John Barnes, Jr. "Eschatology"
by: Bill Sasser | posted: Jun 1, 2009
While rebuilding fatigue has desensitized many New Orleanians to the lingering effects of Hurricane Katrina, John Barnes' fresh re-imaginings of the iconic shotgun house reminds us all of the work that remains to be done.
Hybrid structures constructed of wood and layer upon layer of paint, Barnes' sculptures meld the A-frame shape of a shotgun with the bow of a waterborne vessel. Resembling altars, the pieces also hint at unspoken rites and offerings, bringing to mind the lives lost to Katrina and those still scattered in the disaster's diaspora.
A new suite of Barnes' sculpture, along with new pieces of his digitally-enhanced technical drawings, will open June 6 at LeMieux Galleries, in a show titled "Eschatology." The title refers to Biblical notions of death, Last Judgment, and the destiny of mankind, says Barnes. "Parts of the Bible talk about end times and the ultimate future," he explains. "I think we're at a tipping point in New Orleans, where we have no idea what the future is going to look like, but people are still attached to the old city."
"Many artists want to make pretty pictures, but unpleasant things are happening in certain parts of this city," Barnes continues. "They're not being given enough notice, and they're festering and continuing to grow. The decay isn't stopping with the building structures—it's infused into the pulse and rhythm of life here. As a resident of the city, I'm wrestling with myself over degrees of acceptance and denial, over what kind of quality of life can be made here." A graduate of Southern University in Baton Rouge, Barnes earned an MFA from the Memphis College of Art and began teaching at Dillard University in New Orleans in 1999. While in art school, he studied African and Oceanic sculpture and mask making, an influence that first appeared in his series of mask-like sculptures made from discarded shipping pallets. Barnes' work also has a distinct folk art sensibility, bringing to mind such self-taught artists as Lonnie Holley, and trained masters like Willie Birch, who took his art to new levels by returning to his New Orleans roots.
Barnes constructed his first shotgun-themed sculpture in 2001, a piece titled Soul Craft, inspired by the idea of home and the spiritual aspects of boats and water. The connection took on heightened meaning in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, when his own home on Arts Street in Gentilly flooded with 14 feet of water. In the context of disaster, his structures offer comment on the seeming safety and security of a home which in fact could sink or collapse in another moment—spurring viewers to consider their own ostensibly safe circumstances.
A series of his bow-form sculptures were included in the Prospect.1 biennial, shown at the Contemporary Arts Center. His new work for "Eschatology" takes a more painterly approach to surfaces, with more layers and depths, and incorporates intricate three-dimensional interiors into his design. The new sculptures are also taller and more angular, standing over three feet high, compared to the 18 inches of his biennial pieces. Barnes says his evolving approach embraces contrasts, particularly between light and shadow.
"On one level I'm trying to bring to mind the spiritual stillness inside a gutted out house, of listening and hearing conversations inside one of those spaces," says Barnes, who now chairs the Visual Arts department at Dillard. "On another, I'm looking at the outward state of decrepitude and funkiness with some of these dilapidated structures, the rot and decay, and how graffiti is now a fixture in our landscape. Gangs are taking over some of these spaces, hiding out, hiding weapons and drugs, and there's a real tension in some of these neighborhoods."
Constructed from new materials, Barnes ages and weathers his wood with layers of scuffed and faded paint, adding post-Katrina symbols of search and rescue to some pieces, "vandalizing" others with the tags of street graffiti, while composing weighted messages of his own invention. The symbology of each sculpture tells a different story. In one piece, vertical beams bearing the hand-painted words "Truth" and "Justice" are juxtaposed with the phrase "target acquired" and the image of a black head in a bulls eye, circled by the question "Who is next?" In another, an anatomically correct rendering of a heart is painted on the structure's attic, while below the front door bares the ubiquitous rescue workers' X-mark date September 2005, with the annotation of "1 Dead."
For his new series, he scorched some of the miniature interiors of several pieces. "A lot of these houses go up in flames," Barnes explains. "These neighborhoods with their dilapidated houses are visually interesting, almost with a rhythm to them, with all their leaning houses and pot holes. But as someone who moved here as an outsider, I have maybe a more clinical point of view than someone born and raised here. Our environment influences how we think about ourselves and see other people."
Barnes recently constructed the first large-scale version of his shotgun hybrid, a public sculpture funded by the Joan Mitchell Foundation. The sculpture was installed in May 2009 on the neutral ground of Elysian Fields in front of Brother Martin High School in Gentilly, a few blocks from the home that he lost to Katrina. It was constructed from plywood and concrete boards in front of his home studio on the West Bank in Algiers, where Barnes now lives in a ranch style house with his wife and two young children.
The outdoor sculpture features ceramic mosaics created by Brother Martin students and is lit at night by solar panels attached to its south side—a nod to environmental concerns that many believe played a role in the Katrina disaster. "I think it's important to relate what's happening in New Orleans to more global issues," says Barnes. "And I hope the neighborhood digs it—that's ultimate way to gauge the success of artwork like this, if the neighborhood embraces it."
