Flamingos and Folk Art

Garden District, Baton Rouge
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My dad was born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Every summer, my family packs up our car and drives down there to visit my grandma, aunt, uncle and cousins. There are ups and downs of the

trip–for one, July is not the ideal time to visit Louisiana because of the brutal heat. But one of the things that I always loved about Baton Rouge is the different neighborhoods. They are surprisingly diverse and unique. My favorite is the garden district, with its cool houses tucked away into beautiful gardens and its tree-lined streets. When I was in Baton Rouge this summer, my dad and I were driving around and he was giving me one of his tours. He took me to see the house where my grandmother used to live as a little girl. As we were driving through that neighborhood, I was struck by something that seemed a little odd. Many of the houses had giant wooden pink flamingos on them. I wasn’t sure why they were there, or what they meant.

Flamingo from Spanish Town

I had pretty much forgotten about these wooden flamingos until I read Donalyn Heise’s article Folk Art in the Urban Art Room. Heise talks about the positive impact that folk art can have on students. At the end of her article, she provides some resources for implementing folk art in the classroom and learning more about the subject. Heise is from South Louisiana, and that influences her view of folk art. One of the references she provides is to www.louisianavoices.org, a website devoted to the folk art and culture of Louisiana. I went to this website, intrigued to learn about the folk art of a place that I visit annually. This is when I came upon an article, It’s A Very Pink Day In My Neighborhood by Jocelyn Hazelwood Donlon. It’s about the plastic flamingos of Spanish Town, a historic neighborhood in Baton Rouge (Donlon, 2013). This immediately made me think of the wooden flamingos, and I wondered if there was a relation between the two. As I read, I learned about the significance of flamingos as a reminder of heritage and as something that brings the community of Spanish Town together. I also learned that the wooden flamingos are a part of the Spanish Town Mardi Gras celebration. Before the Mardi Gras ball, about 20 giant wooden flamingos are put in the LSU lakes. It has become a tradition for Spanish Town residents to steal these flamingos and put them in their yards–a sort of trophy flamingo that stands above all the rest (Donlon, 2013).

Wooden flamingos in a lake by LSU
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After reading about this, I called my dad and asked him about it. He told me that my grandmother actually used to live in Spanish Town, which I had not realized. So that was how it all fit together. When I saw the flamingos, my first thought was that they were tacky and very strange. After looking into it, I know that there is cultural significance to these flamboyant birds that grace the neighborhood of Spanish Town. To be honest, I still think they look pretty tacky. But I don’t think that’s the point. Donlon says that others often call these flamingos “kitsch” (2013). Honestly, that was my first impression of them. But she points out, “But remember, some people, with a different aesthetic, prefer kitsch!” (2013) These flamingos are pieces of material culture that hold significance of history, culture, and community for the residents of Spanish town. This is the same idea that is behind folk art. It might not be the most sophisticated or refined, but it is relevant and authentic, and that is what makes it important. It incorporates relevant cultural themes, history, and community. It gives life to art.

References:

Blitzer, C. A. (n.d.). : The Garden District News :. Garden District Neighborhood | Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Retrieved October 16, 2013, from http://www.gdcabr.org/news.php?action=submit&story_id=42

Donlon, J. H. (n.d.). It's a Very Pink Day in My Neighborhood. Folklife in Louisiana Homepage. Retrieved October 16, 2013, from http://www.louisianafolklife.org/LT/Articles

Matherne, C. (n.d.). The Gaudy Birds of Spanish Town. DIG - Baton Rouge Uncovered. Retrieved October 16, 2013, from http://digbatonrouge.com/article/the-gaudy-birds-of-spanish-town-346/

Spanish Town flamingo tradition has unique history - lsureveille.com : Entertainment. (n.d.). lsureveille.com . Retrieved October 16, 2013, from http://www.lsureveille.com/entertainment/article_580c2522-70be-11e2-b22d-001a4bcf6878.html