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Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2010 10:11:59 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2010 10:18:27 GMT
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Post by lagatta on Jan 30, 2010 12:52:59 GMT
The cemetery scene is quite striking. Many of them, while colourful, are examples of the naïve art that gets churned out for tourists though.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2010 13:04:04 GMT
They are all murals in' Little Haiti',not a tourist magnet I'm afraid...
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Post by lagatta on Jan 30, 2010 13:06:48 GMT
Interesting. I think I expressed myself poorly - waking up - should have said they look like that tourist art. But already more interesting as public art.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jan 30, 2010 17:59:34 GMT
"Churned out"? Not that I'm some art expert, but those definitely look like genuine naive art to me. The third one down is certainly by someone with some training, but it's a "real" painting, I'd say. I got to see lots of Haitian art in Key West years ago and really like it, plus like & admire their impulse to ornament every available surface.
Casimira, did you find out what the words on the back of the streetcar(?) in the third painting mean?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2010 0:23:38 GMT
No,Bixa,I don't know what the words mean but, it wouldn't be too difficult for me to find out. I took a lot of notes that day regarding some of the relief work and also a lot of notes on some of the fabulous Haitian food that I ate,but for some reason that was not in them. I took many more pictures of art work but many of them did not turn out well at all. I was/am very disappointed in what I had hoped would be a lengthy report. I met some of the loveliest people imaginable and was invited to return,which I know I will do next trip,soon.
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Post by lagatta on Jan 31, 2010 1:41:07 GMT
That sounds lovely. I'm sorry if I sounded flippant. I suppose because I'm more used to more sophisticated Haitian art and usually see folkloric things on sale that have been obviously churned out - yes! - to feed the artist. I've done that myself, doing those sketches of tourists in public places. Seeing these as public art in a community utterly changes their impact. And no, while I know quite a few expressions in Creole and others can be deduced from French, I don't know what that writing means. In the graveyard scene, I think "chen blan" means "chien blanc" - white dog. I have non-Haitian friends who have studied Haitian Creole. Of course a great deal of the vocabulary is French, but there is a strong West African influence in the Grammar and Syntax. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haitian_Creole_language Here is a little lexicon to English: www.kreyol.com/dictionary.htmlYes, (in general) Haitian people are very lovely indeed. Of course their are shitheads as in any people. It has been a very hard experience seeing the closed, pale faces of our Haitian neighbours. That deep grey Black people get when pale. And not hearing melodious voices.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2010 11:15:45 GMT
I like naive art, much of it Haitian, but I do tend to prefer all of the collective scenes with a lot of stuff happening. The fruit tree above is an example, but of course showing fruit instead of people. I like discovering new things every time I look at a painting with a lot of activity.
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Post by lagatta on Jan 31, 2010 17:32:51 GMT
I heard a news story on Radio-Canada about the loss of the major art museums and galleries in Port-au-Prince and the attempts to salvage works of art. Was looking for an article in English and this one from the LA Times was the first decent one I found: www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-fg-haiti-artists24-2010jan24,0,5707519.story Obviously, many of the artists are dead or missing as well.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2010 0:50:43 GMT
There was one piece of art work that completely blew me away and I spent a significant amount of time looking at it. I photographed it several times and for whatever reason(a sign, I must go back?)the photos I took did not come out. Anyway,it was a fairly large piece,small mural size perhaps,and it was all hand sewn BEADS,tiny beads,intricately sewn depicting people and their surroundings,life events,birth,marriage,death...extremely intricate and detailed work.Stunning. I know I have to go back...
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Post by htmb on Sept 13, 2012 23:14:03 GMT
One of the items I've recently decided to part with is this pen and ink drawing on a paper plate done as a birthday gift for me by a Haitian waiter in the 1980's when I was on a cruise on the old SS France. I had it mounted and framed so, other than a little yellowing on the left side, it's in very good condition. The waiter, Thomas, spent a lot of time telling me about his wonderful country and then decided to draw a picture to give me a better idea of its beauty. I work with a nurse who travels to Haiti at least twice a year on medical missions, and has done so for many years. The plan is for her to auction off the drawing at an event for Haitian relief. It's a pretty little thing, but the story behind it is even more meaningful to me.
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Post by nycgirl on Sept 17, 2012 2:32:52 GMT
Cool murals, Casi, thanks for sharing. I also like the cemetery one a lot. That beaded work sounds incredible. You have to go back and get a photo for us. Htmb, that is a beautiful drawing. It was so sweet of that talented artist to make it for you.
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 23, 2012 16:22:06 GMT
Htmb, that's a lovely story behind an equally lovely drawing. And now the story will continue in ways undreamed of by the generous artist, because of your generosity.
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Post by htmb on Sept 24, 2012 2:57:54 GMT
Thank you, ladies. The drawing is now going to a silent auction in March so it will sit in my office for awhile until my colleague is ready. Hopefully, someone will pay a nice price for it.
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