New Orleans Looking Up/Looking Down
by Tom Varisco
About the Book
New Orleans Looking Up/Looking Down is two books in one, with photographs portraying two converse sides of New Orleans: the one that can be seen by looking up and the other that can be seen by looking down. The book has a different cover on each side, one for Looking Up, and one for Looking Down, each beginning a unique journey into the beloved city.
Looking Up
For years, we walked around New Orleans and looked up to discover hand-painted placards pinned to telephone poles, Mardi Gras beads hanging happily from avenue trees, original portraits of local musicians embracing highway support columns and an assortment of images that represent our charming, eccentric and compassionate home town.
We had fun, and we decided to do a book. We gathered up our images, edited them and included a mix of the familiar with the more obscure. Some of what we photographed no longer exists, so this book actually serves as a brief, partial historical record - a cultural "snapshot" of our city.
Whether you are a resident or a first-timer, we hope you find something in these pages to enjoy.
Keep looking up.
Looking Down
For years, we walked around New Orleans looking down, and not just to avoid stepping in something.
We discovered doubloons embedded in a sidewalk, abandoned instruments, stenciled art work, crawfish on newspaper, half-hidden messages, and other images, both odd and comforting.
We tried not to settle on the very obvious, instead choosing a mix of the familiar with the more obscure or surprising. Sadly, some of what we photographed no longer exists.
Whether you are a resident or a visitor to our city, we hope you will recognize some of our choices.
We love our city with all its pleasures and faults. This partial record of our walks and our culture is also our concise celebration of our home town.
We hope you enjoy the walk.
About the Creator
Tom Varisco is the creator of Spoiled, the photo book of Hurricane Katrina refrigerator art, Signs of New Orleans, and Jackson Squared.
Contributors: John Biguenet and Erik Winkowski
Softcover | 168 Pages | ISBN: 9780692502297