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Hurricane Katrina

Photography

Read Katrina Survivors’ Inspiring Messages to Sandy Survivors

By Emily Temple on

As people along the East Coast continue to reel from the effects of Hurricane Sandy, people all across the country are reaching out with words of support. But who better to offer advice and messages of hope from those who have been there? To that end, NYC-based journalist Andy Kopsa has put together this wonderful Tumblr, NOLA to New York, where he posts photos of Hurricane Katrina survivors holding up letters of encouragement for everyone affected by Hurricane Sandy. The result is truly wonderful, an inspiring, heartfelt message from one community to another. We’ve posted a few of our favorite photos below, but be sure to head over to the website to see them all. … Read More

Architecture

Haunting Photos of Architectural Gems Damaged in Natural Disasters

By Claire Cottrell on

As Frank Lloyd Wright, the greatest American architect of all time, once said: “I believe in God, only I spell it Nature.” Understanding and respecting what can be a very brutal and relentless force is one of the great responsibilities tasked to the creators of our buildings and cities. In the wake of Superstorm Sandy, we’re now facing the overwhelming cleanup of our soggy subways, submerged streets, and damaged tunnels. If you do one thing today, make it a quick trip to the … Read More

Photography

New Orleans' Hurricane-Inspired Graffiti

By Paul Laster on

Commemorating the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, photographer Richard Misrach recently released previously unpublished prints of the devastation left in the storm’s wake in concurrent exhibitions in New Orleans and Houston, as well as in a new monograph, Destroy This Memory, published by Aperture. Shooting with a four-megapixel pocket camera between October and December 2005, the photographer focused on the graffiti scrawled messages left by the survivors on their homes, cars, trees, fences, and businesses. From RIP notes and markings for the number of dead people and animals found inside places to condemnations against insurance companies and warnings for potential looters, the powerful pictures capture the response of the people most affected by the disaster. … Read More

Architecture

Photo Essay: Brad Pitt’s New Orleans Revival

By Margaret Eby on

This August marks five years since Hurricane Katrina made landfall in New Orleans. The damage that the storm and its attendant flooding wrought on the city — both physically and psychologically — is slowly being repaired. The Louisiana Superdome, the focus of international horror during the aftermath of the storm, became once again a place of triumph this year, when the Saints won the Super Bowl for their hometown. And in the Lower 9th Ward, where over 4,000 homes were destroyed, new, inspired and sustainable homes are rising from the wreckage.

Brad Pitt founded the Make It Right foundation to help provide the Lower 9th with 150 affordable and storm-protected dwellings. So far, 50 homes are completed and another 25 are on the way, along with a handful of “micro-farms” and community centers. There’s a lot more to do to revive the community, but Pitt’s efforts have earned him nods from urban planners, as well as a grassroots campaign that encouraged him to make a mayoral bid. After the jump: a gallery of the Lower 9th Ward, five years later. … Read More

Daily Dose

Daily Dose Pick: Waiting for Godot in New Orleans

By Shana Nys Dambrot on

Paul Chan’s Waiting for Godot in New Orleans chronicles the inspiration and production behind the artist’s 2007 theatrical experiment of the same name, through original artwork, interviews, and extensive photo-documentation.

The publication, released by Creative Time, offers insight into the imagination of a young artist, moved by the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to re-conceptualize Samuel Beckett’s seminal work of absurdist theatre as a site-specific project, set amid the wasteland of watching and waiting that the devastated city had become. … Read More

Architecture

Brad Pitt and the Trouble with Vernacular Architecture

By Kelsey Keith on

As an architecture buff, and one with an academic interest in the somewhat underrated field of vernacular architecture, I’ve been following the “Brad Pitt saves New Orleans” story with a healthy dose of skepticism. Yes, anyone using his celebrity and monetary largesse for a good cause is to be commended, and yes, I’m kind of psyched that Brad Pitt is into architecture and not just wine, women, and song. But a Hollywood celebrity swooping in to impose a clearly modern taste onto an area known for its historic domestic architecture, a building tradition termed the “shotgun” house which traces its roots to Haiti and West Africa? Like I said, I’m dubious. And so is preservationist Clem Labine, writing about the issue for The CIVITAS Chronicles. Read… Read More