House of the Rising Sun and the imagination and Paul Deo

House of the Rising Sun (Illustration by: Emma Fick)

Everyone has this idea growing up — that every little aspect in life has to be taught to you, but imagination is not one of those concepts. Imagination comes from within. Being able to listen to, or read a story and visually imagine the words is imagination, and artist Paul Deo believes that imagination has a sense of power to it. It allows older versions of human beings to be able to get in touch with their younger selves again.  As Deo says, “I create art that evokes the collective, drawing upon ancestral oral tradition as well as threads of modern mythology in order to establish a space for communal dialogue. Essentially, the murals, multimedia projects, sculptures and canvas works are crafted with the vision of telling a story that seeks to engage and inspire absolutely everyone.”

Most of Deo’s pieces consist of an animated structure. He likes to take important historical figures, especially the ones who speak out against the “odds” of the world, and tell their stories visually. Young Paul was inspired by the ways of the world, all while still being a child. His artwook is him acknowledging adults and children in the world. He doesn’t just want to catch the attention of the adults. He wants to catch attention of everyone, big and little. The world has too much going on in it, and his visionary duty is to express this through his creativity.

In Paul’s piece “ House of the Rising Sun” he depicts, mostly, successful and historical black figures painted in the sky over water. This “flight placement” could represent how these people prosper through a time of struggle. When things were at their worst, these individuals pushed and worked harder to make change, and make their voices be heard. You have individuals such as Martin Luther King Jr., Lil’ Wayne, Tupac, an Indian, and Louis Armstrong represented on Deo’s murla. Not only do Deo’s images inspire all that pass by his mural, but they also inspire the artist himself.

“Never let someone’s opinion of you become your reality. It’s your life. Create and be your reality.” This is Deo’s motto and lesson of his imaginary visions. Life is hard, and people judge. However, it is your decision to decide whether you live to achieve or live to disappoint. Yet, these words and ideals have to come up against intense social justice issues, especially in New Orleans.

Racism in New Orleans is different from racism around the world.  Where the racism outside of New Orleans seems more chaotic and a place where blacks are outnumbered, in New Orleans African Americans have an advantage. In New Orleans African Americans have the highest percentage in race, but this alone still doesn’t make a difference. Blacks take up 60.2% of population in New Orleans. Whites take up 33% of the population. Asians take up 2.9%. Hispanics and Latinos 5.9%. Most of New Orleans is below sea level. Mostly black families and these other races live in these areas. The white families live in the area of land where they have the best chance of survival compared to the rest. So even though African-Americans may have the numbers and the majority, they are still cast-off due to their lack of power positions.

For hundreds of years innocents have been taken advantage of. Lives decided for them before they could even make decisions, or decide a path for themselves. Deo, in his images, speaks for some of those individuals and groups. With having his figures soaring through the sky, allowing their talents to float over a city and world that is against them, Deo’s show a way out of struggle.

Deo tells us to keep learning and grow. Build yourself up and keep having hope. Find yourself, find your path, and excel. No looking back, unless — of course — it’s to take a look at one of Deo’s murals.