KD: I was always painting about my environment, which I lived in Harlem. You know my last five years in New York I lived in the Bronx. I had shown works at Rush Arts in the mid-late 90s and you know Derrick [Adams], he was the curator at the time, before he was an artist. I was showing this series called the Ghetto Angels. I would have these young African American men chilling on the corner, but I would put wings on them. I saw good in everybody you know, even if they were considered thugs or up to no good. I saw them as someone that is vital in the community, even if they are hanging out on the corner. So, I would put these wings on them, and it was also a commentary on the idea that we have the good side in us as well as the bad side. So those paintings gained some traction and I remember showing them at Rush Arts and then I did a smaller version of them, and I showed them at Danny Simmons's place, at Corridor Gallery.

You know, and then three of the pieces made in it into the Studio Museum in Harlem. Do you remember the show, The Black Romantic?

FS: Of course!

KD: So, the subject matter was expanded, and people were interested. It was funny, I showed at Rush Arts, the Studio Museum in Harlem and the American Bible Society of all places! Yeah, because it had this biblical connotation to it. So, it was accepted widely, among people who were interested in work like that.

I moved back to New Orleans, and I started painting about the culture, the music, and the food.

FS: Yeah, when you went back that was like 2006, it was right after Katrina. I actually moved to Houston at that time, and we had so many people from New Orleans there. What was it like going into to that kind of scene that wasn't necessarily a scene at that time?

FS: Right, and Willie was a big connection for us in New York too because he used to show at Luise Ross Gallery. I used to see him there all the time.

KD: Yes, yes, and Willie said, “I want to curate a show for you in New York.” This was 2010 and I went back to New York. It was like a good reunion. 

Nothing really materialized out of that show, but it just really validated me. It kind of put me on the map in a bigger way and after that show Dan [Cameron] called me up and said, “Hey, have you shown any of these paintings in New Orleans?” And I said no, no one in New Orleans has seen these paintings.

So he called me up two weeks later and he put me in Prospect 2 and it was at the Healing Center, and that was great. It got me a lot of press, you know, and the ball started rolling soon after that. Then I was in the residency program at the Joan Mitchell Foundation.

FS: So the figure and life, particularly Black life, has always been a part of the work. There's obviously, New Orleans, and it is hard to think of a city that is more of a symbol of that. So I wonder, how did the work change, you know, being there over a period of time? And how did you arrive at the marching band paintings in particular?

KD: Well, I went back to my environment and I started painting about tourism in the city, and I would always have these three components, which New Orleans is known for: the music, the food and our landmarks. Like the cathedral or the balconies that you see in the French Quarters. You know these are things that people come to New Orleans for. So I would have that as my backdrop, but then I would add like this element of negativity, like a stabbing going on or a robbery. This is what you see in every major city. 

I mean there is the good and the bad. There was a quote right after Katrina that people said, “Oh we didn't know they had crime in New Orleans. We didn't know there was poor people in New Orleans.” And I'm like what are you talking about? You know? So, I included that into these paintings, and it was just called my New Orleans series. And so those paintings went into more of dealing with our culture. You know, maybe I would refer to the food or the music, but that's where I'm at now. The Battle of the Bands series was something I always wanted to do.

I went to LSU for my undergrad and we would go over to Southern University at times and go to the Greek shows and see the step teams and check out the game. But the main event wasn’t the game, it was the Battle of the Bands. Everybody wanted to see the bands go at each other, so that was something that was always in the back of my mind that I wanted to talk about.

FS: Yeah, it's just in the water there.

KD: Could I read something real fast? It has a lot of context for what we're talking about.

"The Bayou Classic event and tradition is the annual college football game between Grambling State University Tigers and Southern University Jaguars. First held under that name in 1974, at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans.

Although the series itself actually began in 1932, a trophy is awarded to the winning school. Since 1990, the game has been held on the final Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend, and it is held in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, which is what it's called now. It is the best-known game and rivalry in HBCU history.

It has been nationally televised since ‘91 in America. Both schools typically forgo FCS playoff eligibility to participate in the Bayou Classic. The game is one of two Black College football classics to associate with the Thanksgiving weekend. The other is the old Turkey Day Classic. Of many activities held in conjunction with the game, the most well-known and well attended, is the two-part Battle of the Bands where both universities’ marching bands: Grambling’s World-Fame Tiger marching band and Southern’s Human Juke Box perform. Following the Greek show, the two renowned bands stage elaborate, choreographed performances on Friday night before the game and the final part is held during the football game’s halftime show. There is no official judge for the band battle.

Now, most spectators will admittedly say that the highlight of the entire weekend event is not the game itself, but the battle that takes place on the field between the two marching bands." That says it right in a nutshell! I saw these drum majors as like these symbols of African Warriors dancing in front of the king or the queen, and a pageantry, a royalty of ceremonious splendor.

I saw them in that light and it’s part of our heritage beyond New Orleans, and I saw that in these figures. Going back to the representation of the figure in art, I wanted to encapsulate that.