Art

Haitian art is very easily recognized and can be found on display around the world. With its unique flavor, and exciting use of color, Haitian art separates itself from most other mainstream modern art. The bright colors that dominate Haitian canvases reflect daily life and the exotic scenery found throughout the country. Haitian artists have distinguished themselves by creating art that expresses both the challenges and beauty found in Haiti.

Historical evidence dates the earliest pieces of Haitian art back to the Pre-Colombian era, most of which were everyday items such as sculptures, pots, drawings, public signs, and objects related to voodoo. After independence, the Haitian presidents Henri Christophe and Alexandre Petion, commissioned many pieces for the royal court. A shift was then made from depictions of daily life in most art, to glorifications of the revolution and the royal family. Haiti became the first independent nation in the Western Hemisphere to make Catholicism its official state religion, thus making religious artwork more and more common as well.

The first formal art school, Centre D’Art, was founded in Haiti in 1944, by Dewitt Peters, an American who was taken with the raw artistic talent of Haiti. The opening of Centre D’Art is seen as the beginning of the institutionalization of Haitian art, and marked a time of notable development for Haitian art. Instead of formally replicating global art trends, Centre D’Art aspired to foster the raw talent and instinctual nature that already existed in Haitian artists. This art form became known as “intuitive art”, focusing on spontaneity and color. Haiti was and continues to be well known its production of intuitive art, and was a sharp contrast to the rising popularity of modernism in the 1940s and 50s. Some of the most well known artists practicing intuitive art are Andre Pierre, Hector Hippolyte, Castera Bazile, Wilson Bigaud, and Rigaud Benoit.

Another turning point in Haitian art is known as the “Saint Soleil experiment” of the 1970s. Wanting to offer Haitian peasants an opportunity to practice art, two Haitian artists, Tiga and Robart, began a campaign in which art materials were handed out to many poor, rural Haitians (most of whom had never been involved in formal art training or, in many cases, formal education of any kind). The project was very successful and resulted in the discovery of several well-known artists today including: St Fleurant, Prospere Pierre Louis, Antiholmme, Levoy Exil, and Stevenson Magloire.

Other notable Haitian artists include: Gerard Valcin, Wilmino Domond, Seymour Bottex, Gabriel Alix, Gesner Armand, Prefete Duffaut, Numa Desroches, Philome Obin, Petion Savain, Georges Ramponneau, Lucien Price, and Luce Turnier.

References: http://haitianartsociety.org; www.discoverhaiti.com.