“Las Sirenas” september 2020. In memory of Cristina who passed of covid-19 in May 2020, Cypress Atlas poses, recreating the 1984 Sleep It Off album cover by Jean-Paul Goude. set assistance by Morgan Landry.
© a.r. havel
New Orleans-based photographer and set-designer a.r. havel’s work is a kitsch and quarantine-soaked memoir to teenage dreams.
Havel’s references upon references upon references create theatrical transparency in photographic collaboration.
A portrait of a confident young woman poses with a guitar, looking like Liz Phair in a room of candles, chandeliers, and a green plastic almost rave-wear style visor. A re-creation of the cover of no-wave artist Cristina’s 1984 album Sleep It Off becomes a shrine to her after she was taken by Covid earlier this year. A nude male figure reclines across a table, “come-hither”-y gazing at the camera and viewers with a nod to high school painting class – a muse who’s in on the joke. Theatre sets drip with magenta hues.
I met a.r. havel in early December for PhotoNola’s annual portfolio reviews. In our 20-minute art-speed date lightning round, his work stood out for its playful sincerity. “Fascinated by the power of queer and radical community resilience,” his work shows the mechanics behind his process, his deep love for pop-culture and art history, and photography’s ability, during these uncertain times, to be both cathartic and fun.
Jon Feinstein in conversation with a.r. havel
