Themed Photo Exhibition
Debut exhibition for new gallery features newly-discovered collection of rare Mardi Gras photos from mid-1950s.
Houston, TX and Santa Monica, CA / December 2, 2009 -- Galleria Mar Doré, a gallery featuring contemporary American and international fine art, antiquities, photography, video, film and performance installations, launches online today at galleriamardore.com.
Opening Exhibition: Mardi Gras! 1956
Galleria Mar Doré’s debut exhibition showcases recently discovered color photographs shot by Louisiana native John W. Mizenko (1921-1991). The images present scenes from the Mid-City and Venus Parades in mid-century New Orleans. These photos capture the spirit of processions which run through the heart of New Orleans. The collection of slides was discovered in 2009 by the photographer’s daughter, Mar Doré. The floats shown from the Mid-City and Venus Krewe parades were taken on Sunday, February 12, 1956.
Giclée color prints of 28 photographs from this collection are now available for purchase at galleriamardore.com. The prints are developed from slides scanned with high-precision digital capture devices at 4000 dpi. John Mizenko’s personal perspective is reflected in these candid glimpses of Mardi Gras festivities in 1956, and are preserved and reproduced here in vivid colors. Mizenko was an avid amateur photographer and loved New Orleans, where his parents and sister resided. His irrepressible affection for the offbeat and absurd manifested in a deep appreciation for the ideas and themes underlying Mardi Gras floats and parades.
John W. Mizenko was born in Covington, LA. He graduated from Covington High School, attended Louisiana State University (LSU), and graduated with a Chemical Engineering degree. He taught Morse Code at LSU, and was an amateur ham radio operator. He co-invented the Cyclone-centrifuge separator patented by Shell Oil, a device used in oil pipelines (http://www.freepatentsonline.com/3189180.html). He taught Refinery Instrumentation at the University of Houston and at Shell Oil and other companies in the field of oil research. In that era, the dangers of chemical exposure within the oil industry were not commonly known by workers. But those hazards became personal for Mizenko's family’s when he died of lymphoma caused by decades of chemical exposure while working at these companies.
Mardi Gras! 1956 at Galleria Mar Doré runs through February 26, 2010. Updates and new materials from the collection will be added each month. More information on Galleria Mar Doré’s 2010 exhibition schedule at www.galleriamardore.com.
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