06/12/2020
The Crystal Efemmes are excited to welcome Leslie-Claire Spillman with her latest curation project, âno justice, no peaceâ in Room 1 of The Front, opening this Saturday June 13th.
Deep gratitude goes out to Leslie-Claire Spillman for curating this photo show so quickly, and to the featured artists - Abdul Aziz, Prosper Jones, and Ashley Lorraine - for sharing your work with all of us.
Weâre also thrilled to welcome Bernard Pearce, with his projection installation, which will be on view every evening after dusk.
Opening up the space to allow us all to share, learn, reflect, and evolve together feels paramount right now. The challenging and necessary conversations that are taking place at the moment need to continue. We hope, through art and community, to facilitate and encourage such conversations in whatever way we can.
No justice, no peace
portraits of resistance
ABDUL AZIZ
PROSPER JONES
ASHLEY LORRAINE
Curated by Leslie-Claire Spillman.
ABDUL AZIZ
Abdul Aziz is a freelance photojournalist, filmmaker, and serial entrepreneur. For nearly two decades, he has worked to document conflict, war, social issues and culture spanning the globe from the Middle East and Africa to the far reaches of the Himalayas. His photos have been published by opinion leading news agencies worldwide. Most recently his work has focused on the rise of white nationalism in the United States and the removal of Confederate monuments in cities at the center of the debate, such as New Orleans and Charlottesville.
PRO$PER JONE$
Pro$per Jone$ is an emerging artist, rapper, and producer born and raised in Uptown New Orleans. ART ABOVE THE LAW.
ASHLEY LORRAINE
A graduate of McDonough 35 and Xavier University in New Orleans, Ashley Lorraine is a graphic artist and photographer who is the owner of Creative Vibe Graphics and Ashley Lorraine Photography. Lorraine has worked for Cumulus Broadcasting and Signs Now where her visual art in signs, billboards and logos were seen all over New Orleans including the Louis Armstrong Airport.
Her "Black Men in America" series is a body of work that depicts the experiences of Black Men in America by utilizing a seemingly universal symbol, the American Flag. While other races can proudly pledge allegiance to the United States of America, the perennial struggle continues as black men seek to assume their rightful place in humanity. Black Men In America showcases âHow Black Men Feelâ âwhich is never much of a concern given the often tainted, oversaturated images of black males in the media. âBlack Men in Americaâ is a reminder of the black manâs contribution to an unforgiving and unapologetic society.
LESLIE-CLAIRE SPILLMAN
A graduate in art from Xavier University with a focus in painting and photography, Leslie-Claire Spillman has worked as a gallerist and professional photographer in New Orleans for over 16 years. The longtime Director of Soren Christensen Gallery, Spillman has curated hundreds of shows for the space, including 10 years of exhibition offerings in participation with the annual PhotoNOLA festival, for which she has also worked as a portfolio reviewer. Her photography has been featured in print and group exhibitions, and she has work in the permanent collection of the New Orleans Museum of Art. She works exclusively in portraiture, but is moved by a wide variety of work and seeks to continue connecting artists with exhibition opportunities through her independent curation.
BERNARD PEARCE
Bernard Pearce is a Louisiana native. He attended St. Johnâs College in Santa Fe, New Mexico where he studied the classics. He returned to Louisiana to pursue a life focused on the arts. Pearce has been active in theatre for 30 years. He has released two full length recordings of his original music and he has recently published two collections of poems, photos, and visual artworks entitled, âThe Deed to My Bonesâ and âGeneral Studiesâ. In 2005, Pearce participated in an 8 month long residency sponsored by the Andy Warhol Foundation and organised by The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council in New York City. Over the years he has become increasingly more interested in opera as an art form, as it combines many different aspects of an array of creative disciplines. His interest led him to attend several performances of the Santa Fe and Metropolitan Operas, and eventually to join the Caravan Stage Company, where for four years he studied all aspects of producing modern opera.
