Patrick Melon’s work captures everything from celebrations to street scenes.
New Orleans photographer Patrick Melon is getting a measure of national exposure for his efforts to, in his words, “record the last remaining vestiges of old New Orleans” before it disappears once and for all.
Melon, whose work was singled out in 2016 by readers of NOLA.com| The Times-Picayune as one of their favorite Instagram accounts, is the subject of a new story on the website Vice, published under the headline “Photographing Black New Orleans Before It’s Gone.”
“Melon’s work isn’t just unique for his daredevil climbing or his intense intimacy with his subjects,” reads the Vice story, which includes a wealth of Melon’s striking, only-in-New-Orleans images of second-lines, celebrations and street scenes. “He’s become a documentarian of black culture in a city where that culture is simultaneously being celebrated and destroyed.”
The story touches on the post-Katrina diaspora that displaced so many black New Orleanians — many of whom have yet to return — and the subsequent gentrification of traditionally black neighborhoods. Talking about his home near Claiborne Avenue, which he will soon lose when his landlord turns it into an Air B&B, Melon said: “I won’t be here for too long. This isn’t a neighborhood anymore. This is a goddamn hotel district.”
In a followup Instagram post about the Vice story, Melon explained: “What I do want people to consider is there are several forces contributing to a complete restructuring of the city, namely gentrification, that are pushing the residents that made the culture so many people adore further and further outside of the city. As a photographer I task myself with capturing what is happening around New Orleans and its changing face, no matter what that may look like.”
You can read the full story at Vice.com, and you can follow Melon’s work on Instagram, which he operates under the psydonym Melontao.
recently i sat down with @liampierce22 to discuss my experiences photographing secondlines and new orleans in general for @vice and i must say that for one it feels spectacular to be considered a voice for my community. as beautiful as the city is, i constantly hear and get messages from people about wanting to see/move to new orleans etc and i fully support that because in my personal (biased) opinion it’s the best city in the world. what i do want people to consider is there are several forces contributing to a complete restructuring of the city, namely gentrification, that are pushing the residents that made the culture so many people adore further and further outside of the city. as a photographer i task myself with capturing what is happening around new orleans and its changing face, no matter what that may look like. also, a special thanks to my brother @jamelshabazz for inspiring me so much to capture images of beautiful black and brown folk and for taking the time to share some words for the article. head to vice.com to read the full article
A post shared by patrickmelon (@melontao) on Aug 25,2018 at 10:11am PDT
A post shared by patrickmelon (@melontao) on Aug 19,2018 at 11:53am PDT
birdman junior. i been waiting years for this. seeing wayne and stunna on the stage together tonight made my whole weekend #lilweezyanafest
A post shared by patrickmelon (@melontao) on Aug 25,2018 at 10:25pm PDT
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A post shared by patrickmelon (@melontao) on Aug 1,2018 at 8:27pm PDT
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