商品簡介
From the Introduction: I first stood on Louisiana soil in Lafayette during May of 1982. There, I found myself standing at the crossroads of another culture. Shortly after, I heard about a Clifton Chenier gig scheduled for the next day at the Grant Street Dancehall. Clifton was very ill and could not perform that night, so Rockin’ Dopsie filled in. That evening someone gave me Ambrose Thibodeaux’s name and address written on a paper napkin. This is how it went every trip I took—acquiring names of musicians scribbled on little pieces of paper or cardboard beer coasters. . . . . This is my story—how I discovered Cajun music and its musicians. Several times I went back; time and again I was surprised by the cultural endurance of this relatively small group of people. Both old and young keep their history alive through a simple bond—the culture, the language, and the songs of their ancestors. . . . This is not a historical document about these people and their music, and it is far from complete when it comes to even musicians. These images instead record my journey into a culture that continually captivates me.
作者簡介
EMILE WAAGENAAR was born in The Hague, the Netherlands, into a very musical family. Later in life he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Breda, the Netherlands, where he earned a Master’s Degree with high honors in Photography and Audio Visual Design. In 1979 he heard unfamiliar music on the Dutch radio—Cajun music from southern Louisiana. It sounded pure and honest. Three years later Emile traveled to Louisiana to find the Cajun music he had heard on the radio. A portrait series of some pioneer musicians developed and grew with documenting the next generation of younger musicians who were beginning to carry on this Cajun tradition. He traveled a number of times to Louisiana to add more musicians to this photographic collection. In 2010 the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., enthusiastically accepted his donation of sixty-four Cajun musician portraits.
