Gallery Talk | Mel Buchanan in Café NOMA
Blurring the lines between refreshment venue and art gallery, a dramatic installation in Café NOMA brings treasured objects from the museum’s collection. A Japanese porcelain picnic box, a midcentury glass coffeemaker, an ornate 18th-century French soup tureen, African wooden palm wine cups, and stainless-steel flatware by architect Zaha Hadid are among the 90 museum objects that celebrate food and dining cultures across time and geography. The installation reflects the ongoing importance of such worldly food traditions in the city of New Orleans, and even includes a c. 1840 bottle marked for its New Orleans French wine importer. The ceiling height grid installation was built and designed collaboratively between NOMA’s curatorial and installation team, Broadmoor Construction, and the architects at Eskew, Dumez, Ripple.
