George Rodrigue

George Rodrigue (born March 13, 1944), is a Cajun artist who grew up in New Iberia, Louisiana. Rodrigue began painting outdoor family gatherings framed by moss-clad oak trees in an area of French Louisiana known as Acadiana.

Rodrigue attended the Brothers of the Christian Schools all-male high school called St.Peter's College, (now Catholic High School) which was located near St.Peter's Church, and on the banks of the Bayou Teche as it runs through New Iberia. He studied art formally at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (then named the University of Southwestern Louisiana) and the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles. He later trained in New York, and became well-known for his abstract expressionism of Cajun subjects, inspired by his roots.

Rodrigue’s early notable works include "The Aioli Dinner" and "Three Oaks". He also designed three posters for the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, which feature portraits of Louis Armstrong, Pete Fountain and Al Hirt.

More recently and worldwide he is known for his creation of the "Blue Dog", attributed to his deceased dog named Tiffany and influenced by Loup Garou legend. The "Blue Dog" was made popular by Absolut Vodka in 1992, when Rodrigue was honored as an Absolut Vodka artist, joining famous artists such as Andy Warhol and glass artist Hans Godo Frabel. The "Blue Dog" was used by both Absolut Vodka and the Xerox Corporation through national ad campaigns. The blue-hued, ghostly spaniel/terrier is often featured with a white nose and yellow eyes. Her symbol helped coin the term "Blue Dog Democrat", which refers to a conservative member of the Democratic Party.

Rodrigue has galleries in Aspen, Colorado, Carmel, California, Lafayette, Louisiana and New Orleans, Louisiana.

Response to Hurricane Katrina

Forced to relocate, Rodrigue temporarily moved his base of operations to Lafayette, Louisiana. Days after the disaster, he created "We Will Rise Again," depicting the American flag covered with water, to benefit the Red Cross in response to Hurricane Katrina and the flooding of New Orleans. "The Blue Dog is partly submerged, and its eyes, normally yellow, are red with a broken heart," Rodrigue wrote in September 2005. "Like a ship's S.O.S., the red cross on the dog's chest calls out for help."

"We Will Rise Again" was the first of five works that the acclaimed artist created for his new initiative, Blue Dog Relief: George Rodrigue Art Campaign for Recovery. To directly benefit the New Orleans Museum of Art, which was closed for six months due to flood damage, he also painted "Throw Me Something FEMA" and "You Can't Drown the Blues."

Following those releases, Rodrigue launched a campaign for New Orleans levee protection. He sent prints of "To Stay Alive We Need Levee 5" to every member of the U.S. Congress. Sales proceeds from silkscreen prints and related campaign materials — including T-shirts, lapel pins, bumper stickers and buttons — are donated to NOMA.

Rodrigue donated his "Cut Through the Red Tape" image to the United Way for use in promoting their new 2-1-1 dialing system. United Way 2-1-1 seeks to eliminate the red tape of reaching human-service agencies — particularly, in the wake of natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina.

As of September 2006, the donation tally to Blue Dog Relief beneficiaries was $700,000 — including a check for $100,000 that Rodrigue presented to NOMA on March 3, 2006, to help kick off its grand re-opening: "The HeART of New Orleans," a three-day weekend celebration of the arts.

Publications

* "The Cajuns of George Rodrigue"
* "Le Petit Cajun: Conversations with André Rodrigue", from his son’s perspective
* "Blue Dog" (Viking / Penguin, 1994; a Book of the Month Club selection)
* "George Rodrigue; A Cajun Artist" (Penguin Studio, 1997)
* "Blue Dog Man" (foreword by Tom Brokaw, Stewart Tabori & Chang, 1999)
* "The Art of George Rodrigue" a 40-year retrospective by Ginger Danto & George Rodrigue, Harry N. Abrams, Inc. (November, 2003)

Accolades

* 1986: Commissioned by Republican Party to paint President Ronald Reagan; Reagan later donated painting to Louisiana State University
* 1988: Commissioned by Republican Party to paint Vice President George Bush and his 10 grandchildren; painting now hangs in Bush's private office
* 1989: Painted three Cajun Easter eggs for annual White House Easter Egg Roll
* 1992: Commissioned by Carillon Importers to paint Absolut Louisiana for USA Today
* 1993: Carillon Importers commissioned Absolut Rodrigue
* 1995: Commissioned by New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival to paint Louis Armstrong
* 1996: New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival commissioned portrait of Pete Fountain; and Neiman Marcus commissioned catalogue cover design for the book "Butterflies Are Free"
* 1997: Commissioned by Democratic Inaugural Committee to paint President-elect Bill Clinton and Vice President-elect Al Gore
* 1998: Commissioned by New Orleans Jazz Club to create 50th anniversary poster; and Neiman Marcus commissioned catalogue cover design for the book "Hawaiian Blues"
* 2000: Commissioned by Young & Rubicam to create paintings for ads promoting Xerox Color Inkjet Printers; and New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival commissioned painting of Al Hirt
* 2003: Honored as Outstanding Alum of the University of Louisiana, along with baseball legend Ron Guidry
* 2003: Raised approximately 1 million dollars for a new habitat for Mike the Tiger, Louisiana State University's live mascot. He did so by painting the Tiger along with Rodrigue's famous oak trees and donated 5,000 silkscreens to the Tiger Athletic Foundation.
* 2004: Painted official portrait for the inauguration of Louisiana Governor Kathleen Rabineaux Blanco; inducted into Louisiana "Order of Living Legends" by the Acadian Museum; delivered guest lecture at the Great Hall of the Nantucket Atheneum, the historical library on the island of Nantucket; and honored as Artist of the Year by the American Liver Foundation in Birmingham, Al.
* 2005: Created official 25th anniversary artwork for the Musical Arts Society of New Orleans

External links

* [http://www.georgerodrigue.com Rodrigue Studio]
* [http://www.bluedogrelief.com George Rodrigue Art Campaign for Hurricane Recovery]
* [http://www.bluedogevent.com Rodrigue's Louisiana]
* [http://talesfromtheroad.southernliving.com/tales_from_the_road/2008/04/louisianas-blue.html Audio Interviews with George Rodrigue]