[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Page 23662]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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      SENATE RESOLUTION 701--HONORING THE LIFE OF MICHAEL P. SMITH

  Ms. LANDRIEU submitted the following resolution; which was referred 
to the Committee on the Judiciary:

                              S. Res. 701

       Whereas Michael P. Smith was an award-winning photographer 
     nationally recognized for his work over 4 decades documenting 
     the music, culture, and folklife of New Orleans and the State 
     of Louisiana;
       Whereas Michael P. Smith greatly influenced the 
     understanding of New Orleans and Louisiana of people around 
     the world;
       Whereas Michael P. Smith's work captured and made 
     accessible the environment, social structures, and 
     neighborhoods that both create and sustain the musical 
     traditions of New Orleans;
       Whereas Michael P. Smith was born in Metairie, Louisiana, 
     the son of a member of the Rex organization and the Boston 
     Club, was a star athlete, and graduated from Metairie Park 
     Country Day School and Tulane University;
       Whereas Michael P. Smith was the only person to photograph 
     at every New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival since the 
     festival began in 1970 until his retirement in 2004, when he 
     was honored with a major grandstand exhibition and photo 
     kiosks placed around the fairgrounds at the festival;
       Whereas Michael P. Smith received 2 Photographer's 
     Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts early in 
     his career and his prints have toured worldwide through the 
     United States Information Agency (USIA);
       Whereas Michael P. Smith's work has been presented at the 
     National Museum of American History, the International Center 
     for Photography in New York, and the LeRoy Neiman Gallery at 
     Columbia University, as well as numerous other museums, 
     galleries, and jazz festivals in America and Europe;
       Whereas Michael P. Smith's work is part of the permanent 
     collections of the National Museum of American History in 
     Washington, DC, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, 
     the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, the Louisiana State 
     Museum, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, and the New Orleans 
     Museum of Art;
       Whereas Michael P. Smith's work is represented in 5 
     photography books including ``Spirit World: Pattern in the 
     Expressive Folk Culture of African American New Orleans'', 
     ``A Joyful Noise: A Celebration of New Orleans Music'', ``New 
     Orleans Jazz Fest: A Pictorial History'', ``Jazz Fest 
     Memories'', and ``Mardi Gras Indians'', which is a visual and 
     sociological history of the unique masking and musical 
     traditions still alive in the older Black neighborhoods of 
     New Orleans;
       Whereas Michael P. Smith's photographs grace the covers of 
     many compact discs and record albums, illustrate numerous 
     books and magazine articles published in America and Europe, 
     and are in continual demand for documentary films produced at 
     home and abroad;
       Whereas Michael P. Smith won numerous awards for his work, 
     including the 2002 Lifetime Achievement Award from the 
     Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, the (New Orleans) 
     Mayor's Arts Award, the Clarence John Laughlin Lifetime 
     Achievement Award from the New Orleans chapter of the 
     American Society of Magazine Photographers, and the Artist 
     Recognition Award from the New Orleans Museum of Arts's 
     Delgado Society;
       Whereas Michael P. Smith was an original owner and a 
     founder of Tipitina's, the iconic club that has featured, and 
     continues to feature, the best and brightest of New Orleans 
     music; and
       Whereas Michael P. Smith is survived by a companion, Karen 
     Louise Snyder, 2 daughters, Jan Lamberton Smith of Quail 
     Springs, California, and Leslie Blackshear Smith of New 
     Orleans, a brother, Joseph Byrd Hatchitt Smith of Port 
     Angeles, Washington, and 2 grandchildren: Now, therefore, be 
     it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) honors the life of Michael P. Smith;
       (2) recognizes Michael P. Smith for his invaluable 
     contributions as a cultural archivist of New Orleans and 
     Louisiana history and culture;
       (3) recommits itself to ensuring that artists such as 
     Michael P. Smith receive recognition for their creative and 
     cultural endeavors; and
       (4) extends condolences to his family on the death of this 
     talented and beloved man.

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