Congo Square 2010

“Say Uncle” A Portrait of Lionel Batiste
by Terrance Osborne

 “Uncle Lionel” Batiste was born in the Treme neighborhood in 1931 in a house where Armstrong Park now exists. He has been marking time on a bass drum since he first gave the Square Deal Social & Pleasure Club band its pulse at age 11. Before settling in as bass drummer, vocalist and assistant leader (to snare-man Benny Jones, Jr.) for the Treme Brass Band in the early 1990’s, he kept time with his homemade gear for the likes of the Olympia, Tuxedo and Eureka Brass Bands. And never one to miss an opportunity to pun, when asked why he wears his watch below his knuckles instead of on his wrist, replies, “I always have time on my hands.” That detail, plus the infectious joy and inspirational grace that Lionel Batiste personifies, are fully on display in “Say Uncle.”

Terrance Osborne is also a product of the Treme, emerging from there a spectacular draughtsman and colorist.  His intuitive sense of color, light and form make this poster a luminous modern classic; an audible visual stereo companion to his triumphant 2007 Congo Square poster portrait of Rebirth’s tuba master, Philip Frazier. With this print, Osborne turns that singular exemplar into the first installment in what promises to become an unparalleled second line series depicting the greats who occupy each position in the uniquely New Orleans brass band. By making the background of this new poster a continuum of the first one, Osborne begins unrolling a matchless New Orleans neighborhood panorama. This second installment in The Congo Square Parade series thus begins a legacy of imagery as vibrant as the music that inspired it.

Editions:

Posters originally sold for $69 (Unsigned), $239 (Artist-Signed), $329 (Double-Signed)
Poster and specifications may vary slightly.
Poster ©2010 art4now, Inc.® N.O.J.& H.F., Inc. / Text ©ProCreations Publishing Company