Laissez les bon temps rouler!

THE ART AND DESIGN OF MARDI GRAS
This is the first major museum exhibition designed to celebrate the creative production and
community spirit fueling the annual spectacle of Mardi Gras in the American south,
originating in Mobile, Alabama. Architectural historian Cartledge Blackwell, III notes in his
catalogue essay, “From pagan festivals, medieval royal progresses, and Renaissance
pageants to seventeenth-century masques, Mobile’s Carnival builds upon multiple
traditions. . . . At once religious, social, and temporal, Carnival remains a living tradition.
An experiential phenomenon, very much of an invented and evolving nature, Mardi Gras
happens but once a year, yet ‘the season’ defines the whole of the annum.”
Historians may argue about the genesis of Mardi Gras in the United States, but its enduring
traditions and social values are deeply embedded in nearly 200 years of creative enterprise:
the float designs, costumes, and tableaux for countless formal balls, carnival costumes, ball
gowns, jewels, graphic design, photography and more.
The exhibition is organized into thematic groupings reflective of these areas of creative
production: costume design; float, parade and tableau designs; historical and
contemporary photography; masks; crowns, scepters and jewels; contemporary art objects
and installations.
For inquiries regarding this traveling exhibition, please contact Stan Hackney, Assistant
Director of Special Projects at stan.hackney@cityofmobile.org or 251-208-5206 for further
information.
Laissez les bon temps rouler!
EXHIBITION TITLE:
The Art and Design of Mardi Gras
EXHIB. ORGANIZERS:
History Museum of Mobile
Mobile Carnival Museum
Mobile Museum of Art
TOUR ORGANIZER:
Mobile Museum of Art
DATES AVAILABLE:
September 2015 – January 2018
REQUIRED SPACE:
5000 – 10,000 sq. feet (variable as per installation
design, to be approved by the Mobile Museum of Art)
Covered cases where not provided by organizer
CONTENT:
111 framed drawings, prints
101 framed and 32 unframed photographs
(covered library display cases provided for
unframed photographs)
52 costumes, 18 trains, 12 pairs of shoes
(mannequins, dress forms provided)
152 crowns, scepters, jewels
(to be displayed in covered cases)
36 masks
(to be displayed in cases, not provided in tour)
45 original, historical invitation designs
(covered cases provided)
82 mystic society pins, favors, gifts, silver,
(cases provided)
25 paintings, sculptures, framed contemporary artworks
1 streaming media video artwork of Mardi Gras parades
1 audio sound artwork
Electronic label copy and wall graphics provided
ADDITIONAL, OPTIONAL SITE-SPECIFIC INSTALLATIONS:
1 contemporary site-specific installation by Dixon Stetler, New Orleans
1 site-specific tableau by Barrett-Greer LLC artists, Mobile, AL
1 site-specific dragon float installation by Royal Artists Inc., New Orleans