The fusion of art and the environment takes place at the Port of New Orleans from December 1 – 16, 2009 with Matthew D. White’s exhibit, The End of the Great River. The showing of White’s work features fine art images of the vanishing landscapes of the lower Mississippi River Delta, from Port Sulphur in Plaquemines Parish south to the end of the three passes that drain the river into the Gulf of Mexico. This delta, full of history, culture, and industry, is sparsely populated and rarely seen in detail by outsiders, but is a landscape of vast beauty.
Decimated by Hurricane Katrina and rapidly disappearing at a rate of one football field every forty five minutes, this hauntingly beautiful and fragile region consisting of 3 million acres of coastal wetlands and 40% of the salt marsh in the contiguous United States supports the economy of New Orleans with significant shipping traffic, supplies approximately 18% of the United States oil supply and 16 % of the US’s fisheries harvest, has had quite a long history fighting coastal erosion. What’s at risk here “is a significant national asset”, said Stan Mathes, Director of Plaquemines Parish Economic Development.
The goal of this photo collection is to raise awareness for the unique beauty of this locale through the photographer’s lens and to encourage the creation and preservation of images of the Mississippi River Delta and its disappearing habitat for future generations. “I have captured a rare glimpse of some of the most remote locations on the Louisiana coast”, said White. “The way of life that is so simple and peaceful down there on the Delta is just hanging by a thread. I feel that I can do my part for its preservation by showing what is still beautiful about it; that it is, and always has been, one of the most unique and spellbinding landscapes in the nation. I try to convey ‘sense of place’ in my photos; if the viewer can for one second sense the peace, solitude, and wonder I feel standing in these landscapes, then there would be no question about whether or not the Delta should be preserved.”
Hosted by the Port of New Orleans and sponsored in part by Plaquemines Parish Economic Development, the exhibition is a part of PhotoNOLA, (www.photonola.org) an annual celebration of photography in the Crescent City, coordinated by the New Orleans Photo Alliance in partnership with museums, galleries and alternative venues citywide. Following its debut at the Port of New Orleans, the exhibit will travel nationally before concluding its tour in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana where it is expected to remain on permanent exhibit there.
For more information go to: www.endofthegreatriver.com.
About Matthew White
Matthew White (www.matthewwhitestudio.com) is a native New Yorker who fell in love with photography at an early age. He has lived and worked as a freelance photographer and musician, after receiving a Bachelor’s Degree in music from Berklee College of Music in Boston, and a Master’s Degree in jazz studies from the University of New Orleans, a summa cum laude graduate. Winner in the Print Center 2008 International Competition, his work has been featured locally in the Grand Isle Juried Art Exhibit, The New Orleans Photo Alliance Elemental/Environmental Space Exhibit, and as part of a permanent museum exhibit for Parks Canada in New Brunswick. He was invited by the U.S. State Department to present his images during the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and he most recently partnered with Lighthawk and the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana on a series of aerial flyovers to take photographs of the endangered Louisiana coast. White is represented by Big Vision Media, (www.bigvisionmedia.com).
