Michel Varisco Art

Michel Varisco Art

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The final placement of Turning, at the Lafitte Greenway, a vertical park that cuts through mid city New Orleans from the City’s Park to the French Quarter. This was a labor of love and the product of many people’s hard work. We planted indigenous plants around the site to encourage beneficial insects. We also avoided the use of any herbicides or pesticides to create a healthy place for people and insects alike.

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“Turning” consists of interactive “prayer wheels” showing iconography of the Mississippi River with three distinct periods of the river’s windings from Baton Rouge to Venice, LA. based on maps created by Kate Orff/Scape from Petrochemical America-Misrach/Orff, Aperture 2012.

The cylinders are lit at night via solar energy. When still, the cylinders will emit pulses of a dim blue light. Viewers may turn each stainless steel cylinder in the way a prayer wheel is spun.  Spinning a cylinder will intensify the light it emits. 

This was the first presentation of the piece. Later it was located at the Lafitte Greenway in New Orleans commissioned by the City of New Orleans percent for Art public art.

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Time lapse of making one of the 3 mosaic bases for the “Turning sculpture” (prayer wheels) with Italian porcelain. The pattern is of the Mississippi River creating new land over thousands of years (from the Fisk Maps of 1944). The mosaics were then placed onto cement discs weighing 200 pounds each. Many thanks to Keith Rogers for his help.  This was a meditative process that took a lot longer than shown here - but one that I enjoyed thoroughly.  

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NPR featured a story from an earlier interview for a nationwide theatrical performance on WATER issues and included the Edge of the Marshes image.

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Goodchildren Gallery hosted the Story of Water video as part of the Wetlands Art Tour. Above is a sculpture by Aaron McNamee and a still by Varisco 

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Review: Fluid States and Water Road

After spending many years documenting the splendors and struggles of Louisiana wetlands and the Gulf of Mexico, Michel Varisco shifted her focus to a new...

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Octavia Gallery hosted Fluid States on Julia Street

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Restoring the Gulf Coast

In a strange twist of fate, the biggest oil spill in U.S. history may end up saving the South’s wetlands and coastlines—if we make the right choices.

Audubon Magazine featured some work for one of their issues with an essay by Scott Weidensaul

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Local Photographer Captures Changing Louisiana Coast From A New Perspective

New Orleans native and local fine arts photographer Michel Varisco developed a curiosity about the Gulf Coast region at a young age. With a mother who is a

Jesse Hardman interviews for WWNO and covers the environmental concerns near and dear to us all. 

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Systems and Consequences: Michel Varisco's Gulf Coast

Excellent critical review by Nathan C. Martin.

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China’s Pingyao Photography Festival talk at the exhibition site. Photography by Michelle Westmorland. 

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The Auckland Festival of Photography programme continues to grow, featuring more events and exhibitions and the work of many local and international photographers.

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Brian Blade’s album and CD -Landmarks is incredible and it’s exciting to have an image from the Ruminations series included (Open Window)

To buy the album CD or individual songs go to: http://www.amazon.com/Landmarks-Brian-Blade/dp/B00I5NKPJA

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Excited to be a part of this exhibition and book Invented Reality curated by D. Eric Bookhardt, with forward by Russell Lord. 

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Out of print- sold out at Black scat press! Amazing experience working on this project with Tom Whalen. 

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Collaborative book with Tom Whalen called Hotel Ortolan published through Black scat Press! (I have a few hidden copies left!)

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wayne AMEDEE ron BECHET lynda BENGLIS rukiya BROWN keith DUNCAN brian GUIDRY james HENDERSON helen KOHNKE kathleen LOE aristides LOGOTHETIS rashaad NEWSOME tameka NORRIS duane PITRE jeffrey PITT regina SCULLY elizabeth SHANNON keith SONNIER michel VARISCOThe sense of place that one identifies as home is often a complex notion, one that is tied to authentic emotional attachments, belonging and perceived memories of a particular environment. This concept serves as the thematic framework for Octavia Art Gallery's inaugural group show, Home, opening White Linen Night at 454 Julia Street in New Orleans. The exhibition will feature local, national and international artists who have lived and studied in New Orleans and Louisiana at various times in their careers. New Orleans has long served as an inspiration and muse for artists. It is a live culture, and a fertile ground for creativity and authenticity. With ties to New Orleans and an understanding of its heritage and recent history, the selected artists explore the complexities of the development of New Orleans into the fastest growing city in the country. Moreover, this shared history adds a common element to the exhibition and questions what that means for each artist – in their own identity and in their work.For Ron Bechet, place is a defining element of the traditions and customs of humanity. Bechet's process directly reflects the abundance of south Louisiana’s natural environment. His works reflect the dynamic and subtle dialogue between the sacred and secular in the multi-layered environment of New Orleans. Much of the work of Keith Sonnier has explored his upbringing in Grand Mamou, Louisiana. Writer Max Blagg says of Sonnier’s work, “ ‘Gonna take you to the muddy river and push you in…’ Sonnier’s heart is in his hands and his hands are in the river and the red Louisiana mud.”Lynda Benglis' vibrant, and at times tawdry, work embraces her New Orleans roots, often mocking austere aesthetics and feminist theories. Her love of elaborate ornamentation and flamboyant bodily decoration is directly influenced by Mardi Gras culture. As Benglis states, "all those things I wore - masks, costumes - later influenced my ideas as I began to think of painting as a skin."Rashaad Newsome states that his work, "Venus Vs. Mars combines luxury goods with hip hop iconography to crate an abstraction that plays with the design formulas of Heraldry while referencing a baroque grandeur that is "Naturally N'Awlins." Although stylistically diverse, each work in Home has a strong connection to the culture of New Orleans and Louisiana. As a whole, Home pays respect to the individuals who have assisted in the rebirth of New Orleans and our community.