By Holly Zinner, Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art

The Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art is changing their current exhibitions the weeks of June 13 and June 20, 2011.  These exciting new exhibitions feature both photographs and multi-media works. Residents & visitors can look forward to these three new exhibits:

Above All, Enjoy the Music:  Jazz Photography by Herman Leonard June 20, 2011 – November 27, 2011 Beau Rivage Resort & Casino Gallery/Gallery of African American Art

In the late 1940’s, Herman Leonard’s passion for jazz brought him to the swinging clubs of Broadway, 52nd Street and Harlem. With the camera as his free ticket, he photographed and developed friendships with some of the greats of jazz history including Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington and many others.  Above All, Enjoy the Music features 40 masterworks of world-famous photographer Herman Leonard  (1923-2010) who created a dazzling visual collection of the world he loved.  The exhibition honors jazz as an American art form, with roots beginning in  the African American community of New Orleans in the 1890s and exploding onto the New York club scene in the 1940s.

William Dunlap:  Look At It…Think About It June 27, 2011- December 4, 2011 IP Casino Resort Spa Exhibitions Gallery

William Dunlap has distinguished himself as an artist, arts commentator and educator, during a career that has spanned more than three decades.  His paintings, sculpture and constructions are included in prestigious collections, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Lauren Rogers Museum, Mobil Corporation, Riggs Bank, IBM Corporation, Federal Express, The Equitable Collection, Rogers Ogden Collection, Arkansas Art Center, the United States State Department, and United States Embassies throughout the world. By his use of rich artifacts that take viewers back to their cultural roots, Dunlap reminds us to remember the importance of history and  also to consider what has been lost in today’s world.  Symbolic representations are based on life experiences and exploration of historical tradition.  Dunlap’s use of recurrent characters can be seen in this exhibition, suggesting the intricate strata of history and its repetition of themes.

Brian Nettles:  Design in Three Dimensions June 25, 2011-November 27, 2011 Mississippi Sound Welcome Center

The ceramic art of Mississippi artist Brian Nettles is influenced by nature’s shapes, forms, textures and rich organic colors.  From his 28 acres in Pass Christian, Mississippi, located along the banks of the winding Wolf River, the nearby bayous, creeks and cypress swamps provide inspiration for his pottery. Two permanent exhibitions, Selections from Gulf Coast Collectors featuring the pottery of  George E. Ohr, and My House: The Pleasant Reed Story about emancipated slave Pleasant Reed will remain on exhibition.