ART

I chose my free day to go and search for art on Royal Street before going out on the town for the night with the girls. Especially because of the down pour that occurred the day before. In an earlier blog, I described how I decided to take this journey alone and went without my roommates. I looked on google and chose to go to Galarie Rue Royale. I downloaded UBER for the first time while being there with the help of my roommates. I was dropped off right on the corner and walked into the gallery. The gallery had a huge open floor plan with black walls to make the art pop and have definition. There is a man who introduces himself right away as the director of the gallery. His name was Bilal and he was an older African American man in a very well-tailored suit. 

He asked me what I am looking for and I tell him I have no idea as I just looked on google for galleries on Royal street and it recommended this gallery first. I explained to him for a humanities course, that I am a senior in nursing school, am here for my last upper gen ed and graduate in May. He asks me some more questions like where I am from and I can feel a slight flirtation coming from him. Like I mentioned in another blog, he mentioned that he was very willing to help me get a good grade and would walk me around himself, personally. I was extremely flattered. He even let me take pictures with the art right by the visible no pictures sign. I could not help but feel so fortunate while also breaking the rules. I ask him if he is sure that it is ok that I take pictures and replies “Baby, I am the director of this gallery and what I say goes.” He then begins to ask me more personal questions, for example do I have any children or a boyfriend. I tell him I do not have any children but I do have a boyfriend of ten years. He just smiles and states how that is his loss and that my boyfriend is a very lucky man and he allows me to start looking at art and tells me to choose carefully as to not fall in love with all the art. I was grateful that he was backing off as I noticed a very evident wedding ring on his finger. I wandered through the gallery looking at all the different paintings they had all while struggling to pick a favorite. I went back and forth and back on forth. I finally made my decision as I liked this artist’s collection as a whole the best. I loved the tones, the pops of color, the backgrounds, and the scenes. I enjoyed seeing the many different scenes with famous sites that I have visited in the background of the picture. For example,

The artist I chose goes by the name of Marc Clauzade. I know that we are supposed to pick out a local artist but in all fairness, I had no idea that Marc was not a local artist. A lot of his artwork was depicting New Orleans in the gallery and I fell in love with his style. Marc Clauzaude is a Paris born artist and France’s most prominent living artistic asset per his biography that Bilal gave me while also showing me a picture of him and Marc together and telling me about how him and Marc hang out with one another when he is in town. One of the most fabulous things I read about him was that both of his grandmothers were fashion designers for Chanel I believe Bilal told me. Designing for Chanel would have been an amazing job. I also found out that he has been a professional painter since his early 20’s and never sold a painting himself as he has always been represented professionally. Once I heard Marc’s story I was more even positive that this is the artist I wanted to choose to blog about. What a fabulous life he has lead by starting at such a young age. How exciting and wonderful it must have been to have two successful and fantastic grandparents and positive influences all around him. I could not imagine being that skilled at a craft that by the age of 20 I was already being represented professionally and having someone else do the selling and hustling for me while I sit back and enjoy the fruits of my labor. The artist speaks to me now more than he did without know his biography. Yes, his art was beautiful and noteworthy but by knowing his story, it helps me imagine what he was going through or seeing while making these beautiful works of art. I could imagine him sitting with his grandparents in New Orleans for vacation and absorbing the sites for his next piece of work. I am sure he was analyzing lines, colors and architecture as he sat somewhere debating on if he wanted to paint it or not or committing the details to memory. As I was staring at the artwork, Bilal would tell me how much some of the artist’s work was going for as he is a salesman at heart “You see that one,” he would say to me and I would say yes, “That is for sale for $54,000 dollars and that one is $82,000” and my jaw would drop with pure shock. I cannot imagine spending that much money for artwork. Not saying there is anything wrong with that, just at this point in my life I could not wrap my head around a figure that high for a canvas. I hope that at one point in life I can be as successful and prosperous in life. He is an inspiration to do what you are good at and what makes you happy.