re: Airports and the decline of humanity

Friend,

Your comments are true and the clothing habits of people at an airport serve as a bellwether for the direction society points. There are, however, positive signs of the times in our airports, especially the new MSY. Mother always tells me I am to spend the time between security and boarding at Club MSY, but I refuse to go in there. I would much rather explore the beautiful and glimmering concourses, people watching. As you know, people watching and flying are best accomplished in a suit and tie. How men can consider themselves gentlemen while going to strip clubs or not wearing a suit in public is a great and baffling problem of our times.

To seclude one's self in a lounge away from the happenings of the airport is to deprive. I try to arrive two hours early for domestic flights, giving me ample time to explore. On my last flight, I noticed beautiful new paintings along the northern wall of Concourse A, from which I have never flown. Normally Alaska Air departs Concourse B, so this was a surprise and a gift indeed. As a result, I can share with you TulaneLSU's Top 10 paintings in MSY's Concourse A:

10. Uncle's property north of us has a cane field that this painting brings to mind, in a cloudy, dream-like way.


9. Not an impressive piece, 9 and 10 exist only for the list's symmetry.


8. The original settlement. It is now my backyard.


7. Although it sticks out like a sore thumb in a New Orleans gallery, these cows are undeniably captivating, drawing in the reader. The last time I hiked in Scotland, I went through several farms that shared scenes like this one. I love the Land Reform Act of 2003. America should have similar laws, opening our lands to walkers.



6. Industrial shadings aside, there are echoes of modern impressionism here, reminiscent of Erin Hanson.



5. Surely the artist's shape is inspired by the Esplanade facing window at Buffa's.




4. I am transported to a trenasse in St. Charles Parish, barely bobbing above the surface in Uncle's Ron Chapman pirogue in this painting.



3. Can you name every face drawn in this three part series? I am uncertain the artist. Is it Steve Harrington? Please, if anyone knows, let us know.











2. A foggy New Year's filthy feeling along the Industrial, I enjoy how this painting captures the industrial in the Industrial Canal. It feels like a lament: commerce destroyed our native soils, bringing fleeting wealth and lasting ecological damage. It is Australian Simon Gunning's piece de resistance!



1. Shirley Rabe Masinter is one of the most talented yet unheralded New Orleans artists. If you were to invest in a New Orleans artist, I would invest in her. As she gets older, her oil paintings, which she rarely does any more, become more and more rare.





Yours,
TulaneLSU