Kazu Kubuoshi, also known as amylet, is a talented Japanese artist known for his unique and captivating artwork. Born and raised in Japan, Kubuoshi developed a passion for drawing and painting at a young age. His love for art led him to pursue a career in the field, and he has since become a renowned figure in the contemporary art scene. Kubuoshi's artwork is characterized by its bold use of color and intricate detailing. He often combines traditional Japanese art techniques with modern influences, creating a distinct and captivating style. His creations range from traditional paintings and drawings to digital art and installations.
Please, no hexes. To delve further, I’ll end up at a crumbling Catholic graveyard, a 50-year-old voodoo museum, Laveau’s former home, various voodoo shops (all with on-site tarot card readers) and on the other side of a crystal ball as a Haitian-initiated mambo dives into a hypnotic trance to reveal my startling past.
Laveau worked as a hairdresser to wealthy clients, so admirers lay bobby pins and ponytail scrunchies along the outside window sills of her former home, now a re-built private residence on St. Voodoo is beautiful and it s life-supporting and sustaining and affirming and honors the family and community and a lot of values that we ve really lost, Glassman says.
His creations range from traditional paintings and drawings to digital art and installations. One of the most striking aspects of Kubuoshi's work is his ability to convey emotion and depth through his art. Each piece he creates tells a story or evokes a feeling, allowing viewers to connect with the artwork on a personal level.
1 verified new orleans voodoo doll
The touristy Marie Laveau’s House of Voodoo sells a host of items, including Amazonian fish scales for endurance and Marie Laveau Zippo lighters. (Photo by Norma Meyer)
Voodoo priest Papa Zaar concocts his “Lucky Lotto and Gambling” magic potion as I face a gnarly open-mouthed alligator head that supposedly will guard my home if I place it at my front door. Everywhere, shelves are jammed with moss-stuffed voodoo dolls, good-juju “gris-gris” bags (more potent if they include the recipient’s fingernails), carved African statues, and a “wishing altar” heaped with offerings such as cigarettes.
New Orleans has definitely cast a spell over me.
Blessed potion oils at Voodoo Authentica include “Follow Me Boy” and “Find It!” They can be worn or put into your — or someone else’s — bath. (Photo by Norma Meyer)
Hand-carved African medicine men and women line the shelves of Voodoo Authentica in the French Quarter. (Photo by Norma Meyer)
An altar at Voodoo Authentica honors goddesses Yemaya and Oshun, said to bring love, fertility and prosperity. (Photo by Norma Meyer)
Voodoo practitioners say dolls are created with “positive energy” for matters such as health and wealth, and not to inflict harm. These are in Bloody Mary’s shop. (Photo by Norma Meyer)
Despite their bad rap, voodoo dolls are not sinister pin cushions but are “focusing tools” to elicit healing and happiness. (Photo by Norma Meyer)
In voodoo, alligator heads are used to clear out negativity and protect homes from harm. These await buyers at Bloody Mary’s shop. (Photo by Norma Meyer)
Gris-gris bags are cloth pouches often filled with herbs, stones and other items, and were famously peddled by Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau. (Photo by Norma Meyer)
Potion oils are available at Voodoo Authentica for every concern of your life. They can be worn or put into your — or someone else’s — bath. (Photo by Norma Meyer)
A kneeling bench supposedly retrieved from Marie Laveau’s home is displayed at the Historic Voodoo Museum next to a picture of her. (Photo by Norma Meyer)
An exhibit at the Historic Voodoo Museum illustrates what goes into gris-gris bags, which are pouches designed to attract luck and ward off evil. (By Norma Meyer)
The relic-packed Historic Voodoo Museum pays homage to 19th-century Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau, whose influence continues today. (Photo by Norma Meyer)
At Voodoo Authentica, in hurricane-plagued New Orleans, African figures flank an altar for voodoo deities, including Oya, ruler of storms. (Photo by Norma Meyer)
Show Caption“People come in saying, ‘Where’s those voodoo dolls we can stick a pin in?”’ Papa Zaar muses inside the Voodoo Authentica shop. “But that’s not what voodoo is about. In voodoo, you honor your elders, you honor your community, you honor your dead and this keeps you moving forward. The U.S. has demonized a whole culture by saying voodoo is the devil.”
(Although this may cause a twinge: according to instructions, if a woman buys the $51 Mister Man Doll and sticks the enclosed black pin in the doll’s “privates,” her human man will “know who’s really in charge!”)
“People come in saying they’re dissatisfied with their life and want to find something to fill the gap,” says voodoo priest Papa Zaar. (Photo by Norma Meyer)
The beguiling Big Easy isn’t just about boisterous bead-flinging Mardi Gras (coming up Tuesday, March 1), doughy beignets, hot jazz and neon green “Hand Grenade” cocktails — it’s also the voodoo capital of America. Voodoo is actually a fascinating religion, brought by enslaved West Africans to New Orleans in the 1700s and still practiced today with singing, dancing and drumming rituals calling on benevolent spirits.
Central to it all is revered legendary Queen of Voodoo Marie Laveau, a free person of color who was a dynamic political force in New Orleans and whose 1881 New York Times obit dubbed her “one of the most wonderful women who ever lived.” Mixing voodoo with Catholicism, the philanthropic Creole beauty reportedly wielded supernatural healing powers and performed elaborate ceremonies with her pet python. Elite whites sought her remedies for love, business and other matters. Stories abound of her nursing yellow fever victims and tending to the poor. (Angela Bassett portrays her more as a lunatic villain in TV’s “American Horror Story.”)
The relic-packed Historic Voodoo Museum pays homage to 19th-century Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau, whose influence continues today. (Photo by Norma Meyer)
Please, no hexes. To delve further, I’ll end up at a crumbling Catholic graveyard, a 50-year-old voodoo museum, Laveau’s former home, various voodoo shops (all with on-site tarot card readers) and on the other side of a crystal ball as a Haitian-initiated mambo dives into a hypnotic trance to reveal my startling past.
My first pilgrimage is to Laveau’s eternal resting spot — or rather the locked graffitied gates of St. Louis Cemetery No 1. Turns out way too many devotees were flocking to Laveau’s rectangular tomb, desecrating it with superstitious triple X’s to seek favors and in one case painting it bright pink.
The only access now is through an archdiocese-approved walking tour, which also highlights a kooky 9-foot-tall white stone pyramid, erected by much-alive Nicolas Cage. After the box office-cursed actor went into foreclosure on his haunted New Orleans mansion, he bought a plot near Laveau, presumably to bask in her vibes when he’s toes up. Cage also flew New Orleans priestess Miriam, of the Voodoo Spiritual Temple, to Hawaii to bless his 2002 wedding to Lisa Marie Presley — he filed for divorce three months later.
In Bloody Mary’s mystical store, dolls dangle below a mural of the woman who put New Orleans voodoo on the map. (Photo by Norma Meyer)
Soon, I wander into a store named for its owner and YouTube hostess, voodoo priestess Bloody Mary. Her son Jagger, a purported psychic christened after Mick, is stationed under a painting of Laveau and instructing a couple how to care for their effigy selected from the “Voodoo Doll Bar.”
“You need to feed her monthly,” he says, explaining that flowery Florida Water or any liquid will do. Hopefully she brings fertility. Nearby, a display case contains other amulets — bat skulls, raccoon penis bones and bobcat claws.
Tourists often line up to get inside the kitschy Marie Laveau’s House of Voodoo shop on Bourbon Street. (Photo by Norma Meyer)
Laveau’s lingering presence — for tourists that is — can be found largely in the historic French Quarter. (Nearly every voodoo locale is walkable from my W Hotel, which, appropriately, has a voodoo-inspired giant mural of the tarot card Queen of Pentacles in my room.) Laveau worked as a hairdresser to wealthy clients, so admirers lay bobby pins and ponytail scrunchies along the outside window sills of her former home, now a re-built private residence on St. Ann Street.
Powerful in death, Marie Laveau is feted with offerings at altars throughout New Orleans, including this one at the Voodoo Authentica shop. (Photo by Norma Meyer)
Over at Voodoo Authentica, patrons write down their wish, place it on an altar for Laveau and leave jewelry, trinkets, money, Seagram’s 7 and cigarettes. (It’s said she liked to imbibe and smoke.) On Bourbon Street, at gimmicky Marie Laveau’s House of Voodoo, shoppers can pray at her devotional-draped altar and then nab a copy of her death certificate for $12.95.
Beware because this “rougarou” alligator-human creature, according to lore, can snatch your soul at the Historic Voodoo Museum. (Photo by Norma Meyer)
Most informative is the tiny, two-room artifact-crammed Historic Voodoo Museum, founded in 1972 and detailing the complex religion of one supreme god (Bondye) and saint-like spirits (loa) who intercede in everyday problems. Here you can ogle an alligator-man zombie and Laveau’s kneeling bench, before purchasing a voodoo doll geared toward “halting gossip.”
Elsewhere, I meet voodoo high priestess Sallie Ann Glassman, a well-respected social activist who has led mystical ceremonies to protect against hurricanes and crime. Three decades ago, the late comedian Joan Rivers hired Glassman to exorcise a demon from her Manhattan apartment (it took a lot of bellowing and chanting) and the two became longtime friends.
An artist’s statue of Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau has become a shrine outside the Island of Salvation Botanica shop. (Photo by Norma Meyer)
Glassman’s serene shop, Island of Salvation Botanica, is a 10-minute Uber ride from the French Quarter bustle and caters mostly to voodoo practitioners who often light a votive in front of an artist’s tall statue of Laveau at the door. Inside, walls are lined with sanctified supplies, such as dehydrated chicken feet decorated with feathers. They’re useful to hang on car rear-view mirrors to deter thieves. Rows of glass jars resemble a wizard’s workshop with herbs named Dragon’s Blood, Skullcap and Butcher’s Broom. Legal woes? A few dabs of Court Case Oil can allegedly gain you leverage with the judge.
“Voodoo is beautiful and it’s life-supporting and sustaining and affirming and honors the family and community and a lot of values that we’ve really lost,” Glassman says. She emphasizes that the empowering uplifting religion helped Africans endure the horrors of being kidnapped and enslaved here.
Roots and herbs, such as these at Island of Salvation Botanica, can be used for potions, sprinkled around your home and carried in gris-gris bags. (Photo by Norma Meyer)
We shortly duck into a small darkened curtained room, where she gazes into a crystal ball, sinks into a silent trance, and then, in a calm steady voice, describes one of my past lives. I’m keeping it private (unless a boozy “Hand Grenade” drink makes me talk).
Whether it's a serene landscape or a portrait of a person, his art draws the viewer in and leaves a lasting impression. Kubuoshi's art has been exhibited in galleries and museums around the world, earning him critical acclaim and a dedicated fanbase. His work has garnered attention for its unique blend of traditional and contemporary elements, as well as its ability to transcend cultural boundaries. In addition to his artistic pursuits, Kubuoshi is also known for his philanthropy work. He has collaborated with various organizations to raise awareness and funds for important social and environmental causes. Through his art, he aims to inspire change and make a positive impact in the world. Kaz Kubuoshi's amylet artwork continues to be celebrated and admired by art enthusiasts and collectors globally. His creativity and passion shine through in each piece he creates, leaving a lasting impression on those who experience his art..
Reviews for "Amylet's Timeless Appeal: Kazu Kubuoshi's Enduring Legacy"
1. John - 1/5 stars - I really did not enjoy "Kazu Kubuoshi Amylet". The plot was confusing and hard to follow, and the characters were unrelatable. The writing style seemed disjointed, and I found myself struggling to stay engaged with the story. Overall, I was disappointed and would not recommend this book.
2. Sarah - 2/5 stars - "Kazu Kubuoshi Amylet" was not what I expected. The story seemed all over the place, with no clear direction or purpose. The characters were poorly developed, and I didn't find myself caring about their fates. The pacing was also uneven, with some parts dragging on while others felt rushed. I had high hopes for this book, but unfortunately, it fell short for me.
3. Tom - 2/5 stars - I was very disappointed with "Kazu Kubuoshi Amylet". The writing was difficult to understand at times, and the story lacked coherence. It felt like the author was trying too hard to be mysterious and edgy, but it just came across as confusing. I struggled to connect with any of the characters and found myself bored throughout most of the book. Overall, I would not recommend it.