Serenissima: Venetian Glass 1500 to the Present August 20, 2011

This summer NOMA will present a new, large-scale installation by the internationally renowned artist Swoon. Based in New York, Swoon is recognized for her large-scale paper cutouts wheat-pasted on the exteriors of buildings. Her work often depicts portraits of families, friends, and neighborhood locals performing everyday activities, such as building, bicycling, or sitting on stoops. The evocative nature of their gaze and stance, however, elevates them to a mythical, almost transcendent status. For her installation in NOMA's Great Hall, Swoon was inspired by the city's ties to the sea, as New Orleans dearly depends on water for commerce, transportation, energy, and food. Her installation 'Thalassa' is named after the Greek goddess revered as the mother of all sea creatures. The twenty-foot tall piece will depict a towering female deity with extended tentacles. The octopus-design of Thalassa also echoes nineteenth-century depictions of New Orleans women who worked in Storyville's red-light district. 1 Newspaper caricatures depicted these "loose" women as ensnaring men, women, and children. The piece thus connects to both New Orleans's past and present, and its complex and deep history as a port city.