Voodoo Guitar “Marie”

2005

Don Moser built this guitar from debris left behind by Hurricane Katrina.

After Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, Louisiana musician and guitar designer Don Moser created a new series of guitars to honor New Orleans culture, the survivors of Hurricane Katrina, and the Black artists who inspired his work. The series includes the Voodoo Guitar “Marie.”

The Voodoo Guitar is made of copper, brass, and tin debris, including a fuel filter and booster chip. The guitar also features materials including a voodoo doll, a chicken foot, and a crystal ball containing an image of Marie Laveau, the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans. For Moser, the guitar “represents the spirit of New Orleans and the thousands of African Americans who, after many years of being displaced, are finding their way back home.”