Blue dog george rodrigue biography of rory

When the New World, a. Eventually, the British won and many Acadians were captured and deported. Many farms and businesses were destroyed. The deportation of the Acadians from these areas has become known as the Great Upheaval or the Great Expulsion. Many Acadians were driven to Louisiana, with its almost uninhabitable marshy landscape.

Blue dog george rodrigue biography of rory: From New Iberia, Louisiana, George Rodrigue

Attempts were made to suppress Cajun culture. The Cajun French Language was forbidden in schools. American teachers threatened, punished, and sometimes beat their Cajun students in an attempt to force them to use English a language to which many of them had not been exposed before. Over the 20th Century, a sense of nostalgia formed in the people of Louisiana — a longing for an idealised past.

Since their establishment in Louisiana, the Cajuns have become famous for their unique French dialect, Louisiana French and have developed a vibrant culture including folkwaysmusicand cuisine. His mother felt strongly that they were not Cajun but French. She did not want to be associated with the derogatory word Cajun. Rodrigue wanted to change the negative connection with being Cajun.

Instead, he wanted to celebrate his culture. He also painted large family gatherings, which the Cajuns are known for. You will notice that this period of his art is filled with landscapes done in dark, dull colours. Not at all like his later works, which are bright and vibrant.

Blue dog george rodrigue biography of rory: George Rodrigue (?. ) was born

But this period is essential since it formed George Rodrigues style and eventually led him to create Blue Dog. It is probably George Rodrigues most famous painting. It is based on the old French Dinner parties held in Louisiana between and s. Traditionally they met once a month on the lawn of a plantation home to celebrate their culture and food with a 6-hour dinner.

He painted various faces of his Cajun ancestors sitting around a table enjoying this traditional dinner. The painting took George 6 months to complete! But George refused. He saw his culture fading before his eyes. The modern world was consuming it. George was committed to interpreting and preserving Cajun Culture on canvas, and that is what he did for the next 20 years.

Blue dog george rodrigue biography of rory: Born and raised in

It is said that he has reached his ambitious goal already within this first painting. Even if he stopped painting after The Aioli Dinner, George still would have played a significant role in preserving his culture. He says his paintings have always been about color and shape. The same is true with my people. In my mind they are abstract shapes.

He made a good living, was recognized for his work and was even commissioned by President Reagan for a portrait. But it was a fateful day in when Rodrigue set out to paint that now well-known mythical monster from his childhood that would change his life forever. For inspiration he used Tiffany, his dog who had died four years earlier. He painted her in a graveyard under the moon remember, he was trying to capture the legend of the loup-garou.

She was actually gray, the way an animal might look in moonlight. The image haunted Rodrigue. He knew he had created something special, but he had no idea of what was coming. Inhe finally hung the first Blue Dog in his New Orleans gallery. People liked it, a lot. The Blue Dog phenomenon was born. The dog became bluer, the eyes changed from red to yellow, and the questioning, trademark stare became more prominent.

Rodrigue painted the dog in every conceivable situation. The paintings became a sensation, making Rodrigue a successful artist, but it was the corporate connection that would vault him and his art into the financial stratosphere. Those very successful ad campaigns led to publishing contracts, which in turn led to five Rodrigue Blue Dog books since Rodrigue makes no apologies for being rich and famous.

Blue dog george rodrigue biography of rory: Blue Dog Love is George and

He admits to being a relatively savvy businessman. He is also very protect. He says his lawyer are constantly scanning eBay to head off anyone who is looking to make a buck on his Blue Dog image. He says his decision to go corporate was a calculated one. But beyond mass production, what remains the most crucial of the blue dog was, according to Rodrigue himself in an interview with The New York Times in The yellow eyes […They] are really the soul of the dog.

He has this piercing stare. People say the dog keeps talking to them with the eyes, always saying something different. People who have seen a Blue Dog painting always remember it. They are really about life, about mankind searching for answers. The dog never changes position. He just stares at you. You can see this longing in his eyes, this longing for love and answers.

To Rodrigue, the blue dog was a phenomenon. It appeared alongside American politicians, with naked women in faux French scenes, on the lawn with his Aioli dining club party, inside a soup can, next to Marilyn Monroe…It even became a star in its own right thanks to the celebrated BoJack Horseman series. What are you going to do next? To my mind, maybe the closest is Chuck Close and his portraits.

They developed slowly in a way that the individual shapes and colors that make a total face have changed and progressed, so that his faces of today look different than his faces of ten years ago. The art looks back at itself and in doing so creates a future. The dog looks at itself to find a new direction. Something else truly happens when scale becomes a part of your concept.

I get excited to see the public excited! Inspirational to say the least! What a Louisiana treasure! I love Blue Dog!