Hurricane Katrina.2005
In early September of 2005 in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina myself and a few other Dallas based artists were hired to go into hurricane ravaged New Orleans to rescue damaged and endangered artworks
from both public and private collections. Here are a few photos of the trip and a painting inspired by that experience.
In spite of having an official pass and a police escort we had to circumvent many National Guard roadblocks manned by Guardsmen who refused to honor either. The window between Katrina and Rita was very small. We worked in the heat and humidity, the rain and in darkness. We worked in museums and houses and offices with the continuous smell of rot and mold, with perspiration running down our faces. The floors were covered with the slick, thick and slimy residue of polluted flood waters. The wood floors had buckled and warped up to as much as a foot and the footing was slimily treacherous. The stench made us gag. It may not seem like much but we would all do it again.
As with Katrina the landscapes of the mountains of San Diego are testament to how the best intentions of so very many people can go horribly wrong. I invite you to go to Google Earth and see for yourself the results of the wildfires of 2004. We have lost there a natural resource that we most probably will never regain. Good intentions do not always make for good decisions or positive ends.
NOLA: Mold and Oil, 2005
