AYO SCOTT
Ayo was born from and into art. By age 7, he'd cast bronze and made paper from blue jeans under the tutelage of his renowned father, Macarthur fellow John Scott. A lifelong resident of New Orleans, Ayo attended St. Augustine High School for a year, graduating from Ben Franklin in 1998. On any given day, Ron Bechet, Martin Payton, Ellis Marsalis and a host of other artists could be found at the Scott home talking art and inspiring Ayo’s path. Ayo received his Bachelor of Art from Xavier University in 2003, continuing his master’s degree at The Institute of Design in Chicago, although he would ultimately leave the program after Hurricane Katrina to rebuild his parents’ home. Ayo’s early series spoke to his journey as the son of an artist, the 2004 Tsunami in the Indian Ocean and his own post-Katrina reclaiming of New Orleans. Collectively with friends, Ayo started his design and clothing company, NOYO Designs Inc. and an open mic showcase highlighted by spoken word poetry, music and visual art named Pass It On in tribute to his father’s mantra. A favorite of many for his portraits of New Orleanians, Ayo’s most recognizable works are his large-scale murals along Homer Plessy Way, on the wall of the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities and at Louis Armstrong Airport memorializing Leah Chase and several other places around the city of New Orleans. Over the years, Scott has worked in commercial graphic design while building on his art. His work incorporates digital design, paint, wood, cloth, paper, and found objects.
For everyone. For you. By all of us. Join us.
AYO SCOTT
Echos of the Spirit
Let's make our shared ideals a reality. For everyone.
On one side, portrayed slightly further away (smaller) is the father – Big Chief Tootie Montana. Tootie was the Big Chief of the yellow Pocahontas tribe and the ‘Chief of Chiefs’ for over 50 years. Tootie was an essential force in the Black Masking Indian tradition. First, he evolved the tradition by replacing what had been violent confrontations with competitive showmanship and celebrations of creativity and culture. As he said “Kill ‘em dead with needle and thread”. That shift towards celebration made the Black Masked Indians one of the highlight features of mardi gras and Tootie’s achievements were recognized with the National Heritage Fellowship in 1982.
But throughout, the change he sought was hard won, which is why I have portrayed this revered elder with a determined facial expression. Even after 52 years of masking – at the age of 82 – Tootie was still fighting and working for his culture. In 2005, the Black masked Indians faced significant police brutality on the Saint Joseph’s Day night (March 19th).
That police brutality and his resistance to it had been a common feature of his life and experience. As ever, he stood up for his community and went to make a speech to New Orleans City Council. In the middle of his speech, suffering from a fatal heart attack, Tootie passed as he lived – in service of his community.
From one extraordinary Chief to another. As you walk around the sculpture, closer to the audience is Chief Tootie’s son – Big Chief Darryl Montana. Darryl is an extraordinary leader who really sparks joy. The colorful art and expert craftsmanship of the suits at the center of these traditions are passed down father to son through the generations – Darryl started helping his dad at six years old and made his first suit aged 10.
Picking up his father’s legacy, in his time as Chief he has shared the unique form of beadwork and garment construction with countless people across the NOLA region and beyond. As each generation evolves their own way of constructing the suits, of creating their beadwork, they add to the diversity and richness, rippling outward. Darryl has helped create that.
I have depicted Chief Darryl holding a staff, which is one of the objects only a chief can hold. This staff was in fact created for Darryl by my father, to complement one of his suits. The suit was rhino-inspired and so Dad created that staff for him with imagery and structures that echoed the rhino, which happened to be my father’s favorite animal.
The two father and son are connected by an abstracted expressionistic style that evokes the suits, the rhythm, the movement, the color, the music of what it is like to experience the parades of the Black Masked Indians. I chose pink as the primary color for this as I have seen both men wear pink suits. It says something so powerful in the face of stereotypes of masculinity that these Chiefs demonstrated their strength and wisdom through vibrancy, showmanship and this color – any color.
Through this dynamic, abstracted background, I wanted to show the two men connected by the spirit of the culture that had been handed down from father to son.
I hope you experience joy from the Echos of the Spirit. I hope you lean in to discover more about these extraordinary cultures. And that you think about the cultural traditions that bring you value. If you value them, others may value them. As my father would say, as his mother would before him… “pass it on!”.
AYO’s “If I Could Tell You Just One Thing…”
If something is important to you, pass it on.
Echos of
the Spirit
Ayo
Scott
the artist's inspiration
My father – John T. Scott – had a mantra: “Pass It On”. If anyone said thank you to him, he would reply – “pass it on”. He embodied the idea of paying it forward. If you want to pay me back for something, do it by doing something for somebody else. It’s a mantra he received from his mother and he has passed it onto me. I am an artist because he was an artist. But I am not the same artist – I am my own artist.
So, as I thought of the idea of culture – and how it is created – I considered what it meant to pass on and preserve our cultural practices and traditions across generations. And how each generation makes it their own, adding to tradition so that culture evolves, dynamically.
That is what you see in Echos of the Spirit. It centers the cultural tradition of Black Masking Indians that originated in New Orleans. On Mardis Gras day, Super Sunday and other festive occasions, you will see Black people parade through the streets in elaborate, handmade suits. The suits feature a headdress, apron, chest plate and arm pieces. They are embellished with intricate beadwork, feathers and other glorious creations that represent different themes or characters. They are created in tribes and festivities feature ceremonial ‘run-ins’ with other tribes, to showcase creativity, craftsmanship and community pride.
There are many stories on the origins of the tradition, passed down orally. One that resonates deeply with me is that it was in part developed as a way to honor native indigenous populations, who had taken in enslaved people who had run away. They did so in the most meaningful way they knew how – the masking traditions of West Africa and influences from Haiti, blended with features of the indigenous culture they sought to honor. Through generations, it has continued in spirit and evolved in how it manifests.
That is the culture that Echos of the Spirit centers. Featured in it is a generational dialogue between father and son – icons of the Black Masking Indian culture.
PURPOSE
in our relationship with ourselves.
WORTHINESS
I am worthy of love dignity and respect.
AWARENESS
I know how I see the world and where it comes from.
BELIEF
I believe I have something valuable to offer.
PURPOSE
I know what inspires me and what I want to do.
CAPITOL PARK, detroit
june 2024
On one side, portrayed slightly further away (smaller) is the father – Big Chief Tootie Montana. Tootie was the Big Chief of the yellow Pocahontas tribe and the ‘Chief of Chiefs’ for over 50 years. Tootie was an essential force in the Black Masking Indian tradition. First, he evolved the tradition by replacing what had been violent confrontations with competitive showmanship and celebrations of creativity and culture. As he said “Kill ‘em dead with needle and thread”. That shift towards celebration made the Black Masked Indians one of the highlight features of mardi gras and Tootie’s achievements were recognized with the National Heritage Fellowship in 1982.
But throughout, the change he sought was hard won, which is why I have portrayed this revered elder with a determined facial expression. Even after 52 years of masking – at the age of 82 – Tootie was still fighting and working for his culture. In 2005, the Black masked Indians faced significant police brutality on the Saint Joseph’s Day night (March 19th).
That police brutality and his resistance to it had been a common feature of his life and experience. As ever, he stood up for his community and went to make a speech to New Orleans City Council. In the middle of his speech, suffering from a fatal heart attack, Tootie passed as he lived – in service of his community.
From one extraordinary Chief to another. As you walk around the sculpture, closer to the audience is Chief Tootie’s son – Big Chief Darryl Montana. Darryl is an extraordinary leader who really sparks joy. The colorful art and expert craftsmanship of the suits at the center of these traditions are passed down father to son through the generations – Darryl started helping his dad at six years old and made his first suit aged 10.
Picking up his father’s legacy, in his time as Chief he has shared the unique form of beadwork and garment construction with countless people across the NOLA region and beyond. As each generation evolves their own way of constructing the suits, of creating their beadwork, they add to the diversity and richness, rippling outward. Darryl has helped create that.
I have depicted Chief Darryl holding a staff, which is one of the objects only a chief can hold. This staff was in fact created for Darryl by my father, to complement one of his suits. The suit was rhino-inspired and so Dad created that staff for him with imagery and structures that echoed the rhino, which happened to be my father’s favorite animal.
The two father and son are connected by an abstracted expressionistic style that evokes the suits, the rhythm, the movement, the color, the music of what it is like to experience the parades of the Black Masked Indians. I chose pink as the primary color for this as I have seen both men wear pink suits. It says something so powerful in the face of stereotypes of masculinity that these Chiefs demonstrated their strength and wisdom through vibrancy, showmanship and this color – any color.
Through this dynamic, abstracted background, I wanted to show the two men connected by the spirit of the culture that had been handed down from father to son.
I hope you experience joy from Echos of the Spirit. I hope you lean in to discover more about these extraordinary cultures. And that you think about the cultural traditions that bring you value. If you value them, others may value them. As my father would say, as his mother would before him… “pass it on!”.
THEME
THE CULTURE
The Culture honors the countless strands of creativity, expressions and traditions of all communities that combine to create the unmistakable unique tapestry that is the character and culture of our everyday lives in the United States.
Let's make our shared ideals a reality. For everyone.
AYO SCOTT
Ayo was born from and into art. By age 7, he'd cast bronze and made paper from blue jeans under the tutelage of his renowned father, Macarthur fellow John Scott. A lifelong resident of New Orleans, Ayo attended St. Augustine High School for a year, graduating from Ben Franklin in 1998. On any given day, Ron Bechet, Martin Payton, Ellis Marsalis and a host of other artists could be found at the Scott home talking art and inspiring Ayo’s path. Scott received his Bachelor of Art from Xavier University in 2003, continuing his master’s degree at The Institute of Design in Chicago, although he would ultimately leave the program after Hurricane Katrina to rebuild his parents’ home. Ayo’s early series spoke to his journey as the son of an artist, the 2004 Tsunami in the Indian Ocean and his own post-Katrina reclaiming of New Orleans. Collectively with friends, Ayo started his design and clothing company, NOYO Designs Inc. and an open mic showcase highlighted by spoken word poetry, music and visual art named Pass It On in tribute to his father’s mantra. A favorite of many for his portraits of New Orleanians, Ayo’s most recognizable works are his large-scale murals along Homer Plessy Way, on the wall of the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities and at Louis Armstrong Airport memorializing Leah Chase and several other places around the city of New Orleans. Over the years, Scott has worked in commercial graphic design while building on his art. His work incorporates digital design, paint, wood, cloth, paper, and found objects.
explore the theme
THEME
THE CULTURE
The Culture honors the countless strands of creativity, expressions and traditions of all communities that combine to create the unmistakable unique tapestry that is the character and culture of our everyday lives in the United States.
explore the theme
THE CULTURE
the artist's inspiration
My father – John T. Scott – had a mantra: “Pass It On”. If anyone said thank you to him, he would reply – “pass it on”. He embodied the idea of paying it forward. If you want to pay me back for something, do it by doing something for somebody else. It’s a mantra he received from his mother and he has passed it onto me. I am an artist because he was an artist. But I am not the same artist – I am my own artist.
So, as I thought of the idea of culture – and how it is created – I considered what it meant to pass on and preserve our cultural practices and traditions across generations. And how each generation makes it their own, adding to tradition so that culture evolves, dynamically.
That is what you see in Echos of the Spirit. It centers the cultural tradition of Black Masking Indians that originated in New Orleans. On Mardis Gras day, Super Sunday and other festive occasions, you will see Black people parade through the streets in elaborate, handmade suits. The suits feature a headdress, apron, chest plate and arm pieces. They are embellished with intricate beadwork, feathers and other glorious creations that represent different themes or characters. They are created in tribes and festivities feature ceremonial ‘run-ins’ with other tribes, to showcase creativity, craftsmanship and community pride.
There are many stories on the origins of the tradition, passed down orally. One that resonates deeply with me is that it was in part developed as a way to honor native indigenous populations, who had taken in enslaved people who had run away. They did so in the most meaningful way they knew how – the masking traditions of West Africa and influences from Haiti, blended with features of the indigenous culture they sought to honor. Through generations, it has continued in spirit and evolved in how it manifests.
That is the culture that Echos of the Spirit centers. Feature in it is a generational dialogue between father and son – icons of the Black Masking Indian culture.