18X27” PRINT | THE SCARECROW
- Signed/limited-edition: #1-25
- $25/each + shipping.
-Full-color landscape print on 80lb matte
- BUY: http://brotherdege.net/merch
DETAIL: This is a landscape, alternate shot
of the Farmer’s Almanac cover,
Photographed by Lucius Fontenot
in Mowata, Louisiana,
Where my grandparents, great grandparents
Are from.
The symbolism of the scarecrow
(a crucified, Christ-like scarecrow figure,
Playing upon our preprogrammed superstitions,
Founded or unfounded fears, divine superintendence,
As well as the crumbling ideal
Of the American dream or ideal
Of moneid success)
Has been floating around in my head
And in my songs
For a loooong time.
However, a cohesive album concept,
Devoted to the sad beauty
& ragged narcotic wasteland
Of small town rural America
Didn’t begin to materialize
Until I moved to New Orleans
And began playfully,
Almost unthinkingly,
Building a scarecrow sculpture
Composed of driftwood
Pulled from the Mississippi River
Three blocks away from my house.
In my spare time,
While walking our dog
With my girlfriend,
I began noticing
All of the anthropomorphic shaped driftwood,
Shoring up
Along the banks of the Mississippi.
I began collecting the interesting pieces
Taking them home
And slowly,
Assembling the pieces
Of the Scarecrow in sections.
After a couple weeks
Of trial & error,
I found a workable shape
And a system of assembly,
Namely, attaching all of the pieces
Together with long drywall screws
And lag bolts.
After that, I bought him an old overcoat,
Had a custom hat made,
And draped him
In some colorful tug & salvage ropes
I also found along the banks
Of the river.
Eventually I mounted the whole thing
On an 8 foot tall pine 4x4,
Which was essential
As the completed scarecrows
Weighs about 75 lbs.
The end result came out so good,
I tried to make a second scarecrow.
Just to have as a backup.
It didn’t come out nearly as good,
So burned it in our courtyard
In New Orleans and filmed it.
Yes, it did freak out the neighbors.
And yes, we did get complaints.
Nonetheless,
The incredibly talented
Lucius Fontenot shot the cover
At crawfish pond
In Mowata, Louisiana
Near the farmland where
My Cajun-French grandparents,
Great grandparents grew up
And worked the land for an indeterminate
Number of generations.
We shot the cover
On a cold day in January 2018.
The album was released June 1, 2018.
The Scarecrow now lives in a storage room
In Lafayette, Louisiana.
I’ll eventually either replant him
Or sell him for auction
At some point in the future.
Cheers.
Much love & thx to everyone involved.
Lucius P. Fontenot Photography: http://lafphoto.com/