Article published by WWW.NEWORLEANS.COM on November 11th, 2009

Mud grips legs, twisting the drunk and the clumsy down to an earthy stain. It poured rain two days ago and the ground around many of Voodoo Fest's art installations still oozes with wet dirt.

Artist Emiliano Maggi bends his svelte frame just beyond the muddy ground surrounding a large Oak tree. With a slight Italian accent Maggi explains, “It really is unusual to show art at a music festival but I love doing something new in nature… There are ants all around our installation.”

Maggi and fellow artist Tora Lopez built their art installation called “Eden” around the trunk of the Oak. “Eden” is a multi-cornered tent-like structure made of white fabric. When lit from the inside indiscernible bipedal creatures - statues perhaps - can be seen. The question is: what are the creatures inside “Eden”; human or animal, nightmarish or dreamy? Maggi decides not to explain instead implores the audience to personally connect with “Eden” and draw their own conclusions about its meaning.

New Orleans artist Tora Lopez approaches Maggi and they discuss plans for an evening performance at “Eden”. Lopez is busy this Voodoo Fest. Besides “Eden” she has designed the costumes for another nearby art installation called “The Birdcage” by Elliott Bennett Coon. “The Birdcage” features a woman or a man as the bird in a birdcage the size of a small room. Lopez states, “I made the costumes for a plush parlor and I wanted to give the performers as much freedom to express themselves as I could.”

One of the “Birdcage's” bird performers is Los Angeles actress Kate Duyn. Duyn describes being the bird as, “a quiet interactive moment.” Though she did not speak when she was in the birdcage (staying in the cage for four hours at a time) many of the Voodoo Fest goers tried to speak with her. Because of this direct human interaction Voodoo Fest was unique for Duyn and the other artists involved with the installations.

Not all of this “interaction” was friendly however. Benson Trent's installation "Balloons" was large balloons lifted into the air. Then the balloons were lit and flashed to electronic music. Unfortunately Voodoo Fest attendees poked holes in Trent's balloons and he was constantly forced to patch the balloons. Trent believes that the “Balloons” piece is a “big toy” and while people were destructive at times he loves to link music and visual art.

Voodoo Fest art installation curator Kirsha Kaechele says that art must connect with its audience. Kaechele believes an artist who can harness the destructive energy of some in the audience can create a very powerful piece. She hopes to plan for this eventuality in future shows.

Ultimately Kaechele's goal is to link the audience with the art. “It makes all the difference in the world when someone in the audience can intuitively understand,” says Kaechele. “For example, at Voodoo Fest this year a 13 year old boy came up to one of the artists after looking at her installation. The boy told her, 'This reminds me of the universe.' That's perfect. You couldn't ask for a better response.”