Here's another round of postcards that present some slightly different, but interestingly similar, images of New Orleans. I found these in my parents home several years ago. My mom doesn't remember who bought them, but she does remember going on a trip to New Orleans with her family when she was a young girl. I think my grandmother may have picked them up as a way to document their trip. If they were purchased then, it would have been sometime around 1946-48. The postcard with the image of the Academy of the Sacred Heart on the front (my grandmother, mother, and I all attended a Sacred Heart school here in St. Louis) was mailed to my grandmother with a 1 cent stamp. According to some minimal net surfing, this was the US postcard rate until 1952. So I'm guessing they're roughly from the same era.
An idea that strikes me as I look at these postcards - what spaces in New Orleans seem to define the city? What monuments, buildings, or parks? How are they a part of New Orleans history and imagery? Were they damaged during the hurricane? What new kinds of "monuments" do we now associate with the city (the 9th ward, the Superdome)? My general sense is that the French Quarter did not suffer as much damage as other parts of the city. Can such a "monument" survive when the people do not (I don't simply mean lives lost, but also those forced to relocate)? What kind of significance do these places and spaces now hold?
1 comment:
Louise,
These are great! I'm struck by how postcards are something that circulate outsude of the city - a memory or an idea on NO that is sent elsewhere. Perhaps we could use these in our installation (or purchase others to use) - maybe hand them out as people enter the space, with little factoids written on them?
K
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