number of episode titles from “Matlock,” my latest mindless television escape. It was in 1960 that Coach Raymond Blanco, husband of former Louisiana Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, famously threw George Rodrigue out of class forContinue reading “The Sketchbook”