The Art of the Brick

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learninG

soMethinG

the rebirth

of new

orleans

I think most adult Americans can remember

where they were when Hurricane Katrina roared

out of the Gulf of Mexico and into the heart of

New Orleans. Most of us can remember watching

and wondering, How could this possibly happen

in this country? And then, in the aftermath, I think

most of us can remember thinking, How are we

ever going to fix this? Few of us, I think, knew

even where to begin.

As bad as it is here, it’s better than being

somewhere else.—Chris Rose

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However, the New Orleans Public Library had

a brilliant idea: Don’t ask America’s grown-

ups; ask the children. The library launched a

campaign, asking children from all across the

country to draw and write about what they

felt was important for the rebuilding of New

Orleans. Then I was lucky enough to be asked

to represent these thoughts and ideas in a

sculpture. There were thousands of pictures to

sort through, but I soon noticed that no matter

where the drawing or painting came from, all

the kids had very similar ideas about what was

important for a city. It would need a fire station,

a hospital, schools, and a park. They were drawn

in different styles and colors, but I saw the same

themes repeated again and again. Other ideas

included hotels, houses, and libraries. I really

wanted to capture the look of the drawings by

making the buildings brightly colored, slightly

crooked or slanted in places, and with windows

that didn’t always line up.

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