Not long after the art of photography was invented in France in 1839, photographers trained their eyes on Louisiana. By 1840, Jules Lyon, a free man of color who was born in France, began to take daguerreotype photographs of New Orleans with techniques he learned in his native land. New Orleans was, in fact, the second U.S. city after New York City to adapt the daguerreotype photography technique. Read more.
It’s not hard to understand why camera and subject so quickly formed an alliance, or perhaps more accurately, how quickly Louisiana created both photographers and subjects. With its dramatic swamps and bayous; its storied, multicultural city of New Orleans filled with historic architecture; and its festival traditions, most famously Mardi Gras, which invites participants to treat the world as a stage — Louisiana was a photograph waiting to happen.
The exhibition on display at the Moscow Multimedia Museum in the spring of 2014, curated by Frank Relle and titled “Louisiana Culture,” comprises 1100 photographs depicting the culture of Louisiana: from the intimate to the public, the workaday to the celebratory, the informal to the stately. In the age of social media and increased photo sharing, visual documentation comes to us from an astonishing variety of sources, giving us public access to family albums, intimate portraits of friends and family, and inside views of culture and ways of life. Taking into account this new, valuable repository of visual information, “Louisiana Culture” presents 1000 small matted photographs by 161 photographers curated from social media alongside 100 framed photographs by 60 contemporary leaders in cultural documentary, photojournalism and fine art photography.
About the Curator
Frank Relle is a photographer born and based in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is a graduate of Tulane University with a degree in Cognitive Science and Philosophy. His work is included in the Smithsonian Museum of American History, Museum of Fine Arts Houston and the New Orleans Museum of Art. His photographs have been printed in the New Yorker, the Southern Review and the Oxford American magazines. He curated Contemporary Antiques at Octavia Gallery in New Orleans.
Featuring 100 Large Photographs by:
Alfonso Bresciani | Brian Finke | Linda Reno | Ryan Rigsbee | Julie Dermansky | Michel Varisco | Wesley M Ham | Philip Gould | Anne Finney | Pableaux Johnson |Will Crocker | Rush Jagoe | Rick Oliver | Daymon Gardner | Lee Celano | Courtney Asztalos | Jennifer Shaw | Owen Murphy |Jane Fulton Alt | David Armentor | Scott Dalton | Eugenia Uhl | Paul Turounet | Jill Moore | JT Blatty | Kasimu Harris | Terri Garland | Sophie Lvoff | Roman Alokhin | Robert Hannant | Joseph Walton | Caitlin Hebert | Jeremiah Ariaz | Shane Lavalette | Zack Smith | Diane Huhn | Bob Marshall | Lewis Watts | Marcus Kenney | Stacy Kranitz | Bradley Stire | Lori Waselchuk | Leslie Parr | Carrie Lee Schwartz | Mark Sindler | Tyrone Turner | Joel Pickford | Christopher Porche West | Tina Freeman | Christopher Harris | Ed Kashi | Lance Rosenfield | Denny Culbert | MaryLou Uttermohlen | Kevin O’Mara | David Rae Morris | Aubrey Edwards | Colleen Mullins
Small Works Photographs by:
Randall Ortega | Ariel Dearie | Aviva Bowman | Barbara Herman | Donna Viering | Paul Broussard | Gwen Aucoin | Dominique Ellis | Anne Finney | Kerry Maloney | Rachel Joyce | Amanda Davis | Andrea Chaires | Ann Marshall Thomas | Mike Beavers | Blayr Hofmeester | Bradley Handwerger |Carly Zimmerman | Candy Dupree | Juan Francisco Maldonado | Dugas Madelyn | Erin Roussel | Francis Aguillard | Kimberly Addie | Jeremy Martin | Jose Hernandez | Kayla Denova | Laura Beatty | Leah Graeff | Lisa Thibodeaux | Megan Kelley | Katharina Beliveau | Kristen Falgout | Nikole Mock | Tim Crowley | Peter Kilgust | Sharon Pye | Sharon Manson | Shanda Walenta | Sarah Tilotta | Romain Beauxis | Tricia Cartinez | Terri Troncale | Mina Lanzas | John d’Addario | Lauren Hegge | Melissa Bastian | Frances Cibilich | Ashlee Michot | Liz Jurey | Derick Hingle | Justin Bacque | Peter Prevot | Susan Whelan | Aleece Langford | Peter Campanelli | Lorrae Lantier | Paul Kieu | Bud Moore | Sarah Satterlee | Sona Patel | J. Stirling Barrett | Alison Gootee | Brandon Hayman | Ben Pierce | Catie Sampson | Claire Bangser | Craig Mulcahy | Jude Barber | Eileen Romero | Elliott Taylor | Eugenie Borchardt | Amber Wilson | Victoria Gomelsky | Shain King | Allison Roberts | Jamil Hellu | Jason White | Jeff Stephens | Joshua Brasted | John Thompson | JT Blatty | Juliet Meeks | Linda Minutola | Linda Reno | Lee Bareford | Liz Daino | Melanie Innis | Jordan Pollard | Charles Sassone | Jules A. LaCroix | Jason Neville | Lauren Silberman | Amanda Helm | Ann Walters | Shannon Beck | Nathalie Jordi | Lindsey Giroir | Rence Reese | Susan Whelan | Nathan Norsworthy | Pearl Stanley | Stephanie Landry | Jolie Hamilton | Joseph Marino | Darrin Martin | Erin Percy | Stacey Morris | Heidi Young | Noah Ksiazkiewicz | David Van | Bubba Nicholson | Katie Cook | Loreli Lee | Johnson Hale | Paige Champagne | Meghan Garhan | Pamela Theriot | Kristina Evans | Larry Wilson | Amanda Smith | Brittany Sherlin | Victoria Pouncy | Gowtham Harsha P | Elizabeth Moreno | Mark Fielding | Christopher Frusha | Ruth Vernotico | Brandon Hayman | Debbie Willson-Richardson | Koryn Plunket | Chris Rief | Alexis Rowley | Dannal Perry | Jean-Paul Bernard | Tanya Devino | Judy Chappell | Erika Trahan | James Goldbard | Madison Floyd | Michael Alford | Bryan Dupas | Stephanie Plaisance | Tiff Reed | Megan Carroll | Brandy Cahill | Candace Hernandez | Kayla Denova | Carly Schrode | Georgette Arimah | Michelle Broussard | Logan Grubbs