Local painter, storyteller and iconographer Robert Bocage’s art presents viewers with a vision of New Orleans that is constantly evolving, ever inspiring, “The city of New Orleans is a work of art in itself”.
When asked when he first realised he had a passion for art, Robert Bocage replied,
“When I realised I saw everything in colour”.
His love for colour marks Bocage’s work as distinctly local to the New Orleans art circle, with his vivid semi-hallucinatory use of colour. However, having had significant artistic success in the last decade and possessing an instinctive, vital sensibility for colour and daily iconography, it’s worth noting that Bocage began in entertainment before he became an artist.
“As a kid, I sometimes had only my imagination to play with”, Bocage recalls while commenting on his painting for Roc Nation.
“A kid visionary is so vital to our future… Sometimes you take the things around you and make them into anything you can imagine”.
His early passion for creativity initially led him to a career in television and radio. In a 2016 interview with the Tremé Fall Festival, Bocage notes how “I’ve always been able to create with words and stories”. It was only when he was seeking out specific artwork for his house that he began painting. Bocage explains, “It started as a single project when I wanted something for my wall. I knew the only way to have it was to paint it myself”. Bocage’s talent thus emerged out of necessity. It wasn’t until his friend, and fellow New Orleans artist Terrance Osborne offered him advice that Bocage began to identify as an artist. Yet Bocage has always been sensitive to the visual vibrancy of the world around him. “I draw inspiration from my life and how I see it. I want to make sure my art is always up for interpretation to those who see it”. Bocage even credits the act of ‘staring” as taking up 60% of his creative time, absorbing his environment before committing his vision to the canvas. “Once I can see it in full, I bring that mental picture to life on the canvas”. Bocage’s artistic outlook, similar to that of other intuitive New Orleans artists, is one of immediacy over intellect, the warm soul of the city as opposed to the theoretical. Given that he credits the city as a work of art in itself, his philosophy is one of clarity and loyalty to the lived moment.
Freedom to express
Bocage’s approach explains the rich iconography of New Orleans culture in his work – from locally branded kidney beans, Hubig’s New Orleans Style Pies, to resident musicians. Bocage credits the artist Jean-Michel Basquiat as a key inspiration, particularly his “freedom to express”, but Basquiat’s mix of local iconography with personal experience also seems to resonate in Bocage’s paintings, creating graphic mythology out of one’s own culture.
“The city of New Orleans… is constantly evolving while maintaining a foundation as being one of the world’s most unique cultures. I feel if you are part of the culture, contributing any way you can is a right of passage.”
Bocage has exhibited in the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and ASHE Cultural Centre, and he was selected to craft the poster for the 2016 Tremé Fall Festival (a weekend of festivities, music and food in the Tremé neighbourhood of New Orleans). The Festival also aims to raise money to support the culture and architecture of the area, as well as to help preserve its rich history. Bocage’s poster brings the very landscape to life in a colourful spread of houses and people. The architecture itself seems joyous and celebratory, somehow participating in the Festival. Like his contemporaries (most notably Osborne), the colour scheme and perspective help imbue the houses with their own personalities and their own sense of story. The artwork no doubt affects the way one looks at the neighbourhood and cements Bocage as an artist of the present moment. And his success is further proof of his importance as a contemporary artist. His original paintings can sell for up to $25k. However, Bocage remains humble and insists that the financial gain is simply a bonus, a way of reinvesting back into the art, his primary agenda being “to express my thoughts through art”.
Freedom to inspire
Amid his current success, Bocage is still growing as an artist. He claims that with repetition and practice, he’s been able to improve his brushstrokes, further developing his visual expression of the world around him. While Bocage’s influences range from Basquiat, Osborne, and Andrew Tischler, he also credits his mother and sister as role models in his life. Inspiration is his professional motive, and he hopes for a future where materials are available for emerging artists and where there are accessible creative outlets for those who would not know about art otherwise.
“My success is not monetary. My success has come from inspiring others to follow their passion no matter how sooner or later they start”. Bocage’s work enables him to be active in a stream of social activity – festivals, community organisations, and New Orleans life in general. As a result,
“Art life is never lonely”.
And one feels this by simply looking at the work. The joy and radiant personality of each painting mean that we’re not simply looking at an image. Instead, we’re experiencing a presence, a busyness that makes life a little less lonely for us, the viewer. Robert Bocage certainly has a special place in the New Orleans art world, as much as New Orleans has a special place for Robert Bocage.
