NEW ORLEANS.- The New Orleans Museum of Art presents Circle Dance - The Art of John T. Scott, on view through July 10, 2005. Born and raised in New Orleans, John T. Scott is best known for creating works of art that are greatly influenced by his multicultural heritage and filled with distinctly New Orleans traditions. His art has been referred to as "optical jazz". It contains the improvisational and spontaneous quality of jazz musicians and captures the rituals of his heritage, be they political, cultural, or spiritual. Circle Dance: The Art of John T. Scott traces this New Orleans artist's creative journey and celebrates the genius of his contemporary art.

Showing his versatility, the exhibition includes nearly 200 works of art—from sketches to sculptures—in the first comprehensive museum exhibition of his work. Circle Dance gives a glimpse into the past forty years of Scott's work, including early productions in cast bronze, welded steel, and printmaking and his recent forays into site-specific public art and mammoth works on paper. With an unsurpassed artistic freedom, Scott explores many themes using a variety of materials resulting in dynamic works of art that reflect the soul of the artist.