Haiti
dal 18/11/2014 al 14/2/2015
Segnalato da
18/11/2014
Haiti
Galeries nationales du Grand Palais, Paris
Two centuries of art and creativity. This exhibition offers the public a unique opportunity to discover the wealth of Haitian art and creativity from its past to its present. It pays tribute to the artists of Haiti, the history of their country and the roots of their culture.
curated by: Regine Cuzin and Mireille Pérodin-Jérôme
Haiti. Two centuries of art and creativity.
Around 60 artists and almost 170 artworks - some in France for the first time, some
created especially for the exhibition, some even created on-site – are brought
together in an effort to reproduce the extraordinary vitality and non-stop creativity of
Haitian artists from the beginning of the 19th century up until the present day. Rather
than deal chronologically with the artistic currents that mark the history of art in Haiti,
artists have been left the freedom to resonate with the major artworks of its heritage
and establish a dialogue between its contemporary, modern and early works of art.
The exhibition is divided into four large chapters, each introduced with a Creole
title and each addressing a different theme. Santit Yo / Untitled depicts scenes and
characters from everyday life in Haiti; Lespri Yo / Spirits examines the profane and
sacred artworks of voodoo, Catholicism and freemasonry; Peyizaj yo / Landscapes
pays tribute to the work of artists ostracised in the 1950s and 1960s for being too
“modern”; and Chèf yo / Leaders looks at the construction of identity through
representations of Haiti’s powerful political and intellectual figures. These chapters
are interspersed with three Tètatèt / discussion pieces that set up a dialogue between
the artwork of two different artists.
Lespri yo / Spirits
Christian liturgy, voodoo ritual and popular iconography bear witness to the
intense intertwining of freemasonry, voodoo and Catholicism. This syncretism
is particularly present in the work of the naive artists (Hector Hyppolite,
Castera Bazile, André Pierre, Sénèque Obin, Préfète Duffaut, Salnave Philippe-
Auguste, Wilson Bigaud). Bosou with 2 horns (Georges Liautaud), Bosou
with 3 horns (Guyodo), Legba (André Eugène), Erzulie (Barbara Prézeau-
Stephenson, Edouard Duval-Carrié), and Baron Samedi (Hervé Télémaque) all
make reference to the Haitian loas (voodoo spirits) that seem to emulate the
figures of Christ, the Virgin Mary (Nasson) and the Christian saints.
Concrete, sequined fabric (David Boyer, Myrlande Constant), beads and horns
(Pascale Monnin), corten steel (Elodie Barthélemy), dolls (Pierrot Barra), skulls
(Dubréus Lhérisson), and rubber (Ronald Mevs)... all are brought together to
transcend the established codes for invoking spirits – intermediaries between
gods and mankind – at the same time unearthing unexpected correlations
between beliefs and myths of diverse origins.
Chèf yo / Leaders
Whether apologetic, exaggerated, metaphorical or controversial, the
portrait is deeply engraved in the history of Haitian art. In the 19th century,
portraits of intellectual and political figures were used to assert identity.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Edouard Goldman returned to the image
of proud men in a reaction to the racist propaganda of the era. Later it was
used by Gervais Emmanuel Ducasse to recount historical events.
Jasmin Joseph’s animal figures caricature Haitian society, whilst Fritzner
Laour ridicules the dictatorship using Duvalier’s own symbol, the guinea
fowl. In Philomé Obin's work, sharks escort a fleeing President Lescot and
André Eugène imagines a cock-fight over a powerful voodoo priestess.
In the present day, Mario Benjamin creates anonymous portraits from
television images, Sasha Huber responds to Duvalier by "executing"
portraits of him using construction staples and Patrick Vilaire questions
the obsession with power and political shifts.
Tètatèt / discussion pieces
Hervé Télémaque & Jean-Michel Basquiat
The works of Hervé Télémaque and Jean-Michel Basquiat betray their
attachment to Haiti for different reasons. Though fundamentally a New
Yorker, Basquiat sometimes integrates symbols from Haitian history into
his work. And through his knowledge of Haitian society and its codes,
Télémaque, born in Haiti, slips a number of subtle and blatant references
to the country into his work.
Tètatèt / discussion pieces
Sasha Huber & Jean-Ulrick Désert
With Haiti Chérie and Constellations de la déese / Ciel au-dessous de Port-
au-Prince Haiti 12 January 2010 21:53 UTC, Sasha Huber and Jean-Ulrick
Désert pay tribute to the hundreds of thousands of people that lost their
lives in the earthquake that hit Haiti on 12 January 2010. With Temple de la
déesse, created especially for the exhibition, Jean-Ulrick Désert links heaven
and earth through the iconic figure of Joséphine Baker.
Tètatèt / discussion pieces
Sébastien Jean & Robert Saint-Brice
Robert Saint-Brice, who died in 1973, and Sébastien Jean, who was born in
1980, draw their inspiration from a shared imaginary universe. Their often
deformed figures seem to call on occult powers and exercise a certain
psychic ability. Above all, they reveal a desire to alter reality, with Sébastien
Jean drawing inspiration from Haitian myths and legends, and Robert Saint-
Brice drawing on imagery from voodoo, through references to the loas.
Press contact
Florence Le Moing, florence.le-moing@rmngp.fr
Svetlana Stojanovic, svetlana.stojanovic@rmngp.fr
Opening: Wednesday 19 November 2014
GRAND PALAIS, GALERIES NATIONALES
3, avenue du Général Eisenhower - 75008 Paris
Open : Sundays from 9 am to 8 pm, Mondays from 10 am to 8 pm. Late closing: Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 10 am to
10 pm, and Saturdays from 9 am to 10 pm. open every day (except tuesday) from 9 am to 10 pm during the All Saints and Christmas school holidays.
(Break from 21 to 30 November 2014)
rates : €13, concession €9