Artwork - Haitian
Music, art, voudou, expression.
Toussaint L'Ouverture portrait by Girardin:
Recently discovered, this portrait is believed to
be the only historically accurate painting of the
Haitian leader.
Is This the Authentic Face of Toussaint L'Overture?
by Patrick Sylvain, May 10, 2011
RARAM
is one of Haiti's most political and in your face ensembles
blending traditional 'bann a pye' with rap and hip hop influences.
These folks were and continue to be terrific. They suffered tremendously
from the repression of the US-installed Latortue regime. The list of
human rights abuses committed against the group RARAM includes
the killing of several of its members following the coup of 2004 and
the false arrest and punitive incarceration of the group's drummer.
is one of Haiti's most political and in your face ensembles
blending traditional 'bann a pye' with rap and hip hop influences.
These folks were and continue to be terrific. They suffered tremendously
from the repression of the US-installed Latortue regime. The list of
human rights abuses committed against the group RARAM includes
the killing of several of its members following the coup of 2004 and
the false arrest and punitive incarceration of the group's drummer.
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Photo collection of turn-of-the-century Haiti
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Towards a renaissance of Haitian culture: music.
50 hours of Haitian music, recorded in 1935-1936 by Alan Lomax.
Watch the full episode. See more Need To Know.
Anna Lomax Wood is trying to help Haiti hold onto its past as it looks to the future. Her father, the famous ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax (1915-2002), traveled to Haiti in 1935-6. Working for the Library of Congress, the then 21-year-old recorded more than 50 hours of Haitian music. The scratchy recordings captured the rich tapestry of Haitian music, from West African and Congolese drumming to French lullabies to New Orleans jazz imported by U.S. Marines. But these rare recordings sat for decades in the Library of Congress archives.
Now his daughter is trying to use these recordings -- which were painstakingly remastered and released in 2009 in a box set from Lomax Wood's Association for Cultural Equity -- as a healing tool for Haitians.
Anna Lomax Wood Uncovers Haiti's Lost Music, huffingtonpost.com, November 9, 2010?
Now his daughter is trying to use these recordings -- which were painstakingly remastered and released in 2009 in a box set from Lomax Wood's Association for Cultural Equity -- as a healing tool for Haitians.
Anna Lomax Wood Uncovers Haiti's Lost Music, huffingtonpost.com, November 9, 2010?
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Haitian Song recorded in Haiti, re-mixed. With photos.
"I recorded this song while i was in Haiti in 2005. A series of delays on a project we were shooting left me bored yet inspired and with the few hours of electricity each day, i recorded little by little, track over track to come up with this. The very first melodic line is the only line true to the Haitian folk song, all the rest is my own arrangement.
Also, these were the photos i shot while i was there... ...Enjoy!"
Uploaded January 18, 2010 by richtotheie
Also, these were the photos i shot while i was there... ...Enjoy!"
Uploaded January 18, 2010 by richtotheie
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Haiti, Healing with VooDou
Susan follows PIH’s psychosocial and mental health team in Haiti as she investigates the ancient and modern methods Haiti’s people have been using in response to last year’s earthquake.
Audio report, "Treating the Mind in Haiti: a conversation with Susan Phillips" about the ways modern Medicine and traditional voodoo must work together in post-earthquake Haiti.
Audio report, "Treating the Mind in Haiti: a conversation with Susan Phillips" about the ways modern Medicine and traditional voodoo must work together in post-earthquake Haiti.
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Islande Henry and other young Haitian artists.
Islande Henry
with one of her paintings on women's rights. Photo: Allyn Gaestel.
with one of her paintings on women's rights. Photo: Allyn Gaestel.
“These kids hear about violence every day. We have to concentrate on what another country could be. That’s what interests me. If we had cultural centers in each shantytown, imagine what we could do. Culture and citizenship… if youth came and talked about this every day, found different ways to express their views on the matters, we could have a different country."
-Roseanne Auguste, coordinator of a youth art program run through the community clinic Association for the Promotion of Family Integrated Health (APROSIFA)
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"Everyone expects there to be a new problem daily in Haiti. I can’t concentrate on problems each day,” said Roseanne Auguste, coordinator of a youth art program in the sprawling, under-resourced Port-au-Prince section of Carrefour-Feuilles. The program is run through the community clinic Association for the Promotion of Family Integrated Health (APROSIFA).
Roseanne, who is director of APROSIFA as well as a nurse and community organizer, held up one painting. It featured two hands nurturing a brilliantly colored women’s head; the hands seemed to be helping the woman open her mouth. “They’re envisioning all this despite the earthquake,” Roseanne said. ...
“...Other countries want to control us, giving us a little money for elections, a little money for development, while keeping the country as it is. But if we really had the chance to do for ourselves, if we had the means, you’d see what we could do.”
APROSIFA’s youth art program began in 2009 in a couple of cement-block rooms in the back of the clinic. A few professional artists donated their time to teach. Today, 68 youth from ages 8 to early 20s are painting and sculpting. A few of the youth who began learning two years ago are now teaching the others.
Roseanne, who is director of APROSIFA as well as a nurse and community organizer, held up one painting. It featured two hands nurturing a brilliantly colored women’s head; the hands seemed to be helping the woman open her mouth. “They’re envisioning all this despite the earthquake,” Roseanne said. ...
“...Other countries want to control us, giving us a little money for elections, a little money for development, while keeping the country as it is. But if we really had the chance to do for ourselves, if we had the means, you’d see what we could do.”
APROSIFA’s youth art program began in 2009 in a couple of cement-block rooms in the back of the clinic. A few professional artists donated their time to teach. Today, 68 youth from ages 8 to early 20s are painting and sculpting. A few of the youth who began learning two years ago are now teaching the others.
One youth whose work was featured is 22-year-old Islande Henry. She spoke in front of one of her paintings, of two women talking in front of their home, inspired by Article 16 of CEDAW which protects women and children’s rights in family relations. Islande said, “To me, CEDAW is a beautiful thing. It speaks to the restavèk [child slavery] system and how those kids have no rights. It speaks to violence against women, and how women are mistreated in society, and how there are so many things they can’t do from serving in Parliament to playing ball.
“Our artwork says, ‘No! Women can do anything. Women must have access to everything this society offers.’”
Islande said, “I have a lot of capacity and I always knew I could paint, but I didn’t have any support. You know, sometimes your family can’t really step up and help with resources. But I found APROSIFA in 2009. I feel proud as a woman to sit with a canvas, with all my pride, and create paintings. We young artists come with our imagination, our inspiration, our understandings. We can paint anything.”
“What I’ve gotten from APROSIFA, I want to pass along to other youth so this country can have another future.” When asked what her hope is, Islande replied, “My hope is that I can be a great painter so the entire world can know my work and can know that Haitians need solidarity, unity, patience, love, and peace. I have a lot of hope for that.”
Haitian Renaissance: Youth Paint a New Country by Beverly Bell, otherworldsarepossible, February 2, 2011
“Our artwork says, ‘No! Women can do anything. Women must have access to everything this society offers.’”
Islande said, “I have a lot of capacity and I always knew I could paint, but I didn’t have any support. You know, sometimes your family can’t really step up and help with resources. But I found APROSIFA in 2009. I feel proud as a woman to sit with a canvas, with all my pride, and create paintings. We young artists come with our imagination, our inspiration, our understandings. We can paint anything.”
“What I’ve gotten from APROSIFA, I want to pass along to other youth so this country can have another future.” When asked what her hope is, Islande replied, “My hope is that I can be a great painter so the entire world can know my work and can know that Haitians need solidarity, unity, patience, love, and peace. I have a lot of hope for that.”
Haitian Renaissance: Youth Paint a New Country by Beverly Bell, otherworldsarepossible, February 2, 2011
Art Heals.
Nearly a year has passed since Haiti was devasted by a 7.0-magnitude earthquake.
The diabolical earthquake stole a sizable chunk of Haiti's artistic legacy, but 12 months
on arts and culture are thriving in the country as Haitians as they rebuild their lives.
Al Jazeera's Rob Reynolds reports. Jan 10, 2011
The diabolical earthquake stole a sizable chunk of Haiti's artistic legacy, but 12 months
on arts and culture are thriving in the country as Haitians as they rebuild their lives.
Al Jazeera's Rob Reynolds reports. Jan 10, 2011
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Cine Institute music video.
GADE! (music video) from Ciné Institute on Vimeo.
Ciné Institute provides Haitian youth with film education and edutainment, technical training, and media related micro enterprise opportunities. We integrate educational film screenings into classrooms of public schools, train aspiring filmmakers in all aspects of production, and develop and produce films of all kinds in partnership with our students and graduates. The Institute also promotes excellence in Haitian cinema domestically and abroad and holds weekly entertainment screenings of films from around the world at its theater.
Based in Jacmel, on Haiti's southern coast, Ciné Institute began as a film festival. Held for three years, Festival Film Jakmèl showed hundreds of international films free of charge to tens of thousands of Haitians.
Using the power of cinema, integrated educational programming, technical training and media production support, Ciné Institute educates and empowers Haitian youth who seek the creative, technical and business skills necessary to grow local media industries that can provide jobs and spur economic growth needed to improve their lives and the lives of others.
Based in Jacmel, on Haiti's southern coast, Ciné Institute began as a film festival. Held for three years, Festival Film Jakmèl showed hundreds of international films free of charge to tens of thousands of Haitians.
Using the power of cinema, integrated educational programming, technical training and media production support, Ciné Institute educates and empowers Haitian youth who seek the creative, technical and business skills necessary to grow local media industries that can provide jobs and spur economic growth needed to improve their lives and the lives of others.
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"Saving Grace: A Celebration of Haitian Art"
NY Exhibit and SELEBRASYON! (celebration),
October 16, 2010, New York
An event for all ages, SELEBRASYON! revolves around Saving Grace: A Celebration of Haitian Art, an exhibition that consists of more than 50 artworks including sculpture, paintings, and works on paper. Most of the artwork has never been seen outside of Haiti, and two pieces were recovered and restored from the January 12, 2010 earthquake. Gallery Tours by Saving Grace: A Celebration of Haitian Art curator Gérald Alexis and Affirmation Arts director Marla Goldwasser. Affirmation Arts, 523 West 37th Street, New York, NY 10018 (Between 10th Avenue & 11th Avenue in Manhattan.
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Preserving Haitian Artworks
Conservator David Goist joined 10 other American experts in Haiti working as volunteers to preserve artworks, documents and landmarks as part of a project sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution.
"While millions struggle daily to rebuild their lives in Haiti's earthquake-devastated capital, American art conservation experts are bringing aid to the nation's cultural legacy.
More than 230,000 people were killed when the magnitude-7.0 quake struck Jan. 12, leveling homes and businesses throughout Port-au-Prince. Roughly 2 million people still live in more than 1,300 tent camps in the city and nearby areas.
In July, Raleigh conservator David Goist joined 10 other American experts in Haiti working as volunteers to preserve artworks, documents and landmarks as part of a project sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution. Goist is a former chief conservator at the N.C. Museum of Art and is a member of the American Institute for Conservation's emergency response team.
Rescuing cultural artifacts is not new to Goist, who helped salvage documents from the Pittsboro courthouse fire in March, and from a children's museum in Rocky Mount following the 1999 flooding in Hurricane FloyBut what he found in Haiti was disaster on an entirely different scale. Goist said he and another volunteer wondered about the implications of their mission at a time when most Haitians were struggling to find food and water. But, he said, the Haitians were glad he was there.
"They said, 'The people of Haiti have lost everything. What we need to save is our culture and our heritage. You're going to help us do that,'" he said in an interview at his home this month...."
Experts Try to Save Haiti's Culture by Tammy Grub for newsobserver.com, August 29, 2010.
More than 230,000 people were killed when the magnitude-7.0 quake struck Jan. 12, leveling homes and businesses throughout Port-au-Prince. Roughly 2 million people still live in more than 1,300 tent camps in the city and nearby areas.
In July, Raleigh conservator David Goist joined 10 other American experts in Haiti working as volunteers to preserve artworks, documents and landmarks as part of a project sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution. Goist is a former chief conservator at the N.C. Museum of Art and is a member of the American Institute for Conservation's emergency response team.
Rescuing cultural artifacts is not new to Goist, who helped salvage documents from the Pittsboro courthouse fire in March, and from a children's museum in Rocky Mount following the 1999 flooding in Hurricane FloyBut what he found in Haiti was disaster on an entirely different scale. Goist said he and another volunteer wondered about the implications of their mission at a time when most Haitians were struggling to find food and water. But, he said, the Haitians were glad he was there.
"They said, 'The people of Haiti have lost everything. What we need to save is our culture and our heritage. You're going to help us do that,'" he said in an interview at his home this month...."
Experts Try to Save Haiti's Culture by Tammy Grub for newsobserver.com, August 29, 2010.
Bringing Haitian Art
into Hollywod Homes
Brandaid, an enterprise of artist, Cameron Brohman, and others that partners with local Haitian artists and sells their works to the Hollywood celebrity circuit. Paul Haggis, Director of the racially charged film, “Crash,” is also a co-founder and has helped the small startup get the attention of Diane Lane, Charlize Theron, and Diane von Furstenberg and into New York Fashion Week. Cameron Brohman stops to tell Fast Company a bit more on the idea behind the innovative project
Brandaid Project chose Haiti as a place to debut our work because Haiti is an extraordinarily creative culture. Haitians are almost supernaturally artistic. Within an environment of extreme scarcity they produce aesthetic miracles and make beautiful things from materials you and I would throw away. This talent is the foundation for launching branded products into the global marketplace.
Haitian Artisans Hotify Celebrities' Homes With Their Original Designs by Jenara Nerenberg for fastcompany.com, August 11, 2010
Brandaid Project chose Haiti as a place to debut our work because Haiti is an extraordinarily creative culture. Haitians are almost supernaturally artistic. Within an environment of extreme scarcity they produce aesthetic miracles and make beautiful things from materials you and I would throw away. This talent is the foundation for launching branded products into the global marketplace.
Haitian Artisans Hotify Celebrities' Homes With Their Original Designs by Jenara Nerenberg for fastcompany.com, August 11, 2010
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Blind violinist and visionary Romel Joseph
Despite losing his pregnant wife and his music school in the Haitian earthquake, a blind
Julliard-trained violinist has plans for a performing arts center.
Julliard-trained violinist has plans for a performing arts center.
"Standing at the edge of a 10-acre stretch of dusty green fields on the outskirts of the Haitian capital, the blind Juilliard-trained violinist could almost hear the music.Soaring symphonies, beginners' scales, the sounds of hope.
Antoine Romel Joseph, who was pinned for 18 hours under rubble from the January earthquake that upended Haiti, has plans for the land. He wants to build a world-class performing arts center for concerts, lessons and recitals. From the ruins of a country, he hopes to create a thing of beauty -- and a ``second life'' for himself.
``One life ended January 12 and another started,'' he said. ``This one is going to be more interesting and creative.''
As he worked toward recovery with doctors in Miami and Port-au-Prince, a flicker of hope became an idea. And then a plan. Now, Joseph is trying to reopen his school -- the New Victorian Music School -- and, at the same time, raise money to build a center to nurture young Haitian musical talent and lure tourists.
``People here need music, music education,'' Joseph said. ``That's my life dream for Haiti.''
If recovery efforts in Haiti have been painstakingly slow and seemingly invisible, Joseph has showed signs of progress. In March, two months before he turned 51, Joseph checked out of University of Miami Jackson Memorial Hospital and into an altered version of the world. His time is measured in doctor appointments and pills. He's mostly off the painkillers but still on blood pressure medicine. He has removable casts on both legs and uses a cane to get around. His left hand -- swollen, a pair of metal plates straightening the bones -- still aches too much to play the violin with regularity but his doctor believes he'll be able to resume performances soon.
Blind Violinist Struggles to Rebuild Haiti in his own Way by Trenton Daniel for Miami Herald, July 15, 2010
Antoine Romel Joseph, who was pinned for 18 hours under rubble from the January earthquake that upended Haiti, has plans for the land. He wants to build a world-class performing arts center for concerts, lessons and recitals. From the ruins of a country, he hopes to create a thing of beauty -- and a ``second life'' for himself.
``One life ended January 12 and another started,'' he said. ``This one is going to be more interesting and creative.''
As he worked toward recovery with doctors in Miami and Port-au-Prince, a flicker of hope became an idea. And then a plan. Now, Joseph is trying to reopen his school -- the New Victorian Music School -- and, at the same time, raise money to build a center to nurture young Haitian musical talent and lure tourists.
``People here need music, music education,'' Joseph said. ``That's my life dream for Haiti.''
If recovery efforts in Haiti have been painstakingly slow and seemingly invisible, Joseph has showed signs of progress. In March, two months before he turned 51, Joseph checked out of University of Miami Jackson Memorial Hospital and into an altered version of the world. His time is measured in doctor appointments and pills. He's mostly off the painkillers but still on blood pressure medicine. He has removable casts on both legs and uses a cane to get around. His left hand -- swollen, a pair of metal plates straightening the bones -- still aches too much to play the violin with regularity but his doctor believes he'll be able to resume performances soon.
Blind Violinist Struggles to Rebuild Haiti in his own Way by Trenton Daniel for Miami Herald, July 15, 2010
Barbarians.
03/2004: After coup against Aristide, "rebels" destroy paintings and objects at Port-au-Prince museum
"We burned it because anything that was created during the Aristide government has to be destroyed.."
Greeted by a cheering mob of former army soldiers and old human rights abusers looking to get their old jobs back, the assassin, Guy Philippe told his repulsive and destructive audience that he was their man. He then watched as the destroyers ransacked the precious building, throwing valuable paintings and an entire exhibition of 86 Vodun craft and art over a second-floor balcony into the crowd. Chanting "Up with Jesus, down with Satan," the Philistine mob of destroyers proceeded with their festival of annihilation and to burn the precious works of Haitian art and historical legacy in a giant bonfire.
"We burned it because anything that was created during the Aristide government has to be destroyed," said the Rev. Vladimir Jeanty, a well-dressed religious fanatic and founder of the Haitian Party of God. "This is a sad day for Haitian culture," said Haiti's minister, Leslie Voltaire (picture). The exhibit opened Jan. 1 to commemorate the country's 200th anniversary of independence and had been widely acclaimed as the country's first major showcasing of Haitian voodoo art, including unique works by a deceased voodoo houngan (priest), Pierre Barra. "Haiti is a country of life and art. They cannot destroy life or art," said Voltaire, whose distraught wife organized the exhibit. Source: St. Petersburg Times, Florida,Barbarians at the Gate: rebels destroy art collection.
See, Barbarians at the Gate: rebels destroy art collection, St. Petersburg Times, Florida.
"We burned it because anything that was created during the Aristide government has to be destroyed.."
Greeted by a cheering mob of former army soldiers and old human rights abusers looking to get their old jobs back, the assassin, Guy Philippe told his repulsive and destructive audience that he was their man. He then watched as the destroyers ransacked the precious building, throwing valuable paintings and an entire exhibition of 86 Vodun craft and art over a second-floor balcony into the crowd. Chanting "Up with Jesus, down with Satan," the Philistine mob of destroyers proceeded with their festival of annihilation and to burn the precious works of Haitian art and historical legacy in a giant bonfire.
"We burned it because anything that was created during the Aristide government has to be destroyed," said the Rev. Vladimir Jeanty, a well-dressed religious fanatic and founder of the Haitian Party of God. "This is a sad day for Haitian culture," said Haiti's minister, Leslie Voltaire (picture). The exhibit opened Jan. 1 to commemorate the country's 200th anniversary of independence and had been widely acclaimed as the country's first major showcasing of Haitian voodoo art, including unique works by a deceased voodoo houngan (priest), Pierre Barra. "Haiti is a country of life and art. They cannot destroy life or art," said Voltaire, whose distraught wife organized the exhibit. Source: St. Petersburg Times, Florida,Barbarians at the Gate: rebels destroy art collection.
See, Barbarians at the Gate: rebels destroy art collection, St. Petersburg Times, Florida.
In remembrance of the 6-month anniversary of the Haiti quake, we
honor those whose lives were lost and those who now remain. The
music is an original song written and performed by 29-year-old Desir,
a Haitian survivor. - Operation Blessing
honor those whose lives were lost and those who now remain. The
music is an original song written and performed by 29-year-old Desir,
a Haitian survivor. - Operation Blessing
Haitian Artists Paint Way to Better Future by news.bbc.co.uk, July 13, 2010
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Basquiat a la Fondation Beyeler a Bale avant Paris.
C'est la plus grande retrospective consacree au peintre et dessinateur de
May 2010
C'est la plus grande retrospective consacree au peintre et dessinateur de
May 2010
Tickets for the documentary The Radiant Child: Jean-Michel Bassquiat on sale now
at The Film Forum, New York, New York July 21 - August 3
Review: Who Knew the real 'Basquiat'? by Steven Boone for capitalnewyork.com, July 21, 2010
"Basquiat" by Marc Mayer, available at Amazon. (Some complain the photos aren't true. I have this catalogue and love it.)
at The Film Forum, New York, New York July 21 - August 3
Review: Who Knew the real 'Basquiat'? by Steven Boone for capitalnewyork.com, July 21, 2010
"Basquiat" by Marc Mayer, available at Amazon. (Some complain the photos aren't true. I have this catalogue and love it.)
Moise Jerry Rosenbert (Jerry)
Haiti Six Months on: 'I'm Looking for the Youth to Take Over' by Mustafa Khallil, Peter Beaumont, Christian Bennett and Ken Macfarlane for the guardian.co.uk, July 10, 2010 Graffiti artist Moise Jerry Rosenbert talks about his work and his desire to inspire Haiti's youth.
Jean-Michel Basquiat
1960-1988
He has been described (Graham Thomson, The Culture of the 1980s) as the first painter of African descent to become an international art star. And now we have a new documentary about his life, ""Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child."
Radiant Child, a documentary about the painter and graffitti artist Jean-Michel Basquiat opens in New York July 21st and plays through August 3 at the Film Forum, NYC.
Tickets for the documentary The Radiant Child: Jean-Michel Bassquiat on sale now
at The Film Forum, New York, New York July 21 - August 3
at The Film Forum, New York, New York July 21 - August 3
"As a king rules by divine right,
so did Jean-Michel Basquiat draw and paint.
-Peter Brant
so did Jean-Michel Basquiat draw and paint.
-Peter Brant
"Untitled", 1983. Oil paintstick and ink on paper, 19.5 x 15.5 inches.
Whitney Museum of American Art.
Whitney Museum of American Art.
"I start a picture and I finish it.
I don't think about art while I work.
I try to think about life."
-Jean-Michel Basquiat
I don't think about art while I work.
I try to think about life."
-Jean-Michel Basquiat
"Jean-Michel Basquiat was born on December 22, 1960 in Brooklyn, New York. His father, Gerard Basquiat was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and his mother, Matilde was born in Brooklyn of Puerto Rican parents.
During the eight years that he painted, much of his work examines the legacy of the colonial enterprise and his relationship to that legacy. Whether recasting the work of European masters like Leonardo Davinci in his own terms or recounting events from Haitian, Puerto Rican, African and African American history, Basquiat presented a vision of a fragmented self in search of an organizing principle. Now, ten years after his death, critics can revisit his work apart from the taint of the market-driven art boom of the 1980s. Perhaps some of the tools developed in the field of postcolonial studies will help to unlock some of the mysteries contained in the work of this fascinating and complex artist."
Excerpted from Sirmans, M. Franklin. "Chronology." Jean-Michel Basquiat. Ed. Richard Marshall. New York: Whitney/Abrams, 1992. 233-250 by Kimberley Parker, Postcolonial Studies at Emory, Spring 1998.
During the eight years that he painted, much of his work examines the legacy of the colonial enterprise and his relationship to that legacy. Whether recasting the work of European masters like Leonardo Davinci in his own terms or recounting events from Haitian, Puerto Rican, African and African American history, Basquiat presented a vision of a fragmented self in search of an organizing principle. Now, ten years after his death, critics can revisit his work apart from the taint of the market-driven art boom of the 1980s. Perhaps some of the tools developed in the field of postcolonial studies will help to unlock some of the mysteries contained in the work of this fascinating and complex artist."
Excerpted from Sirmans, M. Franklin. "Chronology." Jean-Michel Basquiat. Ed. Richard Marshall. New York: Whitney/Abrams, 1992. 233-250 by Kimberley Parker, Postcolonial Studies at Emory, Spring 1998.
Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child
"On Tuesday night, Annie Liebovitz, Julian Schnabel, Clive Davis, Tommy Hilfiger, Chris Rock and Alicia Keys attended the screening of Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child, a new film about the artist who's still obscure in spite of his fame and infamy. " ...After charting Basquiat's early success at Annina Nosei's gallery on Greene Street in Soho, Davis interjects clips of the other interview that Basquiat did, with Mark Miller, the art historian and curator. Holding a microphone to the young artist's face, Miller asks if Basquiat's work comes from a primal place. To this, Basquiat replies, "What, do you think I'm a monkey?" It's a moment of blunt, stupid racism and embarrassment for the interviewer; it breaks down the credibility of the academy, the sector of the art world that never embraced the artist during his lifetime-to the artist's great disappointment. The episode also demonstrates the extent to which Basquat could occupy the role of the defensive caricature, and simplify criticism. ...The movie's strength lies in it's ability to viably re-envision the innocence and pleasures of "bohemian" lifestyle in the East Village in the 1980s, beyond nostalgic, utopian fantasy. Basquiat exemplified the self-declared virtuosity of the era, propelling himself from the graffiti artist SAMO, living hand to mouth, to a painter with a solo exhibition in only two years. The young creative class today is familiar with methods of self-promotion and explosive success, but we're a generation more comfortable with marketing. Basquiat's not different, but he really worked, and the skill at promotion was preternatural."
Sweet Child of Theirs by Brienne Walsh, for Art in American, April 20, 2010
Sweet Child of Theirs by Brienne Walsh, for Art in American, April 20, 2010
More Art
Quake Art Aids Haiti Recovery with Sebastian Walker for Al Jazeera, June 7, 2010
Carole Demesmin
Since 1994 Carole Demesmin, a renowned Haitian singer, has been living in the Miami area. ...Carole was preparing a show for Martin Luther King Day and discovered that she, like many of us, knew nothing about black history except for what the textbooks opt to tell us. So in 1982, she did the unspeakable and returned to the land of misery and mysteries integrate with the Haitian people. During her ten years of research, Carole learned to and respect and to value the Haitian culture. She started many cultural activities during her stay in Haiti. A notable one was a cultural exchange between Haitians to help them learn about different areas in Haiti. Carole stresses the importance of the Natives who were in Haiti before the Africans because Haitian culture is a mixture of the Awarak and African culture. "Haiti is a melting pot the Awarak and their traditions mixed with the diversity of tribes from Africa and left Haiti with a very rich culture." Carole's move to Haiti was the best decision that she ever made in her life.
Lherrison
"Scrap metal, second-hand shoes and skulls. These are the materials a trio of Haitian artists, showing together for the first time in London , use for their powerful work. Lherrison, who trained as an artist in a Port-au-Prince atelier under a voodoo priest, sticks coloured buttons on to circuit boards to create his modern collage versions of the flags used in voodoo rituals to summon spirits. His sculptures– horned monsters and chained, beaten-up dolls – undergo their own rituals before making it to the gallery. Having been buried underground, rolled in ash and doused in rum they are, finally, set alight.
Showing alongside Lherrison are André Eugene and Guyodo, mechanics-turned-artists and members of La Grande Rue group, which originated in the city slums and is now attracting the attention of Haunch of Venison, among other galleries. Some of their sculptures, made from twisted scrap metal, incorporate real shoes as a comment on well-meant, yet misguided aid from America, which sees Haiti inundated with impractical items ranging from stilettos to hiking boots. "The West dumps its rubbish on Haiti," says Eugene. "We take it, we transform it, we make it into art and sell it back to them to put in their living rooms." The art on show at the Jack Bell Gallery was created before the earthquake; now, the artists' studios have been flattened and materials are hard to come by. "They're all itching to get back to work," says Jack Bell, who has curated the exhibition with the help of BBC journalists sent to cover the earthquake and the photographer Leah Gordon. "But there's not a single person who wasn't affected by the quake in some way."
Art From the Hearth of Haiti by Alice Jones, April 30, 2010
Showing alongside Lherrison are André Eugene and Guyodo, mechanics-turned-artists and members of La Grande Rue group, which originated in the city slums and is now attracting the attention of Haunch of Venison, among other galleries. Some of their sculptures, made from twisted scrap metal, incorporate real shoes as a comment on well-meant, yet misguided aid from America, which sees Haiti inundated with impractical items ranging from stilettos to hiking boots. "The West dumps its rubbish on Haiti," says Eugene. "We take it, we transform it, we make it into art and sell it back to them to put in their living rooms." The art on show at the Jack Bell Gallery was created before the earthquake; now, the artists' studios have been flattened and materials are hard to come by. "They're all itching to get back to work," says Jack Bell, who has curated the exhibition with the help of BBC journalists sent to cover the earthquake and the photographer Leah Gordon. "But there's not a single person who wasn't affected by the quake in some way."
Art From the Hearth of Haiti by Alice Jones, April 30, 2010
Jerry Rosenbert
Rescuers Battle to Salvage Art After Haiti Earthquake.
"Braving tropical downpours, rescuers are sifting through the rubble of collapsed galleries to save the remains of an artistic tradition that counts the voodoo priest Hector Hyppolite and Andy Warhol's protege Jean-Mechel Basquiat amon its alumi....Art lovers mourn the collapse of the capital's Cathedral=e Sainte Trinite, which Haiti's best-known artists decorated with Biblical murals of swarthy-skinned characters to attract Caribbean congregations in the early 1950s....It's is a race against time" said Axelle Liautaud...Some of the pieces are damaged - some are extremely damaged. We're just getting everything that we can reach and we'll decide later what can be restored.""
Rescuers Battle to Salvage Art After Haiti Earthquake by James Reinl, United Nations Correspondent, April 17, 2010
Rescuers Battle to Salvage Art After Haiti Earthquake by James Reinl, United Nations Correspondent, April 17, 2010
Buses, Tap-taps
Al Jazeera, April 18, 2010
Coupe Cloue
Jean Gesner Henry (1925 - 1998). Haitian singer, guitarist, and bandleader known for defining a style of Haitian compas music he called kompa mamba, and for the sometimes bawdy innuendo used in his songs. During his career, he was one of Haiti's most prominent musicians. Worked as a cabinetmaker before becoming a professional soccer player. It was from soccer, playing defense for the Port au Prince club Aigles Noirs that he acquired his nickname,"Coupe Cloue"or"cute and nail."
Thomas Oriental, a shop owner and mask maker...although he was able to salvage part of his shop, which is still packed with brightly coloured canvases and the grinning papier-mache zoo animals that enrapture tourists, the back half - where the life-sized papier-mache figures were produced - is now a junk yard...Next to tourism, the production of art is the most vital part of the economy in Jacmel. Although establishing a foothold in international markets has been difficult - meaning their craft isn't lucrative - it is world-renowned nonethless. The problem they now face is how to start up again. Much of the aid pouring in to Jacmell has come in the form of tents, water and food...What they need is cultural aid - donations to buy paint brushes, yucca flour and cardboard to shape into their coveted papier-mache. And they need product orders...
Quake topples the City's Creativity by Jessica Leeder for the Globe and Mail, April 5, 2010.
Video: Homeless Artisans Have no Place to Work April 6, 2010
Quake topples the City's Creativity by Jessica Leeder for the Globe and Mail, April 5, 2010.
Video: Homeless Artisans Have no Place to Work April 6, 2010
"...Vodou followers present at the service (Sunday, March 28, 2010) spoke about the need for national unity and the defining presence of Vodou in Haitian life.
Meanwhile, armed officers with the Haitiana National POlice lingered among the crowds, keeping a watchful eye on the rare occasion.
Vodou Ceremony Held to Honor Quake Victims by Trenton Daniel for Miami Herald, March 28, 2010
Meanwhile, armed officers with the Haitiana National POlice lingered among the crowds, keeping a watchful eye on the rare occasion.
Vodou Ceremony Held to Honor Quake Victims by Trenton Daniel for Miami Herald, March 28, 2010
For more info please see my blog entry "Healing in Haiti, with Vodou and Art" 3/29/2010
Veve being drawn with cornstarch
Romel Joseph
(violinist)
(violinist)
He was born into poverty in the small town of Gros Morne in central Haiti and lost his sight to an infection that could have been treated easily had his parents had money. He was sent to a school for the handicapped in Port-au-Prince, where the nuns introduced him to the violin and piano. He practised endlessly, won a scholarship to a Cincinnati music college, then a Fullbright scholarship to the elite Juilliard School in New York. He went on to achieve international renown and became a US citizen. 1991 he founded the New Victorian School in Port-au-Prince but on January 12, 2000, it burned down. He rebuilt it; but on January 12 this year, a decade later, it was destroyed again. The 300 young students had gone home, but Joseph was on the third floor when the five-story building came crashing down. His wife, Myslie, 26, whom he had married last October, was on the first, along with a maid. He was trapped beneath a pillar in what he called a "little coffin.." He all-important left hand was broken. His left leg was broken. His right leg was crushed. "I thought I would never play music again..."
Haiti's Resurrection Symphony by Martin Fletcher for The Times, April 7, 2010.
Haiti's Resurrection Symphony by Martin Fletcher for The Times, April 7, 2010.
Haiti's Enduring Creativity video by Sean Patrick and Erik Olsen for NY Times, March 2010. Music and art, "Yeah, we're going to change our country. We' going to support our culture. We have a culture that is rich, nice and beautiful. And we have a beautiful people. That's what we need to adore."
Art in the Aftermath of Haiti's Earthquake by BBC, February 11, 2010.
Art in the Aftermath of Haiti's Earthquake by BBC, February 11, 2010.
Amara's Art
"When we encountered all these children, I knew right away what I wanted to do. I wanted to give them some of my art supplies and just let them escape for a while. That they did. That simple little gift might have been the most useful ting I did on my Haiti trip. They were glowing with those markers and for awhile, they forgot all about their injuries."
Day 24, Voices of Haiti: A Daily Photo Essay by Jeremy Cowart.
Day 24, Voices of Haiti: A Daily Photo Essay by Jeremy Cowart.
Sacred Arts of Haitian Vodou excellent book by Donald Cosentino. Based on an exhibit he curated for the UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History in the '90s.
Haitian Vodou Flags book by Patrick Arthur Polk. Once little known outside of Haiti, Vodou flags (drapo Vodou), dazzling in color and imagery, have become popular commodities in the international art market. Works by such notable Haitian artists as Silva Joseph, Antoine Oleyant, and Yves Telemak now grace the walls of museums, art galleries, and private homes throughout the world. They combine and juxtapose African symbols with images from Europe and the Americas and form a rich mosaic of ritual art. Inspired by myths, legends, and unique personal visions, the artists of Vodou flags interweave sacred, time-honored designs with contemporary images as they produce captivating works that are both ancient and modern.
Hector Hippolite (1894-1948) A third-generation houngan (vodou priest) and a self-taught artist, Hyppolite painted with brushes made of chicken feathers and furniture enamel.
Haitian Vodou Flags book by Patrick Arthur Polk. Once little known outside of Haiti, Vodou flags (drapo Vodou), dazzling in color and imagery, have become popular commodities in the international art market. Works by such notable Haitian artists as Silva Joseph, Antoine Oleyant, and Yves Telemak now grace the walls of museums, art galleries, and private homes throughout the world. They combine and juxtapose African symbols with images from Europe and the Americas and form a rich mosaic of ritual art. Inspired by myths, legends, and unique personal visions, the artists of Vodou flags interweave sacred, time-honored designs with contemporary images as they produce captivating works that are both ancient and modern.
Hector Hippolite (1894-1948) A third-generation houngan (vodou priest) and a self-taught artist, Hyppolite painted with brushes made of chicken feathers and furniture enamel.
Marassa the twins by RM
(The Haiti Art Cooperative) Haitian vodou flag, $700 32" x 32."
The Haiti Art Cooperative is a network of non-profit projects with programs in Haiti serving Haiti's poor, including persons deported, streetchildren, orphans, students, persons in need of medical care and families.
More
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