Artwork: Stivenson Magloire, Divided Spirit, ca. 1989, Acrylic on canvas, 31 13/16 x 41 7/8 x 2 1/4 inches.
In 1804, Haiti became the first black republic to win independence from European colonial powers, and the second in the Western Hemisphere, following the United States. For more than two centuries, Haiti has enjoyed self-sovereignty, but not without expense; to this day, it continues to pay France war reparations. Despite the trials it has faced, including American occupation and a series of despotic regimes that have plunged the nation into constant upheaval, the Haitian people rise to the challenges and confront the issues that must be faced.
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Restoring the Spirit: Celebrating Haitian Art, now on view at the Pomona College Museum of Art, Claremont, CA, through May 15, 2016, was curated by Rima Girnius from the Haitian collection at the Figge Art Museum, as a response to the 2010 earthquake. The exhibition is a landmark survey of Haiti’s complex visual traditions from 1940 to the present, providing a portrait of its artists’ devotion to creative endeavors in the face of adversity.
Jasmin Joseph, Adam et Eve (Adam and Eve), 1967, Oil on fiberboard, 45 1/2 x 35 1/4 x 1 3/8 inches.
Featuring the work of 28 artists, Restoring the Spirit includes 33 paintings, five sculptures, and two ceremonial flags from the Figge’s collection of nearly 200 works. Ranging from vibrant paintings and sequin-covered textiles to sculpture created from reused oil drums and aluminum pans and other found materials, the works document historical and political events and individuals, and provide details from small town or rural life, gatherings, and celebrations that are essential to Haitian culture.
When considering Haitian art, we must taken into account vodou beliefs and practices, as they have been at the core of Haitian culture since the early sixteenth century, when Africans were first brought to the island, enslaved by the French. As Western and Central African beliefs mixed and mingled with Catholicism, Haitian vodou came into being. Paintings frequently depict the various vodou deities and other complexities of vodou beliefs and practices.
Préfète Duffaut, Ville Imaginaire (Imaginary Town), 1966, Oil On canvas, 18 1/8 x 49 3/4 x 1 1/2 inches.
Restoring the Spirit focuses on the compelling dialectic between chaos and peace, between the dangers of power and the powers to heal. The works have an intense meditative effect, offering the opportunity to feel these energies, both positive and negative, and to consider the ways in which art can provide a bridge between the two. There is a sense of paradise lost, and paradise found, and the necessity of the individual to persevere despite what may come. Whether offering a political or spiritual vantage point, the artists featured in Restoring the Spirit all share a commitment to the creation of art as a means to explore, reflect, and connect with that which is greater than us, existing across time and space. Here, these fantastic paintings of hallucinatory landscapes provide an escape from the reality of Haiti’s woes, offering a vision of utopia that is needed to heal from the wounds it has suffered.
Artwork: “Restoring the Spirit: Celebrating Haitian Art has been curated by Rima Girnius, originated by the Figge Art Museum, and toured by Curatorial Assistance, Pasadena, California.
Miss Rosen is a New York-based writer, curator, and brand strategist. There is nothing she adores so much as photography and books. A small part of her wishes she had a proper library, like in the game of Clue. Then she could blaze and write soliloquies to her in and out of print loves.
