Interview with Lionel Milton, a self-taught artist from New Orleans

New Orleans CityBusiness, Oct 4, 2004 by Richard Slawsky

Lionel Milton, or Elle as he is more commonly known, is a self- taught artist who grew up in the 9th Ward. He began drawing at the age of 5, and by the time he was in high school his work was selling enough for him to seriously consider a career as an artist. Today, his work regularly sells for between $5,000 and $10,000

Milton's big break came when the producers of MTV's The Real World spotted his work. When MTV taped a season of the reality series in a St. Charles Avenue mansion, several of his works were selected to hang in the house. In 2002, MTV again approached Milton to include his work in music producer P. Diddy's house for the show Making the Band.

Milton recently unveiled Soul Sister in City Park, the official poster for the sixth annual Voodoo Music Festival. Milton has created a Voodoo poster every year since the festival began in 1998. This year, the festival will take place Oct. 16-17 in City Park. Milton will have a booth at the festival where he will sign original works, display gallery pieces and sell his line of clothing and other merchandise.

Who do you consider your art influences?

(Durham, N.C., artist) Ernie Barnes. He's the brother who did the artwork on (the 1970s television sitcom) Good Times. Also, (Lafayette artist) William Tolliver; Picasso; (Kutztown, Penn., artist) Keith Herring and Andy Warhol. Locally, Fred Johnston and Terrence Osborne.

What sort of formal training have you had?

I was part of a local program called YA/YA (Young Aspirations/ Young Artists, founded by New Orleans artist Jana Napoli) when I was younger but had no real formal training. I started off doing graffiti and it just grew from there. I got serious when I was about 5. This is all I ever wanted to do.

My first break, when I really knew, was in the seventh grade when I went to the New Orleans Free School. They used to have an Art on Bus contest, which was for kindergarten through sixth and seventh through 12th grades. I was in the seventh grade and I won the grand prize. They blew up the drawing I did and put it on the side of a whole bunch of buses. I remember catching a bus that had my picture on the side of it. I was confident that this was what I wanted to do. I won it again in the 12th grade.

What was your inspiration for this year's Voodoo Music Fest poster?

I wanted to capture the spirit of New Orleans. I wanted to draw a soul sister strumming her guitar in City Park and capture the organized confusion of New Orleans, the mixture of tragedy and comedy. The soul of the city was my inspiration.

What is it about the city that inspires artists and musicians?

One of the biggest things is Congo Square. For a long time, that was the only place on U.S. soil where Africans were able to do their thing on Sundays. Those same spirits influence our food, our music, our art, our culture, the way we speak and the way we do things here. I think that is going to last until they turn the lights out on this small planet.

What was it like growing up in the 9th Ward?

It was incredible. I was a military brat also, so I was like a living tourist. I could come back to New Orleans and really feel the city, but I was still able to travel to different places and experience things away from here. That gives me a bit of an edge.

The 9th Ward was great, though. Always a second line and always a parade. I've lived in Texas, New York, Hawaii, Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C., California. I've always come back home, though. There is no other place like New Orleans. It's the northern Caribbean. I'm not going anywhere

With all the problems with the Orleans Parish school system, what do we do as a community to bring along the next generation of artists and musicians?

I think we should bring appreciation and value to such a craft. We should show attention to artists and musicians as we do athletes. When value is expressed, money will follow, then an open market of opportunity.