Dona Simons' Flooded Paintings
Until now, images in this exhibition present the restored version of an artwork to the viewer; showing the fruits of painstaking labor and attempts to return a work damaged by time, the elements, and human intervention to its original composition. In this section, we show the pristine works first, followed by the pieces as they currently are, ravaged by a horrific disaster. The pieces stand suspended in their current state as a visible testament to the catastrophe, and a way for visitors to view what pieces can looks like before preservation and restoration. Visitors can see the splotches of mold and dislodged paint– what is not sensed in these digital images is the faint smell of the waters that still lingers when one approaches the physical pieces.
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Left Image: Before Hurricane Katrina Right Image: After Hurricane Katrina
Dona Simons (American)
Zydeco Joe-Pas de Deux
Oil on Canvas
14 x 11 inches
Courtesy of the artist
Zydeco Joe-Pas de Deux
Oil on Canvas
14 x 11 inches
Courtesy of the artist
A statement from Dona Simons:
My paintings included in this exhibition came from my studio in New Orleans. They were submerged for weeks in the flood waters after Hurricane Katrina. Over fifty of my oil paintings were in my studio during and after the storm. Katrina took the work I had created and added her own random effects. In addition to prescient aspects of the paintings’ subject matter, a tale is told by the stains, tears and waterlines that the canvases now contain. The paintings acquired the patina of age, surfacing like relics from an ancient civilization.The damage speaks of a catastrophic event in a specific time and place. It adds a dimension of historical significance to the artwork. In another sense the paintings became new again, as collaborative works, with Hurricane Katrina having had the last word. In Dona Simons’ flooded paintings, beauty and destruction collide.
“Before the storm I was very conscious of the power all artists have to create a universe of their own and the complete control they have over exactly what is included there. I believed my work would last longer than my own life. Now I am constantly reminded of how much greater forces have control over every aspect of life on earth. How easy it is, not only to create illusions, but to believe in them as well.”
- Dona Simons
Dona Simons (American)
Evolution of Evangeline
Oil on canvas | 24 x 12 inches
Courtesy of the artist
Statement about Evolution of Evangeline:
I began this triptych in 2004, after the death of my Father. I listened to a cassette tape of him speaking of family history. He mentioned being a distant cousin of Longfellow and quoted from Longfellow's poem “The Courtship of Miles Standish” about two of my ancestors, John and Priscilla Alden. This led me to rereading Longfellow's poetry and I rediscovered Evangeline. Living in South Louisiana, she seemed a natural choice as a painting subject. I saw her as an essential symbol of loss. And now, after flooding, she remains so. This triptych was flooded in my studio for weeks after Hurricane Katrina. If you look carefully, you can see the waterlines on two of the pieces, now vertical, showing how they lay sideways in the water.
Evolution of Evangeline
Oil on canvas | 24 x 12 inches
Courtesy of the artist
Statement about Evolution of Evangeline:
I began this triptych in 2004, after the death of my Father. I listened to a cassette tape of him speaking of family history. He mentioned being a distant cousin of Longfellow and quoted from Longfellow's poem “The Courtship of Miles Standish” about two of my ancestors, John and Priscilla Alden. This led me to rereading Longfellow's poetry and I rediscovered Evangeline. Living in South Louisiana, she seemed a natural choice as a painting subject. I saw her as an essential symbol of loss. And now, after flooding, she remains so. This triptych was flooded in my studio for weeks after Hurricane Katrina. If you look carefully, you can see the waterlines on two of the pieces, now vertical, showing how they lay sideways in the water.
Left Image: Before Hurricane Katrina Right Image: After Hurricane Katrina
Dona Simons (American)
Sea Nettles Drift to Sidney Bechet's Petite Fleur
Oil on Canvas
48 x 36 inches
Courtesy of the Artist
Sea Nettles Drift to Sidney Bechet's Petite Fleur
Oil on Canvas
48 x 36 inches
Courtesy of the Artist
