Rev. Varg Vargas

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New Orleans, LA
Rev. Varg Vargas

Rev. Varg Vargas creates salvaged wood folk art from wood recovered throughout New Orleans. Pieces often depict narratives related to the human experience.
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Varg Vargas: Artist Statement

Rejoice! I say that a lot. I sign many pieces with it. I do this because I believe our lives are a true happenstance. A brilliant occurence from nothingness. We are so rare. We are so unlikely. And simply being born isn't enough. From there we must survive, endure. So each morning, after our Sun departs and is reborn again. Please, for the sake of your ancestors and

the Universe in general, hoist that cup of joe up and say, "Rejoice." Ours is a soulful existence. No matter how many McMansions, polyester fabrics, auto-tunes, modified foods and social networks we surround ourselves with, we are all still native, passionate beings made of ancient matter. We are organic and we have soul. Wood also has a warm, soulful quality. Wood has a memory. It retains smells, traumas, events. It even has a calendar. This is why I have chosen it as my medium, for its old soul. I like to think the wood in my work is in its third incarnation. First a tree, then a home and now art. If you have a room that needs a little soul, get a piece. A room can never have enough soul. My inspiration and subject matter comes from many sources, among them: Humanism, old ballads, trickster tales, flora and fauna, science, myths and folklore, stringed instruments, brass bands, amber spirits, lady vocalists, general relativity and quantum mechanics. Some of my pieces are there just to make a short, simple statement about what's important in life. Some are more diffuse and abstract in meaning. A personal drama, an enduring line from a poem or novel, a poignant song lyric, the legacy of an important person, a fleeting thought ... these are the subjects of my art. I use hearts often because they are a very abstract way of depicting the human soul without also employing the very subjective human form. The symbolic heart is an apt representation for a person's experience and essence. A body can immediatly conjure happiness, sorrow, youth, age, anger, bliss. These emotions can get in the way. Sometimes it's simply about the experience. I am the son of a sailor and a social worker, the grandson of a gypsy, a dancer and a nurse. I spent my youth moving from port city to port city, watching a lot of road go by and reading World Book Encyclopedia. After my parents settled down on the Gulf Coast, I was a miscreant youth, destroying cars and taking the wrongs things too seriously and the right things not serious enough. Eventually I began replacing my imagination with experience. I will use any salvaged wood but prefer swamp cypress and longleaf heartwood pine. I despise waste. Particularly the waste of organic matter. Trees are magnificent. They were here before we arrived and they'll be around after we are gone. I'm making an effort to save as much wood as possible. Creating art is fun too. But beyond communicating with folks, but beyond making money ad providing for myself, beyond rescuing flooded parts, beyond reveling in the ethereal aroma of heartpine that hasn't seen the light of day in 400 years, beyond all that, I am trying to make a simple comment on waste."

09/06/2024

Show is going till 8 tonight so come late if ya gotta!
🖤🩶🖤🩶🖤

07/01/2024

Current works available at Deurty Boys Gallery...

06/27/2024

Some poetry I have been working on when I just can't scroll no more. Some of these could maaaayybe be crafted into folk / country / rock / blues songs but they would need choruses and bridges. If anyone wants to try, feel free. I have more but they be maudlin.

06/22/2024

Got a few small pieces in Tout De Suite Cafe in the 'hood...

06/03/2024

A jovial and convivial afternoon ceremony on the riverfront for Ashley and Nick!

A renewal vows ceremony that was also a surprise party for the wife, the Blair / Huminiak renewal ceremony for Ashley and Nick was a uniquely French Quarter event. Ashley had no idea when she walked out of Irene’s Restaurant that her friends and family, a brass band, and a reverend with a pulpit o...

05/02/2024

Heeeyyyy Gen!

Jazz Fest is no Coachella.

05/01/2024

Images from my exhibit at Historic City Hall in Lake Charles. Up until May 18th. Go check it and the many other reclaimed artists on exhibit at this amazing space!

04/18/2024

Last reminder...

04/17/2024

Texla art lovers and supporters, I will be hosting an exhibit and art talk at Historic City Hall in Lake Charles. Please come out and see the best pieces I got and hear a little bit about how they were made and from what unique materials. It's a beautiful space filled with wonderful people...

04/01/2024

New pieces from out of the shop this week...

03/26/2024

03/20/2024

Looking back on the Krewe of Ragnarok toast at Fat Tuesday 2018 saluting their past and ongoing contributions to Mardi Gras Day...

One of the best Fat Tuesday toasts ever, it just came out right. This was a legacy toast basically designed to commemorate the many years of Ragnarok’s contributions to Mardi Gras day via some of the boldest and most inspiring creations to roll through the streets. They truly “won” Mardi Gras ...

03/16/2024

Happy 6th Anniversary Kevin and Danielle!

03/02/2024

Having a wedding ceremony on Fat Tuesday on one of the busiest corners of the French Quarter is easier than you think! This past Mardi Gras Day, I had the great privilege of performing the nuptials for two dear friends and a fantastic couple, Josh and Erin. It was not without its pleasant brass band and walking krewe interruptions but the vibe was so chill none of that mattered. Amongst the glitter, confetti and bubbles, we married these two lovely souls. Video below...

A special day

01/23/2024

That cold day when we wed Cory and Jennie Boudreaux!

Photos by Double Windsor Photography

It was a frigid February day under the Peristyle at City Park but, warmth was in abundance within the hearts of all who witnessed the wedding ceremony of Jennie Merrill and Cory Boudreaux. The cold weather gave everyone the chance to show out in a fine display of cozy coats, scarves and hats which a...

01/17/2024

The simple stitched heart which is featured in many of my pieces is a symbol of our human soul and what it endures by simply being alive...

New post on Revvarg.com
https://revvarg.com/2024/01/17/2023-stitched-heart-charms/

“The simple stitched heart which is featured in many of my pieces is a symbol of our human soul and what it endures by simply being alive, loving one another, being present, and aware. It is not our hardships, traumas, woes that define us but rather how we heal, and carry, those turmoils. Each sla...

11/30/2023

All varg.bigcartel.com orders are shipped...

Art, jewelry and literature by New Orleans' based artist, minister and writer, Varg Vargas. Folk art from salvaged wood, narrative based...

11/27/2023

Art has now been added to my online store. Along with lots of jewelry and my book! Check it out!

Art, jewelry and literature by New Orleans' based artist, minister and writer, Varg Vargas. Folk art from salvaged wood, narrative based...

11/21/2023

Launching an online store with Big Cartel today! There are special one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces, lots of stitched heart pieces and of course. My raunchy book of stories, "Chaos, Lunacy, and Bad Taste!"
Check it out at varg.bigcartel.com ...

Art, jewelry and literature by New Orleans' based artist, minister and writer, Varg Vargas. Folk art from salvaged wood, narrative based...

09/19/2023

Stacked hearts mounted on wings crafted from architectural salvage. Made from rough hewn antique lathe. Alloy chain is 18". Pendent approx 3"x5"

09/14/2023

A grief altar is like a Christmas tree. You set it up at a certain time of the year and decorate it. Except instead of in December, it’s in October. And in lieu of glass bulbs and tinsel, you adorn it with prayer cards and mementos of your dearly departed. Forgo the snowmen, bring the skeletons. Each altar is salvaged carpentry converted into a small staging area with imagery, nooks, platforms, hooks, hangers and small shelves to mount trinkets and mementos symbolic of your late loved ones. I use mine seasonally but that is by no means a requirement. Grief knows no one day or series of days. It exists evermore. What these altars provide is a space in which to dedicate one’s mourning and loss, to honor it. Even to compartmentalize it if need be. These are meant to be a physical manifestation not only loss but of love, for they are always intertwined.

09/01/2023

A look back at my beginings on Jackson Square...

This is the earliest pic I have of my set up on Jackson Square, this is late 2008 or early 2009. Like 15 or so years ago. It’s a bit heady to think about it. I certainly couldn’t have done it without the Square. The commerce out there told me what art was good and what wasn’t. My prices were p...

08/22/2023

Performed a morning wedding ceremony for Jeff and Louise this past Sunday. Both the nuptials and the reception were held at the elegent Palm Court Cafe on lower Decatur street in New Orleans, with a second line from Molly's at the Market. It was a sweet ceremony with a butterfly motif symbolizing the freedom of love and commitment. Songs were performed by several guests Inclouding Jeff himself and a full Jazz band played throughout the reception accompanied by much merriment, dancing, toasts and joy. Everybody was dressed fabulously and the shindig spilled out into the Quarter afterward. As good as a sweltering Summer day in South Louisiana gets. Much love and best of luck, Jeff and Louise. Cherish each other and your years together...
🥂🍰🦋💃🕺🎺🪕🥁🩷🥁🪕🎺🕺💃🦋🍰🥂

08/16/2023

Varg Vargas does installs, inside or out. Rougarous, gators, flora and fauna, hearts, whatever yall want. Holla for a sit down... 🌟🐊🦇🐺💚

08/09/2023

So I never really wanted to make gators: The story of "Beyonce."

I never really intended to make alligators. What I wanted to do was make ONE white alligator. I was listening to the song “Formation” off the album Lemonade on repeat in 2016 and there is a line from that song that mentions albino alligators and I creatively latched on to it as a means to make a...

06/30/2023

A recent one of a kind piece out of good ole New Orleans, a place of prayers...

“I first heard the serenity prayer in a Sinead O’Connor record when I was a teen. It was a curiosity to me then but stayed with me ever since. It is Western in origin but Eastern in theme. It is used and misused by secular and nonsecular alike. It is trite, but precise. It has been quite valuabl...

05/16/2023

Wrote up a little something on my inspirations for the "Lost Souls" series...

Living in New Orleans can be a trauma. It’s laughing and dancing and music and food and enchantment and bliss and… trauma. It’s a unique experience, becoming less so more and more but, the spirit of the city soldiers on. Living here and bearing witness to the crime, and poverty, and drug abuse...

03/20/2023

Current art: 3/20/2023 Holla!

01/06/2023

Happy Carnival! Last year's Fat Tuesday Toast...

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There is a Cajun phrase, “tu may manques,” which in English means “I miss you” but in Cajun it means “You are missing from me…” Brothers and sisters, we have been missing from each other for far, far, far too long!

We were missing from our city, from our cultures, from our rituals, from our intertwined souls in the spinning spirit of our undulating lives. But now, here, today, we stand at Chartres and Dumaine, bloody but unbowed. And in the sightlines and visions of our gazing and adoring hearts we finally see our friends and lovers again. Adorned friends and lovers, treasured friends and lovers, eternal friends and lovers.

Brothers and sisters, it’s later than we think! Embark from our sacred corner today with this one task: If you see something beautiful, say something beautiful!

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Brothers and sisters, it aint Ash Wednesday just yet. We have these limited, long, last moments. Let us embrace each other, and more importantly, embrace our dear old city, whose sweet, vibrant spirit has been missing from us far far, far, far too long. Brothers and sisters, raise your glasses, or whatever you happen to have, to our beloved and consecrated city of New Orleans!

There is a Cajun phrase, “tu may manques,” which in English means “I miss you” but in Cajun it means “You are missing from me…” Brothers and sisters, we have been missing from each other for far, far, far too long!We were missing from our city, from our cultures, from our rituals, from...

09/23/2022

Have added some recently created hearts to a recently created storefront on ArtPal...

Art gallery of Rev. Varg Vargas. Buy Paintings & Prints.

Address

500 Saint Ann Street
New Orleans, LA

Website

http://www.leveeland.com/, http://revvarg.com/

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