The Photography of Michael P. Smith
Beyond the Music
The Historic New Orleans Collection,
533 Royal Street
March 11–September 13, 2009
Hours: Tuesday–Saturday, 9:30AM–4:30PM; Sunday, 10:30AM–4:30PM
Admission: Free

Clichés are hardly worth anything, but pictures are still worth a thousand words.  So in trying to describe a photographer’s body of work in only 500, it becomes an uphill stroll from the get-go.  
For the viewer, there’s a lot to gain from Michael P. Smith’s work.  Typically thought of as a journalistic photographer, Smith has documented New Orleans through an informational lens.  From Mardi Gras to jazz funerals to Jazz Fest, this town has been at the core of his interest and of his life.  It is now, however, that his work is being cast in a new light – that of an artist.  The shift is subtle, and perhaps evident only in the viewer’s mindset; yet it still brings a sudden shift in regards to the points of concentration in his photos.
Aside from the usual acclaim – the point where one would list his many accomplishments and shows and famous works – it’s the authenticity that holds his work together, that keeps it legitimate for more than a fad’s worth of time.  When you capture an actual moment of a person’s life and make it available, and make it mean something to individuals who have no context at all for it – this is when it has become art.
Michael P. Smith’s pieces of work that will be on display at the Contemporary Arts Center as of April 17 are emblematic of the actual people behind the music of Jazz Fest.  There is a feeling that his photos perhaps weren’t captured at the height of the concert, or at the loudest point, or the during the most infamous gesture – it seems more appropriate that the images are of the artists when they were in other moments on stage, moments when they were themselves, singing, playing, or dancing.  They weren’t an icon, they weren’t simple entertainment for the night, or the two-dimensional face of a movement.  In his work, it looks as if what he’s taking photos of might actually be people.
However, at the end, my words don’t mean much.  The photos say more than me, and it’s difficult for anyone to honestly speak for another individual, especially someone no longer here.  I can comment on the aesthetics of his work, the composition and contrast … but what matters most is what the work means.  And part of what it means was formed by why it was made.  With more truth than I’ve said in all my rant above lies what Michael P. Smith said 16 years ago about our great city: “The camera is an extension of my knowledge of the inner workings of the community that I have come to understand over a 25 year period. It’s my art, my subjective view of the world I’m experiencing.”

April Gallery Listings  

A Gallery for Fine Photography
241 Chartres St., 568-1313
Instinct Extinct, Gold Leaf Photographs
by Louviere + Vanessa.
Through April 15
Avenue Art
902 Harrison Ave., 483-8901
Eye catching artwork by local artists: Shannon Marie Loup, Martin Welch, Robert Cook, Janet Boyd, Marcie Davis, Clementine Hunters, Photography by Ronny Cardwell and Robert Post.

Callan Fine Art
240 Chartres St., 524-0025
19th and early 20th century art with works by Eugene de Blaas, Louis Valtat, and other artists of the Barbizon, Impressionist, and Post-Impressionist schools.

Contemporary Arts Center
900 Camp St., 528-3805
Michael P. Smith– Twenty-Five Jazz Fests
Photography covering Jazz Fest from 1970 to 1995.

Gallery Bienvenue
518 Julia St., 525-0518
www.gallerybienvenu.com
Works by John Henry on display until April 28th.  His works are large dynamic sculptures that are reminiscent of crystal growths and a modern, mechanical being combined.

Gallery Osborne
www.galleryosborne.com
Works by artist Terrance Osborne
Great Artists’ Collective
815 Royal St., 525-8190
Offering original artwork and handmade jewelry.

Jonathan Ferrara Gallery
400a Julia St., 522-5471
www.jonathanferraragallery.com
Two interesting exhibits, both worth taking a look at, Camouflage by Sidonie Villere on display through March 28th and New Paintings by Matthew Cox from April 1st – April 21st

Lyon and Lyon Fine Art
819 Royal St., 588-9985
www.lyonandlyonfineart.com
Featuring a new artist, Jane Nodine.

New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA)
1 Collins C. Diboll Circle, City Park
www.noma.org
Frederick Brown, Portraits of Jazz Greats on display through April 26th
Photography and Depression through April 12th
Style, Form and Function: Glass from the Collection of Jack M. Sawyer

New Orleans Public Library, Alvar Branch
913 Alvar St.
Exhibiting artwork by local artists including paintings by Raven Creature, photography by Ze daLuz, paintings and collages by Bellavia, and quilts by internationally known textile artist Cecilia Pedescleaux.

Perrin Benham Gallery
1914 Magazine St.
565-7699
Including artwork by Gerry White and Riece Walton
Upstaires @ Winkys
2038 Magazine St.,568-1020
Recycled housewares, lighting, the greenist Tee-shirt in town, fused glass rings, and more eco art by UP, Unique Products.