The painted pelican statues have been a staple of the community in Lafayette, Louisiana for over twenty years now. Every year, artists are selected by committee to design pelicans of multiple sizes to raise funds for The Acadiana Center for the Arts.
The newest four foot tall pelican on parade is a little canaille. He's the first one up on Mardi Gras morning, fiddle in wing, ready to start antics and chase chickens. These playful elements are lovingly rendered with acrylic paint. Like many participants of the Cajun tradition, this pelican made his own costume. The artist's goal was to communicate the handmade feel of a fringed costume. Rough edges sewn, stapled, or hot glued with passion. To represent the region this pelican hails from even further, he incorporated the Acadiana flag into the wingspan of his costume. Tufted 3-dimensional feathers spill out from underneath his fringed apparel, giving an element of motion to the piece. Another 3-dimensional element of this ode to la courir de Mardi Gras is the pelican's mask. His mischievous visage is made of felt materials one might use to construct their own mask, layered over an acrylic rendering of a mesh base. This Canaille Pélican is playful as well as culturally representative. Spirited as well as sentimental.
