Louisiana Cultural Vistas - Winter 2007 - (Page 21)

A decoy carver’s workspace by Bill Hanemann, 1977. All of the objects, from the paintbrushes and oil can, to the hat and coffee cup, are carved entirely from wood. carvers, immersed himself in the creation of a variety of decorative wildfowl decoys, whose level of detail — in texture, color, and shape — far surpassed the carvings of past generations. As his skills improved, Hanemann began carving intricately wrought — and expensively bought — wildfowl sculptures in the nature morte style. His decorative, hanging wildfowl sculptures reflect the influence of George Viavant (1872–1925), the New Orleans painter whose works lined the walls of Hanemann’s paternal grandfather’s home. Annual participation at the Waterfowl Festival in Easton, Maryland, helped Hanemann build a devoted following and led him to explore a unique form of artistic woodworking — carved “still life” scenes. For Hanemann, still life sculptures depicting everyday objects represented a natural extension of the carver’s environment — an extension that allowed him to set the scene, and also hone his artistic skills through the advanced use of color and texture. In the late 1970s, noted Louisiana decoy enthusiast Brian Cheramie commissioned a large still life of a carver’s workspace, comprising a work bench complete with more than thirty individually carved and painted objects. The sculpture, with its delicately carved paintbrushes, knives, and texturing implements, was Hanemann’s most ambitious still life. Hanemann continues to produce the occasional still life scene As his skills improved, Hanemann began carving intricately wrought — and expensively bought — wildfowl sculptures in the nature morte style. and nature morte piece, but he has refocused his efforts on an object fundamental to his artistic development — the working decoy. Now aged 60, with more than 40 years of carving behind him, Hanemann largely eschews the high-tech tools (e.g. diamond- or ruby-tipped drills, wood burners, and airbrushing implements) used by today’s decorative carvers in favor of more traditional methods. Though Hanemann uses relatively primitive tools — a draw knife is his primary implement — his mastery of the craft enables him to transform the classic wooden decoy from folk art to fine art. In Hanemann’s work, the art of Louisiana wildfowl carving comes full circle. The Historic New Orleans Collection is proud to present a twopart exhibition exploring the roots and evolution of decoy carving in Louisiana. Birds of a Feather: Wildfowl Carving in Southeast Louisiana features some of the most prominent examples of wildfowl carvers and their craft. Part I, Early Working Decoys, features the craftsmanship of dozens of working decoy carvers from the late 19th through the mid-20th centuries and is on display through January 7, 2008, in the Boyd Cruise Room of the Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres Street in New Orleans’ French Quarter. Part II, Contemporary Carvings (January 15– April 20, 2008), examines the contemporary art of decorative Winter 2007-08/LOUISIANA ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES 21

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Louisiana Cultural Vistas - Winter 2007

Louisiana Cultural Vistas - Winter 2007 Contents Friends Editor’s Column Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities Katrina: Days of Terror, Months of Anguish Paintings by Rolland Golden The Historic New Orleans Collection The Great Ouachita River Flood of 1932 Jazz Notes Louisiana Architecture Louisiana: Where Land Meets Water Louisiana State Museum Through A Lens Sharply: An Interview with Michael Lewis MR-GO: A “miracle” mired in controversy Louisiana Foodways Louisiana Association of Museums New Orleans: An Autopsy Bookstand Sound Advice Forum

Louisiana Cultural Vistas - Winter 2007

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