A Love Letter to New Orleans

An intimate look at the work of two artists, Langston Allston, and Demond Melancon, energized by the crescent city in which they first met. Their affection for New Orleans, though driven by different perspectives, found a common thread in their unique bond of friendship which has inspired the other’s artistic journey, whether contemporary or ancestral, ever since.

Langston Allston, an outsider of New Orleans, documents moments that captivate him, from the moments that introduced him to the city to the stories that weave together its contemporary history. Similar to his earlier work which is a reflective collection of love stories, Allston’s dives into the root of his love for the people he’s encountered and the places he’s found them. Thus far, his journey as an artist has been a chaotic and unpredictable one that ultimately led him to settle in New Orleans.

Meanwhile, Demond Melancon carries on the 200-year old tradition of Black masking, which is a core part of New Orleans’ identity. It is a work that is dedicated to ancestors, to heroes, to the people that kept the cultural myths alive and to those that made them real. 

A native of the region, Melancon’s 26-year journey as an artist has been guided by the spirits of elders to express love as reflected in his work, which features hundreds of thousands of tiny glass beads individually sewn. From Shaka Zulu to Chief Red Cloud, Demond honors all of his subjects — Africans and Native Americans, and the most rebellious among the enslaved in America, who led revolts like, Bras-Coupé.

As an exhibit, A Love Letter to New Orleans navigates the loaded conversations revolving around the city and its constituents as told through the insider/outsider combined experiences of Melancon and Allston. More than this, through A Love Letter the pair pay a great respect to the storied past of New Orleans while offering up a lens into its bright, new future.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website.