Join us on Tuesday, June 19th at the Book Cellar to listen to John Lawrence talk about his book, Louisiana Lens. John will be accompanied by Mobile Historian John Sledge and director of publications at the Historic New Orleans Collection, Jessica Dorman.
Louisiana Lens
Louisiana Lens surveys 180 years of photographic encounters with one of America’s most evocative regions: from early daguerreotypes of New Orleans landmarks to haunting post–Civil War landscapes to born-digital photographs documenting the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Author John H. Lawrence traces the development of photographic equipment and technical processes alongside the evolution of New Orleans and Louisiana over nearly two centuries.
Lawrence provides an illuminating narrative for each photograph: whether offering insight into a photograph’s composition or sharing his firsthand knowledge of the photographers themselves, he brings a keen perspective honed by decades of curatorial work. In surveying these selections, Lawrence touches on themes of architecture, music, commerce, race, arts and culture, and the changing landscapes and geographies of the US south.
JOHN LAWRENCE
A New Orleans native, John H. Lawrence worked at the Historic New Orleans Collection for 46 years before retiring as director of museum programs in 2020. As HNOC’s head of curatorial collections, Lawrence had oversight of holdings numbering in excess of 500,000 items. He has written and lectured widely about aspects of contemporary and historic photography, and the administration and preservation of pictorial collections. He has also served as principal or guest curator for dozens of exhibitions on a variety of photographic, artistic, and general historical topics. Lawrence holds degrees in literature and art history from Vassar College.
JOHN SLEDGE
John Sturdivant Sledge is an Alabama writer and author who researches and writes about the areas in and around the Gulf of Mexico. He was born in Gainesville, Florida, in 1957 and moved with his family in 1962 to Montevallo, Alabama, where he grew up. He currently lives in Fairhope, Alabama, with his wife. Mr. Sledge has had a successful career as a journalist and author. He graduated from Auburn University with a bachelor’s degree in history and Spanish. He achieved his master’s degree in historic preservation from Middle Tennessee State University. Mr. Sledge is a senior architectural historian for the Mobile, Alabama Historic Development Commission. He began working for the Commission in 1985. He was a newspaper Book Page editor for the Mobile Press-Register, writing over eight hundred articles during his career there. He has published journal articles, is a National Book Critics Circle member, and has published books about the Gulf Coast region and its history.
JESSICA DORMAN
Jessica Dorman is director of publications at the Historic New Orleans Collection. She earned her PhD in the History of American Civilization from Harvard University and has taught American literature and American Studies at Harvard, Penn State Harrisburg, and Trinity College (Hartford). At HNOC, where she has been on staff since 2004, she relishes the opportunity to publish deeply researched, beautifully designed works of nonfiction.