Rien Fertel

1 week ago | theadvocate.com | Rien Fertel

“George Valentine Dureau: Life and Art in New Orleans” by Howard Philips Smith, University of Mississippi Press, 520 pagesThe iconic New Orleans artist George Valentine Dureau was “named for two saints,” his friend W. Kenneth Holditch observed, “one who fought dragons, one who became the very symbol of love.” The warrior and the lover: he wore this dichotomy well, according to Howard Philips Smith’s monumental survey of Dureau’s life and artistic career.

2 weeks ago | nola.com | Rien Fertel

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3 weeks ago | theadvocate.com | Rien Fertel

“Rainbow Fleur de Lis: Essays on Queer New Orleans History” by Frank Perez, University of Mississippi Press, 240 pagesPride Month arrives this year with a much-needed queer-centered history of New Orleans. Frank Perez’s “Rainbow Fleur de Lis” collects 85 of his essays, published over the past dozen years in Ambush Magazine and the French Quarter Journal.

1 month ago | theadvocate.com | Rien Fertel

“Neutral Ground: New Orleans 1990-2005” by William Greiner, University of New Orleans Press, 96 pages. Photographer William Greiner’s new collection, “Neutral Ground,” is four decades in the making. Shot in Greiner’s hometown between 1990 and 2005, the scenescapes featured in these 85 photographs feel both eerily foreign and hauntingly familiar.

1 month ago | theadvocate.com | Rien Fertel

“Two-Headed Doctor: Listening for Ghosts in Dr. John’s Gris-Gris” by David Toop, Strange Attractor Press, 264 pagesIt’s an age-old question: Can we, and furthermore, should we, separate the art from the artist? What do we do about great art by problematic people? Or troublesome art by saintly souls? Take Dr. John, who is not the first artist that comes to mind when considering the art-versus-artist dilemma.