| Artist
Reflects on Damage in New Orleans |
By Sabrina Enayatulla
Observer Staff Writer |
| William Faulkner said, "Every educated boy from Mississippi
goes north to Memphis, or south to New Orleans." |
| "I went south," James Bailey said. |
| Bailey lived in New Orleans for 20 years before moving to
Reston in December 2001. Bailey currently works for a non-profit
organization in McLean, his passion is art, his primary focus,
photography. Bailey recently displayed his artwork at the
Reston Community Center. His exhibit "Burnversions"
depicted Bailey's favorite images, photographs of New Orleans's
street life. His pictures came down on Wednesday, two days
after the catastrophic hurricane devastated the Gulf Coast.
|
| Bailey was born and raised in Columbus, in the northeast
part of Mississippi. He graduated from Mississippi State University
with a business degree focusing on international trade. At
21, Bailey moved to New Orleans to work in a law firm as a
paralegal but said his "profound interest" even
as a child was capturing the world from behind the lens. Bailey
said he found himself come alive as he photographed the life
of the Bohemian city. "I was just in love with New Orleans,"
he said. |
| The streets Bailey adored, the culture he was in awe of
and the laid-back life style without an agenda made city life
nearly perfect for Bailey. But in 2001 Bailey and his wife
made a difficult decision to leave their treasured city. After
their son was born, Bailey said they realized New Orleans
might not be the best place to raise a family. "It was
a safer environment," Bailey said about Northern Virginia.
"And a more progressive educational culture." |
| Bailey and his wife left New Orleans almost five years ago.
Since then, Bailey has used his photographs to remind himself
of the city so beloved to him. But Bailey's photographs show
a different picture than the images the rest of the world
has tuned into nightly for over a week. Massive destruction
and ruin now lies where Bailey once remembers taking a picture
of a poor man on crutches. Bailey was shocked when he saw
an old co-worker on the evening news. "She was with her
two children leaned up against a wall," Bailey said.
"It ripped me apart." |
| Bailey called New Orleans "a humanitarian crisis"
and said he was deeply angered when people in the media nonchalantly
brushed off talks of re-building the city. |
| Re-building cost estimates have been measured at over $20
billion leaving some Americans wondering if the total costs
are worth the losses. But Bailey said the culture of New Orleans
is what makes it unique and the historic appeal of the city
must be preserved. Bailey said the failure to find and restore
cultural artifacts and memorabilia shouldn't be seen as an
option. Places like the home of Jefferson Davis Beauvoir,
the Ohr-O'Keefe museum and the home of former slave Pleasant
Reed was some of the history destroyed in the flooded city
of Biloxi, Miss. "I think the Bush administration should
make a serious effort to re-build the Gulf Coast," Bailey
said. "I can't imagine something happening to London
or Paris and those countries saying, ‘Let's just leave it'."
|
| Although Bailey's passion for the art and culture, which
once bound the city so tightly are apparent, his emotions
have not clouded his sight of the thousands left homeless
and hungry. Many of his loved ones are still without means
of communication. "We finally got in touch with my mother-in-law,"
Bailey said. "She was evacuated to Austin, Tex. but I
haven't heard from my brother and sister-in-laws, nieces,
nephews or close friends." Bailey did say that he is
confident that his immediate family is out of harm's way.
|
| Bailey said costs to revive the cities, though currently
unimaginable, could help to slowly re-build the economy. "One-third
of the natural heating gas comes from the Gulf Coast through
the New Orleans Port, " Bailey said. He recalled one
of his first jobs at the port working for a trade company.
"The construction could provide jobs," Bailey added.
"This will be a wake up call for Americans around the
country, the poverty levels, lack of funding and sufficient
educational facilities. The government is aware of these problems.
70 percent of the population is African American, the real
issues are what's so upsetting." |
| Bailey and his wife are involved in the Red Cross efforts
and Bailey has made it his mission to gather artists from
the DC area to donate proceeds made from art sales to victims
of the hurricane. |
| Despite all the devastation plaguing the city, Bailey is
confident that New Orleans will survive even this tragedy.
"People have a deep affection for the city," Bailey
said. "The devastation is unparalleled, but somehow the
spirit of New Orleans will be re-energized to re-build the
city." |
| |
