The Art of it All:

A Review of Mobile Makers: Present Day Artists and Artisans of Carnival

Most Southern cities have three seasons – hunting, football, and summer. In Mobile, Alabama, there is a fourth season – Carnival. That special time of year, of which Mardi Gras is its height, brings to the forefront the best that is Mobile. The Port City’s traditions, innovations, and spirit are all encompassed by it. Social, economic, and familial impulses all thrive, and to the revelry of all. What of the art of it? The arts of Carnival are many and varied. Mobile Makers: Present Day Artists and Artisans of Carnival - the ongoing thematic quarterly exhibit at the Mobile Carnival Museum - highlights the creative brilliance of 28 active Mobilians who are the backbone of the Mardi Gras design world.

By Cart Blackwell

Inspired by Alabama Maker (an annual festival first held in Montgomery and now in Birmingham that showcases leading cultural figures and enterprises across the state), Mobile Makers narrows the focus to Mobile and Mardi Gras. While there are many more artists active in the genre of the Carnival arts than the 28 included in the exhibit, those creatives selected particularly exemplify the joyous nature of the Carnival arts. Works include fine paintings, exuberant sculptures (from floats), customized regalia, lavish invitations, float designs, and so much more. Well-known and established figures such as Ron Barrett, Eugenia Foster, and Steve Mussell are joined by designers, artists, artisans, and designers whose names are less known, but whose works cause jaws to drop. Let’s become better acquainted with some of the artists and their works!

Ron Barrett of Ron Barrett, LLC, requires no introduction. A presiding presence within Mobile’s arts scene for more than 46 years, Barrett is the mastermind behind some the grandest orchestrations ever conceived and executed in the State of Alabama. Working in the fine, decorative, and performing arts, he and the artists in his studio have created paintings, designed (and executed) trains, and staged tableaux that defy description. The Carnival Museum’s main staircase is lined with designs and photographs of some of Barrett’s most notable forays. Selected and hung by him, the display is mesmerizing. There is a tableau scene from the 2019 Infant Mystics (IM) ball you just have to see to believe!

Works by Sarah Otts, the elegant artist and gallerist, are a high point of the exhibit. Otts started painting as a child and received her professional training at the University of Mississippi. The majority of her works, Carnival and otherwise, feature gold and silver leafing. The richness of effect is spellbinding. Her Folly and Death: Studio in Blue and Gold is a tour de force. Created for the Order of Myths (OOMs), the painting conveys the energy and mystery of Mobile’s most iconic emblem device.

Sarah Otts’ paintings are situated opposite andirons created by her father-in-law, recently retired physician Dr. Richard Otts. The elder Otts might not be a formally trained artist, but his talent is undeniable. As with so many Carnival creatives, his livelihood was elsewhere, but his contributions to Mardi Gras are immeasurable. Rotating throughout the run of the exhibit are andirons representing the feisty feline of the Infant Mystics (IMs), the jester and skeleton of the Order of Myths (OOMs), and dancing goat of the Strikers. Dr. Otts’ andirons certainly keep the Mardi Gras fires going!

Family is arguably the most important part of Mardi Gras. That foundation of life and community is present in Carnival art. In addition to the pairing of Sarah Otts and Dr. Richard Otts, Mobile Makers also showcases the works of Edward B. Ladd and E. Bradford Ladd. First father and now son have designed the floats for the Order of Myths (OOMs) for more than 50 years. The themes on which they have focused their talents are only topped by their rendering styles and the floats realized from them. Bradford Ladd’s designs for the OOM parade of 2018, What a Story…; 151 Years and Still Writing, took as its basis such Southern literary greats as Tennessee Williams, Eudora Welty, Tom Wolfe, and Mobile’s own Winston Groom. Those designs and others by the most creative and witty of Mobile’s father and son designers occupy a primo place in the exhibit.

Craig Stephens executes the float designs for the Order of Myths and the Mobile Carnival Association, amongst other organizations. A gigantic and interactive float sculpture of Baloo and Mowgli from The Jungle Book by Stephens and his fellow artisans at Carnival Artists occupies the center of the Carnival Museum’s main gallery. As with so many works in the exhibit hailing from the private holdings of respective artists, Baloo and Mowgli come from Stephen’s collection. He also loaned a gigantic Winnie the Pooh replete with his honey pot!

The good rocks come out the bank box during Mardi Gras. Mobile’s Dynasty Collections is the jeweler of not only Mobile’s Carnival royalty, but also those of other cities and organizations that observe mystic traditions. Mr. Tommy Cain of Dynasty Collections, with his wife Tanya, have designed (and their studio created) the crowns of monarchs near and far. The contents of Dynasty Collections’ distinctive purple purples rival those of Cartier’s red boxes and Tiffany’s robins-egg blue! Several of Mr. Tommy’s parures are on display as part of Mobile Makers.

There are those Carnival arts that stand amongst us year-round. We are talking the art of architecture. The architecture of Mardi Gras is more than floats. Architectural drawings by the likes of Kim Kearley, Ben Cummings, and the recently departed Nick Holmes depict in plan, elevation, and perspective historic dens and some recently constructed buildings that serve as the homes to Mobile’s oldest mystic societies.

Whereas in most cities, trains roll on tracks, here in Mobile they trail behind monarchs on ballroom floors. The Carnival Museum is known for its trains. Examples by Ron Barrett, Julia Greer Fobes, Homer McClure, Patricia Ann Richardson, and Johnny Weaver are displayed throughout the Carnival Museum. McClure’s 2013 train, paired with the gown, for his niece Anna McClure (Mrs. Theo Middleton) is otherworldly. The level of detail is exquisite – truly among the finest works by an extremely talented and engaging designer.

Situated in close proximity to McClure’s regal design is an over-the-top Mae West ensemble Johnny Weaver executed for a monarch of Osiris. At least one (maybe two!) ostrich was sacrificed for its feathers that now radiate a headdress worthy of the saucy actress who inspired the costume. A wise man once said Carnival is Halloween for adults, but it was Mae West who said, “Too much of a good thing can be wonderful.”

Mobile Makers: Present Day Artists and Artisans of Carnival is up through March. The exhibit provides for the mind and the eye something for all interests. A reflection and celebration of some amazingly talented individuals, this exhibit shows that it’s the people that make a place, and Mobile’s creatives certainly elevate the experience and appearance of Mardi Gras and the city in which it was born. Stop by the Mobile Carnival Museum soon!