Without a doubt, Haitian Art is among the most appreciated in the world. It continues to receive critical acclaim while at the same time enjoying some measure of commercial success. Yet, that success comes with a history of controversy, as Haitian artists, local and western critics have dueled over what form of artistic expression is more authentic and therefore worthy of consideration as characteristic Haitian art.

Clearly there is a strong record of artistic activity predating 1940. Haitian artists did not learn how to paint out of the blue, or through the intervention of some foreigners, but rather displayed an influence by traditions that go way back and have a good body of work to show for it. However, it’s in the 1940s that the world outside of Haiti begins to take notice.

In the 1940s, Dewitt Peters, an American schoolteacher, arrived in Haiti. Almost immediately he was stricken by the raw artistic talent displayed by many untrained and in many cases uneducated painters he would encounter. Those were people who never went to art school workers of all trades, who would come home and produce marvels of ingenious art work. In 1944, he founded the Centre d’Art in Port-au-Prince.

The Primitive Movement was accompanied by great controversy. Many other Haitian artists, the intelligentsia and the elite alike resented the seal of authenticity attached to Naïve Art. Why would only unschooled artists be recognized as authentic Haitian artists? Even if for the wrong reasons, the generally reactionary Haitian elite of the time had a point. What gave Western critics the right to decide what represents true Haitian Art? What gave the Centre d’Art the mandate to act as arbitrator, championing one movement versus others? Haitian painters to this day have to deal with the preconceived notion that Haitian Art is supposed to resemble work from that era for it to be authentic. Collectors attach high value to the works of the masters from that era while eschewing the work of even accomplished artists displaying more contemporaneous trends as being unrepresentative of Haitian Art as critics conceive of it. Well, for better or for worse, Intuitive Art and the Centre D’Art, became a driving force behind the Haitian Art industry as a whole by bringing worldwide attention towards the small nation. The Centre d’Art gave a chance to painters who otherwise would never be noticed by the conservative art establishment of the time. It allowed voodoo artists like Hector Hippolyte and Andre Pierre to express themselves, and made religious art more acceptable. It provided support and a market for generations of painters and made international celebrities out of many. Intuitive Art became very prized by tourists who kept alive a whole industry, even when quality of the art work over the years, especially what is found on the streets, became quite questionable. Intuitive Art from the 50s and on became a cash crop that even the elite in turn cultivated by buying the best of the genre for display in posh galleries.
The Naïve Art Movement and the Centre d’ArtThere were many offshoots to the Naïve movement. Philome Obin would create the School of (Cap-Haitian) that included artists such as Seneque Obin, his younger brother. Second generation of intuitive painters include Gerard Valcin, Wilmino Domond, Gabriel Alix, and Prefete Duffaut. The second generation is characterized by a certain departure from the style of the original masters of the 40s. Many of those artists would, through their travels, learn other techniques and would use them to enrich and solidify their original style. Prefete Duffaut is especially famous for his mountainous landscapes where Heaven meets Earth and the laws of Gravity are nonexistent. Duffaut would later create the School of Jacmel in the country’s Southeast. Other primitives of the second generation are famous for their depictions of jungles with lions and tigers in a local context, or oversized fruits. The “Poto Mitan” (pole in the center of a hounfor, a voodoo temple) School of 1968 shows renewed interests in Vaudou and Pre-Hispanic themes. It featured artists such as Jean Claude Garoute with adopted artist name “Tiga”, Maud Robart and Patrick Vilaire. Tiga and Robart would be at the origin of what was called the most striking experiment of magical painting ever seen. That was the Saint Soleil experiment.In the early 70’s, Tiga and Robart, already famous painters who rejected the prevalent primitive movement, wanted to create a community of artists whose inspiration stemmed from pure unadulterated Haitian sources. They bought a property in the mountains where they distributed art materials to a group of peasants who have never painted to see what would come out of it. The results were spectacular. The major artists produced by that experiment include Louisiane St Fleurant, Prospere Pierre Louis, Antilhomme, Levoy Exil and later on, Stevenson Magloire, son of Louisiane. Andre Malraux, the famous French writer, came to visit the workshop and was amazed at the results. He devoted a whole chapter of his last book I’Intemporal to “Saint Soleil” (Saint Sun), which is the name of the new experiment with “Tiga” being the founding director. Success became detrimental to “Saint Soleil”, part-time artists became full-time artists and soon, as commercialism again ensued, the school disbanded. Then Levoy Exil reorganized the group into “Cinq Soleils” with Prosper Pierre Louis, Denis Smith, Dieuseul Paul and Louisianne Saint-Fleurant. In cooperation with several French cultural institutions, “Cinq Soleils” opened a spacious atelier (workshop) in Soissons, Lamontagne on September 23, 1989.There were other counteractions to Naïve Art. Modernism wanted to adapt more established painting styles to the local settings. In the 50s, many artists like Lucien Price and Dieudonne Cedor broke away from the Centre D’Art and founded the “Foyer Des Arts Plastiques” another academy of painting. However, the movement lacked focus and soon waned.One of the few commercially successful reactions to Intuitive Art was the School of Beauty, with Bernard Sejourne, Jean Rene Jerome, Philippe Dodard, and Emilcar Similien. Their style was of a dreamy surrealism, where the individual was featured instead of the group; where personal feelings and thoughts received focus instead of the national consciousness.
The Others

A few painters are worth mentioning although they do not seem to fit any category. We have Bernard Wah, seated somewhat at the other extreme of the School of Beauty, although a key member, who displayed a quasi-mechanical approach to his characters approaching the macabre or the fantastic. Another is Lyonel Laurenceau, master of the knife painting technique whose portraits of simple folks were popular from the late 70’s to today. Herve Thelemaque achieved notoriety in France, while Claude Dambreville excelled with his high contrast, flat scenes of women at the market.


Sculpture

There were as well masters of iron and metal work: George Liautaud who started out by making funeral crosses in the town of Croix des Bouquets, Serge Jolimeau, who achieved worldwide notoriety, John Sylvestre, and the Louis Juste brothers all from Croix des Bouquets. Sculptors of note include Albert Mangones who produced the famous “Marron Inconnu” statue in Port-au-Prince. Also in the metal work, worth of mentioning, adding a new dimension to the metal work are Jean Dukens Boivert and Jean Ulysse Waglais, both of “Atelier New Edition Art Craft”, new emerging and very promising artists. They are sculptors who create portraits on metal. Very innovative work! Their use of recycled drums is not new, but their concept of bronzing and galvanizing is a technique of very high quality ( i.e. the American Flag while being sewn by the four women). A great artist of Haitian descent whose fame in the 80s was as brilliant as it was short lived: Jean Michel Basquiat, a quintessential modern artist whose work was part Andy Warhol, part Brooklyn ghetto. Another famous Haitian artist, Celestin Faustin, trained by master artist Wilmino Domond, while short-lived, became a master at the Voodoo style (late 1960s-early 1980s). The artistic production of Haitians has never been more alive with many branches existing now, with many Haitians living in the Diaspora. The young artists show great promise, while some of the old masters show extra life. Artists featured in this exhibition include, Levoy Exil, Gary William, artist name “Gezo”, teacher of art at “Onart” school of art in Haiti, and was an apprentice of Jean-Claude Garoute “Tiga”, Raymond Joseph and Obes Faustin, cousin of Celestin Faustin and also his apprentice. He was also an apprentice of master Wilmino Domond who also taught Celestin Faustin.

While Haitian art may lack polish, it makes up for it with a deep and engaging representation of humanity. The Haitian artist finds holiness in the ordinary subjects of everyday life. Simple, soulful images are found in Haitian art. It is this soulfulness that attracts so many to admire and collect this remarkable art. We hope you enjoy the work enough to bring a bit of Haiti home with you. More work, including sculpture and textiles are featured at Flavors Of Haiti Fine Arts and Crafts Gallery in DUMBO, Brooklyn, NY.