Haiti

In February 2004, when the United States government arranged the departure of Haiti's president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, political satirist Bill Maher looked into the television camera and asked "Why? Who cares about Haiti?" There are many reasons to care about Haiti, which shares one third of the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean. A Spanish colony for over 200 years, in 1697 Haiti was handed over to the French, who imported African slaves by the hundreds of thousands to work the fields. They were treated with legendary and extraordinary cruelty. After 100 years of French rule, an escaped slave and Vodou priest (oungan) called Boukman initiated history's first major Black rebellion (1791). To this day, Haiti remains the only nation in the world to lead a successful slave revolt and become the first independent Black state in modern times (1804). At that point, overextended militarily, desperately in need of funds and further weakened by Haiti's victory, Napoleon reconsidered expanding his empire to North American shores and sold off Louisiana to the United States. Without Haiti, there would have been no Louisiana Purchase, and it is possible that, today, half of the U.S. might be speaking in French. Haiti stands for freedom.

Independence

Victory had taken 12 long years to achieve but the honeymoon was short. The people paid dearly for their military triumph over France. Haiti was ostracized by the world's great powers, which feared its freed slaves might set a bad example. President Jefferson, a slave owner, endorsed U.S. non-recognition of Haiti that lasted until the time of President Lincoln. The once rich and fertile island remained in isolation for 100 years.

Crossroads of Culture

Thanks, in part, to hundreds of thousands of freshly landed African captives, who hid in the mountains, eluded French domination, kept intact large chunks of African culture from multiple tribes (and initiated the revolution), more than any other former colony, Haiti retained its African nature — its customs, flavor and popular religions, which eventually became Vodou (or Voodoo), the practice of worshiping specific deities from home. Like Vodou, Haiti is a fascinating blend of powerful African traditions and French Catholic influence within a Caribbean environment. This unique mélange creates an undeniable exoticism, charm and mystery that permeates the island and continues to confound the outside world.

Today, the Vodou Pantheon, or lwas stands alongside Greek, Roman, Egyptian and Hindu gods and goddesses in strength of number and impact on alternative religious belief systems. Though most people have misconceptions about Vodou — due to inaccurate and sensationalist depictions in the media — everyone in the world has heard of it.

The Spirit in Haitian Art

An unequivocal outcome of this brilliant but painful independence, isolation, uniquely rich Afro-Caribbean culture, and ritual practice of Vodou is the astounding art of Haiti. Though an impoverished country, where corrupt and disappointing leaders often dash hopes, Haitians choose to express their culture, history, love of life and dreams through the unlikely medium of art. Aptly called a nation of painters, Haiti continues to dazzle the world with its unequaled production of art. The artistic talent and resilience of a people struggling to overcome the price of freedom persists in Haitian artists' canvasses, sculptures and textiles, a positive testament to the power of the human spirit, and to the spirits of Vodou, who insist on keeping alive the importance of liberty. Haiti's untrained artists and their magnificent talent were discovered by the outside world in the early forties by visiting American artist Dewitt Peters and later, André Malraux, André Breton and other art world luminaries. At that time, Haiti was already in the throes of a vibrant art scene, populated by schooled Mulatto artists working in Western classical styles taught in established institutions. But, these foreigners recognized the "primitive" art springing from the uneducated Black masses as a natural creative expression of indigenous energy repressed. Dewitt Peters encouraged further expansion of those energies by founding the Centre d'Art, a place where these artists could exhibit and sell their work. Foreign buyers came in droves. A booming tourist industry soon followed.

This exhibition features works by the charismatic, mostly self-taught, artists of the island's primitive art movement — the Haitian masters, who introduced the beauty, color, passion, and dancing spirit of an African nation transported to the Caribbean.

[Caption]
General Toussaint Louverture was a freed slave, who joined the insurgency against the French and became hero of the revolution.