Before (During) and After + Under-Standing Water

Friday night we went to the opening of Before (During) After Louisiana Photographers Respond to Katrina and Under-Standing Water at DiverseWorks.  Before (During) After explores the evolution that 12 Louisiana photographers' work has undertaken in the years surrounding the storm, featured in the show are a few of my favorites Frank Relle and Zack Smith as well as some new favorites.  Under-Standing Water is comprised of sculptural installations integrating household memories damaged and discarded by the flood.  The water faucet by Rondell Crier is a phenominal piece with various flood discards from his mother's house forming a faucet on the wall which puddles out into various photographs on the floor chronicling the two year rebuilding efforts on his mother's house.  In an interview with Culture Map, Crier says "I want people to be able to bend down and be close to an image, to have the feeling of digging through things." 

Faucet by Rondell Crier...[sorry for the iPhone low res.]

The installation by Rontherin Ratcliff is a series of floating houses with plexiglass bottoms which call to mind all the photos he saw drifting and submerged in the waters of his parents' flooded home.  The effect is beautiful and represents what is to me one of the worst aspects of flood damage, the loss of family history.

Rontherin Ratliff [sorry for the iPhone low res photo]

While I highly recommend seeing the show in person if you can't make  it out become a fan on facebook to see more photos, or buy the book.