JUROR'S STATEMENT

“Art is a guide for every person who is looking for something.”

– Thornton Dial, 1996

Growing up between Bangkok and the Pacific Northwest, the American South was mysterious and unfamiliar territory to my younger self. My family never visited the region, and I gleaned all my knowledge of it from history textbooks and "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." When it came time to pick a dissertation topic in graduate school, while my colleagues decided to pursue projects in Italy and the Netherlands, I took a different path. I wanted to spend those crucial years in a historically significant, culturally vibrant and fascinatingly complex place that might seem unexpected to most art historians. As an outsider and transplant to this country, I was looking for some understanding of what it means to be American. There was no better – or more necessary – place to embark on this journey than through the South, and art was my guide. Through my research, I encountered so many incredible artists, collectors and community members, and these experiences have fundamentally shaped my worldview as a curator and art historian. In my mind, for reasons both challenging and energizing, you don’t really know the United States until you’ve spent time below the Mason-Dixon.

I am grateful to be this year’s juror, as it has allowed me to take another Southern journey through Louisiana. It is humbling to be in this role, as there is no way one can select a fully representative and complete grouping of works. This is a testament to the vitality of artistic production taking place here. I will always be a steadfast admirer of artists: the sheer courage it takes to make unique, soulful, singular things and share them with the world – in this case, asking to be judged – is radical. This year’s selection offers a diverse range of form, content, material and maker. Some works suggest vulnerability and intimacy, while others function as incisive critiques of the past and present. In certain cases, some pieces felt prophetic, anticipating the world to come. To those artists whose works I did not select, please know this process primarily reflects the juror, and I encourage all to continue on the creative path.

Artists are essential workers. You are consequential and necessary, and it is our responsibility as a society to find ways to support you. The Louisiana Contemporary is one such meaningful platform, and I am honored to be part of its history.

Congratulations to all involved.

Aleesa Pitchamarn Alexander

Robert M. and Ruth L. Halperin Associate Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art Co-director, Asian American Art Initiative Cantor Arts Center, Stanford University

NIC[O] BRIERRE AZIZ

New Orleans, Louisiana

Strange Brute (Hanging from the Poplar Trees) II, ed. 5/12

2022

Archival print of time-based performance; tree, [Black] artist/activist body, P.G.T. Beauregard piñata, Robert E. Lee piñata, vintage American baseball bat, Haitian flag, burned confederate flag

40 x 60 inches

Collection of the artist

NIC[O] BRIERRE AZIZ

New Orleans, Louisiana

RAFTERS (Hyppolite + Gilbert)

2021

Mixed media: Tattered New Orleans Saints jerseys, sugar cane, sugar cane leaves, brown cotton, white cotton, indigo, transatlantic slave trade shackles, machete, plexiglass vitrine display case, “Colonial Maple” wooden base

68 x 32 x 20 inches

Collection of the artist

NIC[O] BRIERRE AZIZ

New Orleans, Louisiana

"...Things Ain't Always Set in Stone" (Street Lights), ed 1/12

2022

Archival print of time-based performance; P.G.T. Beauregard piñata, Robert E. Lee piñata, P.G.T. Beauregard Avenue Street sign, Robert E. Lee Boulevard Street sign, red street lights 52.5 x 35 inches

Collection of the artist