The "Basquiat and the Bayou" Exhibition Opens at the Prospect.3 Art Festival in New Orleans

A rare collection of paintings and drawings that relate to Southern musical traditions will go on view.

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The Prospect.3 Art Festival opened in New Orleans on Oct. 25 with a special exhibition unlike the 57 others that focus mostly on the work of contemporary artists from Louisiana and the surrounding region. Organized by the festival's artistic director Franklin Sirmans, "Basquiat and the Bayou" features nine of Jean-Michel Basquiat's drawings and paintings with Southern themes.

According to The Times-Picayune, Basquiat went to Jazz Fest in New Orleans in the months prior to his death and was inspired to create works based on Southern music traditions. "The painting devoted to Louis Armstrong will be especially resonant to New Orleanians," writes Doug McNash, who adds, "The image reminds us how very strange it must be for non-New Orleanians to encounter images of African-Americans wearing black face paint."  There is also a mural-sized painting of an accordion player, and a painting of the horned demon Nxu, who Sirmans says represents a guardian of doorways and crossroads. 

The exhibition will run through Jan. 25 at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art. For more info, head to the museum's website. 

[via Nola.com]

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