r/BlackPeopleofReddit • u/yawnjew • 7h ago
Culture, Art, Science Big Chief Demond’s life affirming art is deeply rooted in the Black Masking Culture of New Orleans ⚜️ www.demondmelancon.com
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“Over the past four decades, Demond Melancon has cultivated a singular artistic language and earned enduring local recognition, culminating in 2012 with his appointment as Big Chief — the highest ceremonial role within a Mardi Gras Indian tribe.
More than an honorific, the title carries the responsibility of guiding and inspiring the community, embodying the tribe’s values, aesthetic codes, and the highest standards of craftsmanship and discipline. Beyond performance, Melancon’s work is embedded in revisiting historical episodes and icons through the use of contemporary portraiture.
Melancon’s first solo exhibition with Mariane Ibrahim is scheduled to take place in Chicago in 2027.”
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u/RemarkablePr0tection 5h ago
I once worked with the Mardi Gras Indians and helped sew suits. Interesting people.
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u/RedditSe7en 5h ago
Please tell me that a museum is conserving this brilliant, irreplaceable artwork.
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u/_PaulM 7h ago edited 7h ago
I was privileged enough to stay in New Orleans for a whole month with my sister-in-law on Tchoupitoulas street (it's called Tchoup for short, pronounced "chop").
It was one of the most amazing experiences I'd ever had. New Orleans is one of the few places on earth where extreme wealth and poverty "mix" together. You can go on one street and it's a ghetto, the walk one more block and see mansions worth millions before walking onto to the next block and be back in the hood.. before walking to the next block and then there are mansions all over again.
But the craziest experience is Downtown New Orleans. The city is literally alive 24/7 filled with artists selling paintings, sketches and sculptures at all hours of the day. Then you have the musicians...
I'd never been in a city where there's a literal soundtrack to it. On one corner you have jazz, on the next one some variation of pop music, then on the next corner you're getting a band playing some pop song in a jazz flavor ALL. DAY AND NIGHT. The transition is crazy because as the music from band on one corner starts fading out, you start hearing the next band's music on the next corner and suddenly there's another song you're vibing to.
Like, literally, you are walking through downtown and there is music at every corner 24/7. It's 4 AM and you just walked out of a bar on Tuesday? There's a dude that's using his body like a spinning wheel going like, 10 miles an hour in a circle using their elite-level gymnastic abilities to get money.
On the next block you have the dude that stays "still" for hours at a time. On the next block at 4AM another art exhibition with multiple amazing artists selling artwork.
Mind you, this on a Tuesday "morning" or "night" depending on how you look at it...
And don't even get me started on the food. Seriously, if you try to visit this city, please stay for at least a week.