Search for Meaning on Julia Street

Dear Julia Street,

I attended your openings earlier this month intending to write a positive piece of criticism on any one show that would knock my socks off. Unfortunately, each one of your galleries was a greater disappointment than the last. You may not like it, you may not want to hear it, but there is a difference between art and High Art, and for years you have been in denial of which one you represent. Worse yet, you’ve convinced yourself that you‘re in a different league (read: better) than the tourist galleries on Royal.

Your shows this month featured works that rely solely on their process of creation. In other words, gallery after gallery you exhibited well-executed art that forgot to be well-thought-out. Julia Street, if High Art were pure aesthetic, looking at pretty pictures, would we not be satisfied to stay home admiring our wallpaper?

Step up and be the epicenter of High Art in New Orleans you claim to be. However, if you are content displaying well-constructed, but empty objects (cause thought don’t sell!), then call yourself what you are: a row of consignment boutiques.

Best,

Ning Bordes