By David Vitrano

L’Observateur

NEW ORLEANS – Along the winding and somewhat lonely stretch of River Road running through Edgard lies a small enclave called Pierre Town.

While artist Jamar “J.” Pierre, who is a product of this community, currently calls the much busier environs of New Orleans home, his youthful summer days spent along the banks of the Mississippi River clearly never left him.

Pierre’s father, a jazz musician, emerged from the back woods of St. John the Baptist Parish, which also produced such notable musicians as Dave Bartholomew and Edward “Kid” Ory. He was also a third-generation bricklayer, and the younger Pierre’s artwork can almost be seen as a visual representation of that duality. His paintings often have musicians as their subject matter, but they maintain an earthiness often missing from similar works.

That is not to say Pierre is a one-trick pony. The body of his work clearly shows a wide range of influences, styles and subject matter, dating from his adolescent years as a graffiti artist.

“I got kicked out of school for doing graffiti on the wall,” Pierre said of the end of his stint as a public school student in New Orleans.

Following that, he moved to Colorado, where his artistic streak was nurtured rather than repressed. He was enrolled in the visually talented art program at his high school and eventually studied art on the college level.

At 21, Pierre put down the spray paint, picked up the acrylics and began the pursuit of the legal-but-only-slightly-more-stable career of a professional artist.

Rather than shutting the door on his past, however, Pierre uses his vast array of experiences to shape his current output.

“I won’t claim to be the best, but I do know how to do just about every style,” he said.

This is one of the factors that has allowed Pierre to make a living as a working artist, but his attitude has had as much to do with his success as his proficiency.

“I don’t do my art for me,” he said. “A lot of artists are starving for their art.”

Pierre, on the other hand, was able to make the leap from starving artist to working artist by doing something many artists would never consider — compromising.

Pierre believes art is created to be seen, so he has made certain concessions that have enabled him to share his paintings with the widest possible audience. Some of his work for the non-profit organization New Orleans Red Hot and other commissioned pieces differ from what he might paint by himself in his studio, but it is all a means to an end for him.

That end involves not only showcasing his talents but also helping provide another option for at-risk youth. That particular aspect of his endeavors recently brought Pierre back to Edgard, where he and some west bank art students created a mural that currently adorns a wall at West St. John High School. Such projects hold a special place in Pierre’s heart.

“Basically, somebody did this for me, so I want to do this for (the children),” he said. “And kids love it. They think you’re a magician when you pull out the paints.”

Pierre also collaborated on a mural with the students at Lutcher Elementary School and said he plans to return to Edgard to work on a project at West St. John Elementary School.

Pierre revels in the feeling of pride and self-reliance he gets and imparts from doing these projects with under-privileged youth, but he recently got to experience pride of a different hue when his work was chosen for an exhibit at the George and Leah McKenna Museum of African American Art in New Orleans.

The exhibit, “Tamborine and Fan,” celebrates the traditions of Mardi Gras in the New Orleans area, particularly that of the Mardi Gras Indians. The paintings show the vibrancy of the culture but also the underlying motives for creating and donning the elaborate costumes to parade through the streets.

“It dates back to Africa, the tambourine and the fan,” said Pierre. “It’s the whole spirit of wanting to work for self.”

The opening of the show drew about 300 guests to the museum, located at 2003 Carondelet St. in a structure dating back to the mid-1800s, and will run through March 12.

Although he has been a working artist for 12 years, Pierre said this is only his fourth museum show, so the experience is special to him.

“The more I see the work, the prouder I am,” he said.

Still, despite whatever notoriety and good will his work may bring him, Pierre’s true motivation remains simple and pure.

“Basically, I just love what I do,” he said. “A day when I don’t paint, I get the blues.”