Demond Melancon
Big Chief of the Young Seminole Hunters
Works
Portrait Series
Demond Melancon, a 2023 Joan Mitchell Fellow, is known for pioneering an emerging contemporary art practice using the same beading techniques he’s applied over the past 30 years as a Black Masker. His work has been exhibited at the Victoria & Albert Museum, Art Gallery of New South Wales, International African American Museum, African Diaspora Art Museum of Atlanta, Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Art, African American Museum in Philadelphia, Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art, Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, Haus der Welt der Kulturen (Berlin), London Design Festival, Biennale of Sydney, Art Miami, and EXPO Chicago. Melancon’s beaded portraits are included in public collections with the International African American Museum, the Toledo Museum of Art, the LSU Museum of Art, and the Birmingham Museum of Art. The context of Melancon’s work reflects a broad variety of stylistic influences, features imagery rich with symbolism and meaning, and confronts stereotypical representations of Black identity.
Mask Series
Demond Melancon’s beaded Mask Series explores cultural heritage and spiritual symbolism. Ashanti Masks, which belong to the Akan tribe in modern-day Ghana, are revered for their transformative power to create a conduit for dialogue between the spiritual realm and the physical realm. These ritual masks, rooted in centuries-old traditions, were used by the wearer to transcend human identity. Drawing inspiration from masks created by the both Ashanti (or Asante) and Yoruba in Africa, each of Melancon’s beaded masks embodies a fusion of tradition, culture, and contemporary art. Works from Melancon’s Mask Series have been exhibited at the African Diaspora Art Museum of Atlanta, African American Museum in Philadelphia, Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art, and the Arrival Art Fair.
Black Masking Culture Series
Big Chief Demond Melancon has been creating Suits as a Black Masker of New Orleans since 1992. His style involves sewing very small glass seed beads onto large pieces of stretched canvas to create individually beaded patches. These beaded patches are assembled into a massive Suit which is then covered in colorful ostrich plumes. His Suits are sculptural forms based on the size of his body which are composed of intricate, hand-sewn beadwork revealing a collective visual narrative. Big Chief Demond will wear his Suit only a few times in a given year (Mardi Gras Day, St. Joseph’s Night, and Downtown Super Sunday) before he retires it and begins making another one. As a Big Chief, Demond helps carry on the two-century-old tradition of the Black Masking Culture of New Orleans.
Photo courtesy of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London