Jimmy Descant

Artist Statement

As a self taught assemblage artist in New Orleans, I started with vintage vacuum cleaner rocketships in 1996, after 15 years in the music business as a roadie. Then progressed to actual political/social statements in my futuristic art, and after moving to Colorado my visions of the West that I love. I saw in the parts I was finding at thrift stores and flea markets my own vision of what craftsmen put into details, many unseen, and the longevity of these manufactured pieces I use as inspiration and metaphor. With the new Interior Secretary, I believe that Native Americans will keep getting the positive momentum in art and general societal justice. I am part Louisiana Native, Tunica-Biloxi, but not enough to be registered. My art represents my locale and soul in the West, and a mix of Mardi Gras Indians in New Orleans where I grew up, and return to sell at Jazz Fest and galleries. As well as instant live assemblage art events with bands. As I search America, I know I will never run out of raw materials from the Golden Age of American manufacturing, my muse, or the wonder and respect of that age. A Severe ReConstructivist seeking the cool and inspiration - the mountains, deserts, people, and cultures past, present, and future - as well as my fascination with Mardi Gras Indians, their power, cultures and identifiable imagery. In my art, I combine the West and the South in an abstract fashion of respect and strength. I now live and create in Tucson, Arizona but return to New Orleans frequently.