Haitian Artists Get a Break

Macy’s, the well-known department store, is launching its Heart of Haiti Collection, with an average of thirty-five per cent of each sale going directly back to Haitian artists. We’re talking about paintings and metal crafts to be sold at branches of Macy’s. There are forty items available, including a $10 metal pendant, a $275 oil painting, and many items priced more reasonably from $25 to $60, with the idea being that almost anyone could afford an original piece of Haitian art. Candle holders, clutch purses, napkin rings, trays, mirrors, coasters and fruit sculptures are among the offerings. Roughly 350 artists have been employed in this effort.
Highly acclaimed metal sculptor Serge Jolimeau has work in the Heart of Haiti Collection. With ten employees, according to a Sunday story in the Miami Herald, he was quoted as saying that the order from Macy’s has been a boon to him and his staff: “A lot of people are working.”
The project grew out of a May meeting convened by the William J. Clinton Foundation to figure out how to revive the Haitian art community. Good for Clinton and good for Haiti, where so much progress after January’s earthquake seems to be in pathetic slow motion. And this first collection is not just a one-shot deal. A spring collection is already in the works.
If you want to attend a launch partying South Florida, head to Dadeland Macy’s Home Store at 7675 North Kendall Drive in Miami this Thursday at 6 p.m.. Several Haitian artists whose work is featured in the collection will be on hand to show and discuss their work.
--Candice Russell
-30-

Haitian Art Show in Miami, Florida

“Tap-Tap: Celebrating the Art of Haiti” is currently on view at the Frost Art Museum located on the campus of Florida International University in Miami, Florida. This modest show, drawn from the museum’s permanent collection, features a papier-mache tap-tap, a colorful bus topped with fruits and vegetables and people riding on the back end, and wonderfully primitive paintings by the under-rated Wagler Vital, including one titled “Fishing Boats.” As written about by Tom Austin in Sunday’s Miami Herald newspaper, the exhibition also displays work by papier-mache master Lionel Simonis, painter Gerard Fortune, and Edouard Duval-Carrie, unarguably the best-known living Haitian expatriate artist.
A brochure accompanies the exhibition. It is free to all visitors, as is the show, which continues through September 5. For more information, telephone 305/348-2890 or visit the museum at 10975 Southwest 17th Street in Miami, Florida 33199.

--Candice Russell

Aid to Haiti and Questions

Food for the Poor, a non-profit organization based in Coconut Creek, Florida with a big hand in Haiti’s post-earthquake recovery, mailed out this week a full-color, oversized brochure highlighting its achievements. It was refreshing to read what this charitable entity has accomplished so far -- the building of 802 housing units, 45 water projects, 361 tractor-trailer loads of food and water distributed and 449 tractor-trailer loads of various other relief supplies delivered. But the work is far from done.

To learn more about Food for the Poor or to donate to its continuing efforts, telephone 954/427-2222. The mailing address is 6401 Lyons Road, Coconut Creek, Florida 33073.

While it is good to know that someone is doing something about providing substantial help in Haiti, rather than just promises of money, what rankles me is the absence of any entity willing or able to coordinate efforts to help the future of Haitian art and artists in Haiti, both living and deceased. Is anyone in the Haitian government coordinating an effort to preserve the paintings and other art objects damaged but still salvageable from the earthquake? What about the Biblically inspired murals at the Saint Trinity Episcopal Church in Port-au-Prince? Is there a register of artists who passed away during the tragedy and a list of who survived?

Maybe with all that needs to be done in Haiti, it is too soon to be asking these questions. But my curiosity remains keen to know the answers.
--Candice Russell

Great Haitian Bookstore Survives in Miami

Libreri Mapou is the centerpiece and some may even say the heart of Little Haiti, a district in Miami, Florida where Haitians live, work, and do commerce on the streets selling clothing, fruits and plants just like they do in Port-au-Prince. In a story in the Miami Herald this week, the 20th anniversary of the exceptional bookstore Libreri Mapou was the focus. It has survived the current economic recession and remains the intellectual soul of a community, as well as a gathering place for artists and others who want a strong connection to Haiti.

In years past, Libreri Mapou had Haitian paintings and crafts for sale in an upstairs room. It was always the place to buy delicious cremas at Christmas. If you want color postcards from Haiti and books in French, Creole and English about Haiti including books about Haitian art, this is the place to visit.

One of the unexpected treasures I found there was an eye-poppingly gorgeous hard-cover interior/home design book called “Interieurs d’Haiti” by Roberto Stephenson and Marie-Louise Fouchard measuring nine inches by seventeen inches. Pictured inside in full color are the homes of Haitians, rich and less than middle class. Regardless of economic circumstances, the owners of these remarkable places have employed a similar aesthetic -- an appreciation for bright colors, original paintings and other artwork, and a love of the eclectic.

So congratulations to owner Jean Mapou of Libreri Mapou for keeping the intellectual flame of Haiti alive in South Florida for those who live here and those visitors savvy enough to pay the store a visit. It is located at 5919 Northeast Second Ave. in Miami, Florida 33137. The telephone number is 305/757-9922.

--Candice Russell

-30-

Flying Kites for Haiti

A symbol of hope and freedom, a kite is a fitting symbol for Haiti’s rebirth in the aftermath of the cataclysmic earthquake in January that changed the island forever. On August 22 in various cities throughout the U.S., Haiti and the Bahamas, at exactly 4:53 p.m. (the time that the earthquake began on January 12), kites will be flown in New York, Massachusetts, Georgia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. in this country, plus other sites beyond its borders. Victims of this terrible tragedy will be honored and remembered.

Involving the participation of 200 children is the job of Plas Timoun, an organization created with the First Lady of Haiti and Haitian artist Philippe Dodard . It is dedicated to providing art education and art therapy to children affected by the earthquake.

--Candice Russell

-the end=

Wyclef Jean for Haitian President?

Famed singer/rapper Wyclef Jean, a founding member of the Fugees, just announced the possibility that he might run in the next election to become president of Haiti. The current president, Rene Preval, has made Jean a goodwill ambassador for Haiti.
Though Jean’s political qualifications are as yet unknown, he has been a tireless advocate for Haiti, bringing attention to the hard-hit island nation long before the earthquake on January 12th. The unfurling of the Haitian national flag at concerts and performances, as in the televised benefit for earthquake survivors, is a trademark of Jean, who never forgets his roots. He takes every chance he can to celebrate Haiti at a time when Haiti is unfairly denigrated in the media.
What would it mean to Haiti if Wyclef Jean became president of Haiti? It is too soon to speculate. But I am fairly certain that he would focus a laser beam of light on the arts of Haiti, from music to visual expression in all forms. Cultural tourism of the truest kind might be the result.

--Candice Russell

-the end-

How to Assist the Arts in Haiti

A very special event takes place next month in the state of Maryland. It is the first ever meeting of the Haiti Cultural Economy Forum. The theme is “Remake the Landscape, Retain the Spirit: Strategies for the Rebirth of Haiti through Her Arts and Culture.”

The event is set for August 20 to 22 at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. Tentatively scheduled to appear is Ambassador Raymond Joseph from the Embassy of Haiti in Washington, D.C. The cost for early registration, prior to July 21, is $170. For more information, visit the web site
www.haiticultureforum.com.

This web site states, “The Forum is a discussion on a shared vision for Haiti and how the needs of the Haitian people can be met using Haitian arts and culture to grow and develop. It is designed to establish alliances, mobilize available assets, and identify needed resources to articulate Haiti’s future and its prosperity.”

--Candice Russell

-the end-

A Friend From Haiti Goes to New York

Imagine a lifetime in Haiti, through good times in childhood to bad times including the January 12th earthquake. Then imagine boarding your first airplane flight and traveling with two of your children to New York City, to be greeted by your sister and your mother whom you haven’t seen in decades, plus assorted relatives.
This is what happened on Thursday to my friend Mr. Lange Rosner. I spoke to him by telephone a few hours after he arrived in the United States. Amid the joyful sounds of a little dog barking and people laughing and talking the background, Mr Rosner told me, “This is a very, very beautiful city….This is not a dream.”
I am so happy that Mr. Rosner is here, though key members of his family weren’t granted exit visas. He had been trying to come to the United States for twelve years and the possibility that he would be coming was hard to believe in previous months, considering the terrible conditions in Haiti and the desire among untold thousands of people to leave the broken country. The fact that Mr. Rosner is here is a perfect story for this Fourth of July holiday weekend. How many of us, like myself whose grandmother hailed from Norway, are a generation or two away from being born and growing up in another country?
So celebrate, my good friend Mr. Rosner. You deserve all the magnificent times to come.

--Candice Russell

-the end-

Helping Haiti from Florida

All Floridians of Haitian heritage who want to help Haiti in the recovery process after the January 12th earthquake, here is your opportunity. On July 17th, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida, there will be a Haitian Hometown Association Workshop to provide training to local Haitian-American organizations on fund-raising, grant-writing and organizational training. It is sponsored by FAVACA, which stands for the Florida Association for Volunteer Action in the Caribbean and the Americas. So much needs to be done on every level, from basic infrastructure needs like housing and roads to cultural heritage re-building and conservation, like saving the priceless Biblical-themed four murals that survived the earthquake at the cathedral in Port-au-Prince.
The workshop will be led by FAVACA volunteer James Mueller with the aim to help improve conditions in Haiti. Also present will be Tania Delinois, who provided post-trauma counseling in Haiti after the earthquake. For more information, the telephone number is 305/470-5070.

--Candice Russell

-the end-

Art by Haitian Children on Display

The Smithsonian Institution’s Ripley Center in Washington, D.C. opened an exhibition of 100 paintings and drawings made in the aftermath of the January 12th earthquake by Haitian children. On view for the past two weeks and continuing through October, the show kicked off with the participation of Elisabeth Preval, wife of Haiti’s current president Rene Preval. She called it a reminder of the fact that Haiti still needs help.
Mrs. Preval wants the help of U.S. museum professionals and conservators in the recovery effort of Haiti’s visual heritage, she told the Associated Press news service. “This is fundamental for our nation,” said the First Lady of the Caribbean nation. “This is our cultural heritage. This is us…My dream and my hope is to make sure the world does not forget Haiti.”
While so much of the news has been bad about the earthquake’s effect on museums, galleries and private collections of Haitian art, there is one small bright spot. At least four of the murals done at mid-century in the Episcopal Holy Trinity Cathedral in Port-au-Prince survived this horrific natural disaster and can be saved. Private dollars from different sources are going toward this effort. The largest donation so far is $276,000 made by the trade association the Broadway League. Each of these entities gave $30,000 to the recovery project -- the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Sciences.. The plan is for U.S. conservators to hand over the reins for most of this meticulous work to Haitian professionals by November, 2011.

--Candice Russell

-the end-

Weird Haitian Painting

Do you like weird art? I guess the answer depends on just how weird in terms of what elements are included. In this case, I am talking about a painting on canvas I bought more than two decades ago in Haiti. This untitled work, measuring sixteen inches by twenty inches, is signed by Jean Claude Mehu, the artist, and dated 1987. It is weird, but also strangely compelling to me, because of its abrogation of one of the first visual art rules -- create a central focus.
There is no central focus in my painting. Rather, there are competing points of interest, including the woman in the foreground pouring a pitcher of water inside on what might be rumpled blue clothing or a rock inside her house! In the background is a tree growing out of a table with a neat blue tablecloth on which three fat rats scamper next to the naked light bulb hanging from the ceiling.
Other unexplainable elements abound. Priests in long robes gossip in the background next to a bamboo fence, which is being repaired by a workman. Someone else stands on scaffolding to paint one of three houses in the background. A man in a red and white checkered shirt, blue kerchief, and gray knit cap holds what appears to be a small panther under its arms.
But the weirdest and most confounding bit of all is the bushy-tailed orange squirrel that dominates the right corner of the painting. He is sitting next to a bricked pool with water and is so wildly out of perspective that if the squirrel stood on its hind legs, he could be taller than the woman. What to make of Mehu’s wild imagination? I have pondered this painting many times and never put it up for sale because I cannot get to the bottom of it.
The thing is, it’s beautifully painted with meticulous detail. There are multiple narratives going on, none of which make a complete lot of sense. Once I get started looking at this painting, I cannot stop. With these thoughts in mind, maybe Mehu got it right. He created a painting that grabs the viewer’s attention in a way that one doesn’t want to let go.

--Candice Russell

-the end-

Haitian Art in South Florida

For the past two Sundays, I have hosted Haitian art aficionados in my home. One is a veteran collector who lives in Miami, an erudite architect whose taste is eclectic and sophisticated. Another is a folk art lover with a fondness for many cultures, including Haitian. What got this man interested in Haitian art was a gift from Don Francisco, the colorful host of the Spanish-language TV variety show “Sabado Gigante.” It was a Haitian painting that Don Francisco had bought from Dr. Carlos Jara, a fellow Chilean like himself, who lived in Haiti and had a popular gallery there. Carlos was my closest friend before his untimely death in May, 1999. The third visitor was a woman from Hollywood, Florida, who had seen a Vodou flag on my website and wanted to see it in person.

Discussions of Haitian art with people truly interested in knowing more about it are an exciting aspect of being a collector and seller. Looking things up in books, doing Internet research, even staring at paintings of particular beauty are all part of my fascination with this subject. The past two Sundays were filled with these moments and more. I am looking forward to more such wonderful days.

--Candice Russell

-the end-

All Arts of the Caribbean

If you want to experience the Caribbean in its full cultural glory, head to Vinoy Park in downtown Saint Petersburg, Florida on June 12 and 13 for the Tampa Bay Caribbean Carnival. There will be DJs, an ethnic parade, a steel band, internationally renowned Caribeean recording artists, a "mas" costume exhibition, food and crafts, which I would assume include the remarkable art of Haiti. Sounds like a good time.

--Candice Russell

-the end-

Music Scene Revives in Haiti

Leave it to the good and caring journalists and editors at the Miami Herald newspaper to continue to keep Haiti in mind with interesting stories. Congratulations to reporter Jacqueline Charles for her long story about the Haitian music scene and such popular bands as Kreyol La, Barikad Crew and Djakout Mizik. A recent street party authorized by the government involved hundreds of people who paraded through downtown Port-au-Prince in a sort of celebration of life going on after the terrible January earthquake. Charles called the event “the first major dance party in Haiti’s crumbled capital since the 7.0 magnitude, and signaled a return to the vibrant nightlife that has characterized this nation through good times and gloom.”

RAM, led by Richard Morse, the affable manager of the famed Hotel Oloffson in the island nation’s capital, set the crowd ablaze with pleasure in sound, sight and movement. Not surprising, considering that RAM rocks the rafters of the Oloffson every Thursday night (or at least it used to) from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Who better to lead this musical resurgence than RAM with its roots-based music, singers and dancers?

If I were Charles’ assignment editor, I would have her researching the visual arts scene to assess the damage to Haiti’s museums, the seminal Le Centre d’Art that launched so many careers, and galleries. Which artists survived the earthquake and who didn’t make it? What is the aesthetic thrust of the art scene? All of these are good questions begging for answers for people who love Haiti and long for its renaissance.

--Candice Russell

-the end-

Florida Filmmakers Visit Haiti

In its May newsletter, the Florida Association for Volunteer Action in the Caribbean and the Americas, also known as FAVACA, reports that a team from Florida State University’s College of Motion Pictures went to Haiti from April 25 to May 1 of this year. The team was on a mission to make a short documentary. Interviewed for the film were the minister of tourism, the minister of culture and communications, the head of the bureau of civil protection, the Village of Vision in Lamardelle, and the Haiti Hotel Association. FAVACA, based in Tallahassee, Florida, exists to help promote social and economic development throughout the Caribbean and the Americas. Let’s hope the film turns up at a civic film festival near you.

--Candice Russell

-the end-

How Will Earthquake Affect Haitian Art?

Can a devastating natural event impact the direction of Haitian art? The question takes shape in the minds of Haitian art collectors. It is also partially answered in a recent Wall Street Journal article by Miriam Jordan with the headline “The New Realities of Haitian Painting.” With a byline of Jacmel, Haiti, the writer interviews Onel Bazelais, a Haitian painter who cannot help but turn his attention to the crumbled buildings and desperate people he saw in the aftermath of the January 12th earthquake. The painting he holds in a photograph that accompanies the story shows houses without their roofs and people abject in the streets, wondering what to do. The earthquake is inspiring Bazelais.

Other artists are following suit. My friend Eric Jean Louis, an artist who lives in Miami, Florida, says that Michel Monnin, a gallery dealer in Haiti, is paying the artists he knows to document the destruction and survival stories post-earthquake in paintings. While documenting the life around them has always driven Haitian artists, one cannot help but wonder if collectors want to hang paintings of the disaster on their walls. It takes a very special collector to want to own a visual documentation of such enormous horror. Certainly such imagery is not for the majority of Haitian art collectors, though it may be important to historians and museums.

Political coups and military overthrows have been the subject of Haitian paintings in the past twenty years. So have other natural disasters. I own a painting by the late Jean Baptiste Jean that pictures what happens after a flood, with people and debris in a watery mess. While I haven’t tried to sell the painting (because I like it too much), I doubt that many people would be interested in it.

With Haitian art commonly associated with joy and the transcendence of harsh realities, it is anyone’s guess where the artists of now will take their paintings in six or twelve months from now.

--Candice Russell

-the end-

Haitian Children View Their World

In a unique photographic exhibition titled “Haiti Unmasked,” twelve children from Foyer Maurice Sixto, a center in Haiti for child domestic laborers, took pictures of their world with Holga cameras. They attended weekly workshops, went on field trips and profited from the guidance provided by people from the non-profit organization Kids with Cameras, which teaches the art of photography to marginalized children around the world. The results are on view at the MIA Galleries, which is located at Miami International Airport in Miami, Florida in Concessions Hall/South Terminal, between Concourses H and J. The exhibition is free and open to the public, on view now through this August.

--Candice Russell

-the end-

Life for Haiti’s Orphans

A superb one-hour documentary with Soledad O’Brien was produced by and televised on the Cable News Network (CNN) this weekend. “Rescued” spotlights what life is like for orphans in Haiti, both pre and post-earthquake. With footage from several years ago of the boys and girls at the Lighthouse Orphanage in Port-au-Prince, also known as La Maison des Lumieres, the program focused specifically on Cendy, a girl of age six when the earthquake struck last January 12, and a young man named Mackenson, now age eighteen who spent a few formative years at the orphanage after being sold by his family to become an in-house slave or restavec in Haiti.

Days after the earthquake, the already quiet Cendy becomes even more withdrawn. She was given up by her parents, who visit her once for an uncomfortable few minutes, then never return to the orphanage. Mackenson, whose sister was adopted by a family in the United States, only wants to help his home country and works tending the garden at the orphanage. The American couple who run the orphanage take in as many more children as capacity and resources will allow, including a young woman and her newborn baby whose own home collapsed in the earthquake. A triage unit is set up in the courtyard and amputations are performed on suffering adults under the stars. The images are heartbreaking.

But there is hope. This isn’t an orphanage involved in shipping as many kids out of Haiti as possible. The Lighthouse is all about raising Haitian children with education and Christian faith within Haiti. Though many of these children aren’t officially orphans since they have parents, they are officially abandoned. No one in their families wants them. The alternative to being there is working and living on the streets for pennies got from begging because the government has no means to take care of these children. The Lighthouse appears to be doing good work, according to the documentary, by saving lives and putting Haiti first in the hearts of these children, who deserve so much.

--Candice Russell

-30-

May Matters

Did you know that the month of May is devoted to Haitian heritage? The event is of special interest to anyone living in a city with a large Haitian expatriate population, like Miami, Florida or New York City. On May 18, Haitians celebrate flag day. Just two days later on May 20 is the birthday of Toussaint Louverture, a hero of the Haitian national independence movement. But culture encompasses more than patriotism and history. It’s about art, music, dance, storytelling and getting in touch with the creative roots of a most remarkable culture.

Here is a rundown of what South Floridians can look forward to, along with visitors to the area in a Haitian frame of mind. Today (Friday, May 7th) there will be an exhibition of Haitian art opening tonight from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Regions Bank, 2800 Ponce de Leon Boulevard in Coral Gables. The curator of the show, which runs through June 4th, is well-known Haitian art dealer Michele Frisch, who owns Galerie Marassa in Petionville, Haiti. Admission is free. For more information, telephone 1-786/290-9718.

Another free exhibition is “Contemporary Haitian Memory in Motion, From the Rubble We Rise Once Again” at the Little Haiti Cultural Center, 212 N.E. 59th Terrace in Miami. Curated by Babacar Mbow, the show features master contemporary artists from Port-au-Prince. Hours of the center are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The art is on display through June 30th. For more information, telephone 1-305/960-2969.

Traditional Haitian storytelling with Lilianne Nerette takes place on May 15th from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the North Miami Public Library located at 835 N.E. 132nd Street in North Miami. Admission is free. For more information, telephone 1-305/892-0843.

A Haitian Flag Day Festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. at Central Broward Regional Park at 3700 N.W. 11th Place in Fort Lauderdale. Admission is $20 with children under twelve free. Look for Sweet Micky, Alan Cave, Misty Jean, Eddy Francois and others to perform. For more information, telephone 1/954-290-3995.

The Twelfth Annual Compas Festival is set from 12 noon to midnight on May 15th at Bayfront Park, 301 Biscayne Boulevard in Miami. This is the big music festival featuring Barikad Crew, Zekle, T-Vice, Carimi and Kreyol La. Tickets are $35 in advance. For more information, telephone 1/305-945-8814.

A Haitian Flag Day Celebration featuring narrative storytelling, dance and music will take place on the plaza at the Museum of Contemporary Art at 770 N.E. 125th Street in North Miami. Admission for the event, from 6 to 8 p.m. on May 18th, is free. For more information, telephone 1/305/893-6211. In the same location, the North Miami Haiti Relief Fundraiser featuring the Laissez Faire Dance Group will take place on May 21st from 7:30 to 10 p.m. Tickets are $40. For more information, telephone 1/305/895-9815 or 1/305/895-9818. It’s time to celebrate this vibrant culture.

--Candice Russell

-the end-

Video Inspires Hope for Haiti

Well worth seeing and contemplating is the eight-minute video posted on You Tube titled "Haiti -- Get Back Up" or "Ayiti Leve Kanpe." With music provided by the Deominiscan Republic Symphonic Orchestra, the story is told in moving images before and after the awful January earthquake that changed this island nation forever.

The scene is set with idealized images of a peaceful, pretty place -- beaches, waterfalls, schoolchildren walking to work in their clean uniforms, marchands balancing baskets of fruits on their heads before setting up on the street for a day of commerce. Haiti, pre-earthquake, is only this pristine in someone's fantasy of the place. But this is the moviemaker's perspective, not mine.

After the earthquake, which is partially shown in progress, the National Palace crumbles, funerals are held, bodies lie forgotten in the street. The images are appalling but not nearly as bad as some shown on the Cable News Network Television or in newspapers. One building bears graffiti that reads "help me" in French. There are little rowboats going out to sea in desperation to flee the devastation. But there is also hope in the form of drummers, smiling toddlers, and a boy flying a kite. The Haitians will survive.

--Candice Russell

-the end-

Marvelous Metal Sculptures Come to Miami

An under-sung medium within Haitian art is metal sculptures, carefully crafted from the recycling of metal cylinders used for transporting all manner of goods. Master artist Serge Jolimeau and Michee Ramil Remy have their creations on display in the lobby of the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in North Miami, Florida through May 30. The museum is located at 770 N.E. 125th Street in North Miami, Florida and the telephone is 305/893-6211.

On view are the artists’ originals for the 2009 Clinton Global Citizen Awards, on loan from the office of former U.S. President Bill Clinton. He was recently in Miami to discuss the Clinton Global Initiative at the University of Miami on how to rebuild Haiti. According to a report in the Miami Herald newspaper, Clinton released a statement: “As the Haitian people work to build their country back better…it has become more important than ever to assist Haitian artists and workers in their efforts to produce and sell their wonderful arts and crafts.” Amen to that!

--Candice Russell

-30-

BENEFIT FOR HAITI IN MIAMI

While the troubles of Haiti since the earthquake three months ago have largely fallen off the world's radar screen, some people and TV programs are keeping the attention where it should be. "Artists Support Haiti" is a benefit auction at the University of Miami Lowe Art Museum in Coral Gables (Miami), Florida. It is set for April 8 from 6 to 9 p.m. and a $10 donation is suggested. What visitors will find is wonderful Haitian art and American art, live music, food and beverages. All proceeds benefit the University of Miami Global Institute/Project Medishare, which has been working to help the people of Haiti with medical, educational agricultural needs. Physicians and other health care professionals affiliated with this project have been in Haiti since the earthquake treating the injured and working to build permanent medical facilities there.

The popular American TV show "Dancing with the Stars" featured dancers from Haiti in a tribute to what devastation took place there on January 12. Good for the show's producers to make people once again mindful of this wonderful country and remarkable creative talent.

--Candice Russell

South Florida Exhibition by Wonderful Haitian Artist

When ever the remarkable Miami resident Haitian-American/global artist Edouard Duval-Carrie has a solo exhibition, it is cause for celebration. Always evolving, taking his culture and recent events into perspective, the artist works as a painter, sculptor and scholar. Currently, he has a one-man show on view at the MIA Galleries (MIA is short for Miami International Airport in Miami, Florida, where the show is located) in the Central Terminal Gallery in Concourse E, just past the security checkpoint. On view through May 15, “Memoire Sans Histoire” is free and open to the public.

In the oversized keeper postcard invitation to the show, Duval-Carrie writes beautifully about the latest body blow to Haiti -- the terrible earthquake of two months ago. He writes: “What astounds me is the resilience of the people. We know that we live a precarious life and as such we know that adversity is the rule. Rather than succumb to despair and anguish, we keep a brave face and more often than not we would rather sing, or as in my case, paint!

“I personally believe that most artists are, in one way or another, reflections of their immediate surroundings. The confrontations of the routine of daily life are bound to affect and influence their personal visions of the world. This general tendency simplifies my answers to inquiries concerning the relative importance of popular culture in the context of the contemporary art world. But with the advent of a rapid globalization and the proliferation of information at all levels, this permits everyone, and particularly artists, not only to take their ideas from a global well, but to react and ultimately act when information is close to their field of interest. The drama of the earthquake aftermath in Haiti is a case in point when it comes to me as an artist.”

The exhibition includes images of an ocean voyage and a conquering hero on horseback, perhaps a revolutionary hero or Saint Jacques Majeur, often portrayed on Vodou flags like this. The palette is more somber than the artist has used in recent years, perhaps reflecting a more contemplative view. In any case, please visit the exhibition and judge for yourself

--Candice Russell

-the end-

Superb Painter Passes Away

It is with great regret that news comes of the passing of Haitian painter Wilson Bigaud. He died on March 22, 2010 at 2 a.m., according to an email I received. His death follows the destruction of a major work by Bigaud, who was one of several contributors to the Biblical murals of Episcopal Holy Trinity Cathedral in Port-au-Prince. The church and its visual legacy dating back to the 1940s crumbled during the January 12 earthquake, which also decimated Le Centre d’Art, the personal collection of Georges Nader’s home/museum totaling many thousands of paintings, and who knows how many irreplaceable paintings and other artworks in galleries, offices, museums and private homes throughout the nation’s capital, suburbs and beyond.

Bigaud’s rise to fame began at the behest of the magnificent painter Hector Hyppolite, who brought him to Le Centre d’Art in 1946. A titan in the first generation of Haitian artists, Bigaud warranted a full chapter in Selden Rodman’s seminal book “Where Art is Joy: The First Forty Years of Haitian Art.” Rodman conceived the idea of the Biblical murals at the cathedral and oversaw their execution. Bigaud painted “The Marriage Feast at Cana” during which Christ turns water into wine at a country wedding, when he was only twenty years old. Sadly, vandals ruined the original mural before it was almost finished, so the artist had to begin again on this special creation.

Some people, including Rodman believed that Bigaud’s nervous breakdowns, which occurred between 1957 and 1961, had a deleterious effect on his art, meaning that he never painted as well after these episodes. I disagree. His paintings continued to be popular with collectors for decades afterward with no marked toll on his evocative artwork, including scenes of family and leisure as well as Vodou personages.

In the recent exhibition “Allegories of Haitian Life from the Jonathan Demme Collection” at the Bass Museum of Art in Miami Beach, Florida and accompanying book, which I co-authored with Axelle Liautaud, there were five paintings by Bigaud, an indication of his place in Haitian art. They included the peaceful “Beach Scene” (c. 1949), the riotously energetic “Carnival Costumes” (1954), and “Zombie” (c. 1965), of a person without a soul or a will being led from the graveyard. Bigaud returned to this last theme again and again in his artwork. In my personal collection is a painting of this same theme by the renowned artist, who is included in every published overview of the history of Haitian art. With soft colors reflecting the dead of night, the scene of a kind of resurrection takes place in a rural landscape. It is one of my favorite paintings.

The loss of Bigaud is enough to make one wonder who will future generations of scholars and art collectors be talking about in Haitian art 100 years from now. Will others reach the heights achieved by this remarkable man?

--Candice Russell

-the end-

Trees for Haiti Can Help All Haitians

Miami Herald writer Andres Oppenheimer had a superb idea when, shortly after the January 12 earthquake in Haiti, he encouraged people around the world to donate money to plant trees in Haiti as part of a massive re-forestation effort. Responding to his call, the Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations launched “A tree for a child in Haiti campaign.” Its campaign states: “your donation pays for an avocado, mango or other fruit tree seedling, its planting, a small amount of fertilizer and watering and weeding for the first year.” This sounds good and worth getting behind.

Why this is important is explained by Oppenheimer in the newspaper: “Reforestation has long been one of the main reasons behind Haiti’s chronic poverty. For more than a century, people have cut down about 98 per cent of Haiti’s trees to use as firewood or charcoal for cooking. That has left the ground almost useless for agriculture. It also dried up water supplies.

“At the same time deforestation causes devastating floods. When it storms in Haiti’s mountains, the water flows down into nearby villages with nothing to absorb it or stop it. Thousands die.”

Oppenheimer’s suggestion is that Haitians living in other countries each donate $5 for the coast of one tree, much like Jewish people in other countries have done to help Israel with their money paying for the planting of 240 million trees! This savvy journalist also suggests that cruise ship passengers to Labadie, Haiti get on board with a “One Tree Per Tourist” campaign that will aid the cause. No one can argue with the wisdom of his thoughts and the necessity for taking action in light of so much suffering. To follow through, the website to visit is
http://www.fao.org.

--Candice Russell

The Death of an Important Person

It is with regret that news must be reported about the passing of a great lady, Francine Murat, the long-time director of Le Centre d’Art in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. As the standard bearer for this seminal institution within Haitian art for several decades, Murat was instrumental in the careers of an untold number of artists. Since the building itself was destroyed in the January 12th earthquake and with no one at the reins, one cannot help but wonder who will resurrect Le Centre d’Art and shepherd its development in decades to come.

The death of Murat was expressed beautifully in a letter by Fritz Racine, President of the Haitian Art Society, hereby quoted in toto: “Adieu Francine: The Haitian Art Society in Washington, D.C. is deeply saddened by the news of the death of Francine Murat, Director of the Centre d’Art in Port-au-Prince. Francine died on February 25, 2010, six weeks following the collapse of the Centre d’Art building during the catastrophic earthquake in Haiti on January 12.

“Francine has been associated with the Centre d’Art since its opening in 1944, first as administrative assistant to the founder DeWitt Peters, then as its director for over forty years until her death. Her extended professional service has earned her public recognition as an authority on Haitian art. Francine Murat has carried out with grace, competence and perseverance -- and often under trying circumstances -- the remarkable tradition of this unique and longest living art institution of Haiti.

“The Haitian Art Society salutes the departure of this icon of Haitian art. May her beautiful soul rest in peace.”

My own memories of Murat are lovely. I recall her quiet presence overseeing Le Centre d’Art. She was a tall, thin woman of elegance, with her head wrapped in a colorful scarf. If you knew enough to ask about the special stash of paintings locked in a closet on the second floor, she would accommodate an avid art collector’s request and leave the person alone to pick through the treasures for purchase. She also allowed visitors into the room housing the center’s permanent collection of Haitian art. I remember the poignancy of paintings by Jasmin Joseph, whose allegorical paintings of anthropomorphic animals told stories about Haitian life.

Murat kindly accommodated an odd request I made of her by telephone, after my then-husband and I had taken a wonderful art-buying trip to Haiti one year. After returning home, I developed the many photos I had taken and marveled at a particular painting we had found at Le Centre d’Art. It was a large canvas by Lionel Saint Eloi of a Vodou ceremony, with musicians, prayer, celebration and sacrifice going on in different quadrants of the painting. How had we passed it by? I found the phone number of Le Centre d’Art, Murat set a price, and the transaction was in process. Soon, the painting was mailed to us, to our eternal delight.

Rendered in muted colors, with a hand-painted statement on the back of the canvas about how the artist made a commitment to the integrity of his profession, the painting was (and is) a dazzler. Not surprisingly, it was chosen by director George Bolge of the Boca Raton Museum of Art in Boca Raton, Florida, for an exhibition of Haitian paintings in 2004. It is one of my favorite paintings.

Haiti and Haitian art collectors everywhere will miss Francine Murat and her benevolence to all who cherish Haitian art.

--Candice Russell

-the end-

Helping Haiti

Life remains hard for the survivors of the earthquake on January 12th. My friend Mr. Lange Rosner reports that art business can be transacted, though the streets are hard to drive. Still to be discovered is how many of Haiti's most famous artists in all media are alive and uninjured.

I am often asked about legitimate organizations in need of donations. One of the best is the University of Miami Haiti Project. A recent ad taken in the Miami Herald by this worthy group reads: "As the first medical team on the ground, UM Miller School of Medicine physicians and staff treated more than 250 critically injured patients within forty-eight hours of arriving in Haiti. Since January 13th, nearly 300 UM doctors, nurses and other personnel have served in Haiti, where we opened a 240-bed tent hospital with operating rooms and advanced technologies. Our staff has transferred dozens of the most critically injured to the United States for care."

The University of Miami campus in Coral Gables, Florida is holding fund raising campaigns for essential items needed in Haiti. Donations can be mailed to the UM Global Institute and mailed to: UM Global Institute, P.O. Box 248073, Coral Gables, Florida 33124.

--Candice Russell

AID AND PRESERVATION EFFORTS

Perhaps you were one of the fortunate museum visitors to the Museum of Art in Fort Lauderdale, Florida or other U.S. venues including the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York to see the wonderful hand-made quilts of Gee’s Bend. Fashioned by a group of African-American women in a remote area of Alabama, these bed covers bespoke of their makers’ innate sense of superior color, design and technique. Prized by collectors and justly lionized by art critics, the quilts are part of the women’s heritage.

Now their artistry is being put toward a generous effort to help the victims of the earthquake in Haiti. On Saturday, March 13th, some of these quilts will be auctioned off at the Bernice Steinbaum Gallery in Miami, Florida’s design district at 3530 North Miami Avenue. Festivities get underway at 7 p.m. and the auction begins at 8:30 p.m. Thank you to acclaimed quilters Mary Lee Bendolph, Loretta P. Bennett and Gunnie Pettway for donating these prized fabrics, which range in price from $15,000 to $20,000. They are also making a special quilt for the occasion. Let’s hope some high rollers and representatives from corporations with an eye toward helping Haiti are among the bidders that night. All funds will be donated to the Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund. (For more information, telephone 305/573-2700 or visit the website
www.bernicesteinbaumgallery.com).

Angela Charlton of the Associated Press, with an article datelined Paris, France, wrote in the Miami Herald this week about an official who worries that bulldozers in Haiti are endangering its art and architectural heritage. “There is a temptation to demolish everything,” says Daniel Elie, director of Haiti’s governmental Institute for the Preservation of National Heritage. “When the bulldozers come, it’s fatal.”

United Nations officials believe that preserving the country’s churches, artwork and mementoes from its slave result, which ended with the establishment of the world’s first independent black republic, are essential for the nation. Cathedrals and other buildings dating back to the 17th century are barely standing or reduced to rubble. One cannot help but wonder if the re-building effort will include attempts to duplicate these buildings or start from scratch with other designs.

Elie’s agency is compiling lists of buildings that should be protected to send around to other government agencies, journalist Charlton writes. She continues: “Elie is joining Haiti’s culture and communications minister Marie-Laurence Jocelyn Lassegue and UNESCO officials for talks this week to determine the most urgent needs for restoring damaged historical and cultural sites.”

Only time will tell how much of Haiti’s precious paintings, sculptures, Vodou flags, artifacts and buildings still exist and how many others can be saved, repaired and rebuilt. And will the world continue to pay attention to Haiti and its remarkable people? This is a country that deserves global attention for decades to come.

--Candice Russell

-the end-

Mourning and Helping

While other news outlets have moved on to other stories, let's give credit to the Miami Herald newspaper and CNN-TV for keeping Haiti in mind. A beautiful story written by Jacqueline Charles in the Herald details the cancellation of Carnival in Haiti, the first time that has ever happened in anyone's memory. She also wrote about the three days of mourning for the 212,000 victims who died in that terrible event and its aftermath.

In a sidebar, Charles wrote about Carnival photos taken by renowned photographer Daniel Kedar that are being sold at Chelsea Galleria in Miami, Florida from now until April. They include images that range in price from $300 to $4,500 and range in size from fifteen inches by nineteen inches to forty inches by sixty inches. To learn more, telephone the gallery at 305/576-2950.

Sean Penn, the Oscar-winning actor, just returned from Haiti. He called it "an apocalypse, worse than anyone had ever seen before." He is working with Partners in Health to forestall what he sees as a disaster in the public health realm once the rainy season begins in late March. Pray for Haiti and support Haitian artists by buying their works where ever you find them.

--Candice Russell

-the end-

Suffering, Loss and Survival

A friend in Arizona sent me a copy of a recent Wall Street Journal article titled "Art Trove Is Among Nation's Losses" by Pooja Bratia. It's about the decimation of the mansion and museum owned by Georges Nader Senior, one of the country's first and most famous gallery owners. What the January 12th earthquake claimed from him was a visual history of 12,000 artworks lost in the 35-room home. Son Georges Nader Junior estimates the collection was worth between $30 and $100 million. Gone for good are irreplaceable works by Haitian masters including Hector Hyppolite, Philome Obin and Wilson Bigaud.

The same article speaks of the ruined murals in the Episcopal Holy Trinity Cathedral by several well-known painters and the questionable future of the Haitian art scene, in light of widespread devastation. What kind of art can come out of such tragedy? If it happens to be art expressing pain, in direct contrast to most of Haitian art, will this art find buyers used to associating Haitian art with joy?

We now know for sure that Saint Soleil painter Levoy Exil and Vodou flag master Jean Baptiste Jean Joseph are alive. So is my good friend Mr. Lange Rosner, whose brick house in Croix-des-Missions withstood the earthquake. Mr. Rosner telephoned me today, which was a blessing because numerous phone calls to his line in Haiti produced no result. "I was in the street when it happened," Mr. Rosner told me. "I went home and found my family was okay. I was very, very happy. Then I cried. It was a big emotion for me."

Even now, says Mr. Rosner, there are "a lot of people dead. You find them everywhere. Port-au-Prince is finished." While he has a home to live in, he is living in the street like perhaps millions of others for fear of another earthquake or a crippling aftershock. Food and water are scarce and hard to come by. And traffic is difficult.

The church-going Mr. Rosner is the favorite person in his neighborhood, as he gives gifts to the children who live near him. He is a driver by profession, now with nothing to do but try to survive. He has a beautiful wife, several young children, and a niece and nephew to raise. I want to help him and will send him money via Western Union on Tuesday. Should you want to do the same and have your money go directly to a very good human being in trouble, rather than to the administrative costs and overhead to a large non-profit organization, his telephone number is 011-509-3757-0306. If anyone knows of a way to legally get Mr. Rosner out of Haiti for good, and then his family to follow, please let me know. Thank you.

--Candice Russell

-30-

Saving Haiti's Artistic History

An email today from Frazier Meade sounds the alarm for urgent action in regard to Le Centre d'Art, the Port-au-Prince launching pad of many artistic careers from Hector Hyppolite and Rigaud Benoit to Jorelus Joseph, and what may be left of the Saint Trinity Church, also in the city, and home to many irreplaceable wall murals with a Biblical theme. He is reaching out to non-profit organizations, embassies in the U.S., Canada, and France, galleries, collectors, and individuals to help safeguard what art is left in both locations with an eye to long-term conservation and preservation.

Meade is working in partnership with Axelle Liautaud, whose celebrated art gallery in Petionville excited many collectors over the years. On January 21st, she posted this email: "I am very confident that we will get the fence and security for the Centre tomorrow or the day after. But I doubt with the quantities of displaced persons that we can find a tarp of the dimensions needed. We are also trying to find amongst the crew that are here for some tarps that are not being used, so they help retrieve the art at the Center and put it in the storage area of the museum. Funds need to be raised soon for the preservation of our culture. This is not a futile battle. People who have been hurt the way we have been are going to need the help of their culture to go on living."

The good news is that fundraising toward these buildings and artwork has begun. Already Pan American Projects is raising money for the re-building of Le Centre d'Art. To donate, visit the website www.panamericanart.com/store.

--Candice Russell

-30-

Stories of Hope

Long-time Haitian human rights advocate, Haitian art collector and filmmaker Jonathan Demme spoke to CNN-TV's Alina Cho this week about his love for the country so eviscerated by the recent earthquake. He made two documentaries in Haiti, including "Haiti: Dreams of Democracy" about the fall of Baby Doc Duvalier's regime in the mid-1980s. With Jonathan's permission, I was proud to host a showing of the film at Books and Books, an independent bookstore in Coral Gables, Florida many years ago, along with a discussion afterward. In the audience that night was Dr. Paul Farmer, another passionate advocate for Haiti. We gave all the proceeds to Dr. Farmer, who was going to Haiti the next day to set up a hospital.

Demme says he plans to go to Haiti within six months to a year to make another film about Haiti and its recovery from the event that decimated Jacmel, Leogane and too much of Port-au-Prince. His own personal collection of Haitian art was shown in Miami Beach at the Bass Museum several years ago in a show I co-curated with Axelle Liautaud called "Allegories of Haitian Life from the Jonathan Demme Collection." He has some marvelous, irreplaceable paintings and sculptures, including all the masters like Georges Liautaud and Hector Hyppolite among many others. I hope that Jonathan explores the artistic side of Haiti in this new era of recovery.

Another hopeful story comes from a charity based in Boca Raton, Florida, which revived a tiny school in Cite Soleil, a Port-au-Prince slum in the fall of 2009. It had closed due to lack of funds. Annette Scalzo, a middle school teacher, and Reverend Gary Guerrier, a Baptist minister, are the co-founders of the Children's Project for Haiti. They found the means to re-open the school serving the poorest of the poor in Haiti. While the school survived the earthquake, the children need help. To contribute, visit the web site www.childrensprojectforhaiti.org or send a check through the mail to: The Children's Project for Haiti, P.O. Box 810962, Boca Raton, Florida 33481-0962.

--Candice Russell

-the end-

Stories of Help and Survival in Haiti

Did you see the wonderful televised benefit last Friday night for the earthquake in Haiti? With singers like Rihanna, Jay-Z, Beyonce, and Haitian-born Emeline Michel, the event raised $58 million, a figure that will increase from sales of downloaded music and CDs. The world is finally paying attention to Haiti, which has suffered so much.

Yet there is still no word on so many people, including the artists who make Haitian paintings, Vodou flags, and metal crafts that are the visual ambassadors for this country. With this fact in mind, I am personally donating 10 per cent of all sales on my website www.Haitianna.com in 2010 to earthquake relief in Haiti.

For those interested in up-to-date news, CNN on TV is doing a better job than any other news organization. Christiane Amanpour devoted the full hour of her Sunday afternoon program to Haiti and reported from that country in a live transmission. She interviewed the president of the International Monetary Fund and the head of the United Nations Mission in Haiti about the country's eventual redevelopment, as well as Haitian-American writer Edwidge Danticat, who lives in Miami, Florida.

Here's an important tip, courtesy of CNN: if you want to check out streets and neighborhoods of Port-au-Prince, the TV network has a 360-degree camera (actually, eleven cameras shot the images) that can be adjusted up or down. Log on to a computer and type in "CNN.com/Haiti360" and look around.

A friend asked me if she could help someone directly. An art dealer who lives in Haiti named Bazil Justin did manage to survive. I received an email from him, describing a trip to the Dominican Republic for food. He is with sixty people, all of whom need help. To contact him directly, his cellphone number is 011-509-3-829-518-9291.

Amazing stories of survival continue to come out of Haiti, as they will for months and years ahead. National Public Radio aired an interview with Romel Joseph, a Juilliard Music School-trained violinist and head of a music school in Port-au-Prince with 238 students. Thankfully, all of the students were off the premises during the time of the earthquake on January 12th. But Joseph and five other people were on site. This almost totally musician lost his pregnant wife to the tragedy. Ironically, the earthquake occurred ten years to the day that the school had burned down in the year 2000.

Joseph, interviewed at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami where he is recovering from injuries to his hands, was trapped under the rubble for many hours. Prayer and meditation occupied some of his time, but the bulk of it was devoted to mentally playing different concertos. Music got him through. He is confident that he will paly violin again and be able to teach once more. "The school is a very important part of my life," says Joseph. "Haiti has very little art education and music. We're going to reconstruct the school as soon as possible. I need more than an earthquake to stop my work in Haiti."

-- Candice Russell

-the end-

Help for Haiti

Tuesday, January 12th will live in infamy as a date of great historical importance in Haiti. It has been almost a week since that afternoon when a devastating earthquake leveled much of Port-au-Prince and surrounding cities in Haiti, leaving millions of people homeless and injured, with countless others dead. The news reports from all television stations are heartbreaking and compelling in equal measure, with stories and pictures of human suffering on a scale so large it is hard to fathom.

With telephone lines down and computers unable to make contact with people in Haiti, waiting became the name of the game for relatives and loved ones of Haitians outside the country., myself included. The state of unknowingness is particularly painful when punctuated by yet another news story about a collapsing concrete building.

There is some good news to report about those who survived this catastrophe. My friend Lange Rosner, who lives with his wife and children in Croix-des-Bouquets near Port-au-Prince, made it, as did his family. The same is true for Axelle Liautaud, whose Gingerbread Gallery in Miami, Florida and Petionville, Haiti has a long and storied reputation for selling outstanding Haitian art in all media. She and I worked together co-curating “Allegories of Haitian Life from the Jonathan Demme Collection,” an exhibition of art from the personal collection of filmmaker Demme, who made the movies “Silence of the Lambs” and “Philadelphia,” among many others.

Since I live surrounded and nourished by Haitian art every day of my life, I cannot help but wonder and worry about the fate of so many artist including great Vodou flag makers Myrlande Constant, Georges Valris, Yves Telemaque, Lerisson Dubreus, and Mireille Delice. They all live in Port-au-Prince. I know that Maxon Jean Louis, a wonderful painter, is alive because his cousin, another terrific artist and Miami, Florida resident named Eric Jean Louis, told me so. But Eric’s brother Henri Jean Louis, who is also a fine painter, and their mother, haven’t been heard from as yet. What about so many others, including Gerard Fortune or La Fortune Felix who lives in St. Marc? Only time will tell.

Remarkable stories continue to make the rounds of media. Byron Pitts of CBS-TV was asked about moments of his experience in Haiti that he will never forget. He spoke this morning of people’s limbs being amputated by rusty hacksaws in the hospital, an idea so horrific as to defy comprehension. And then he mentioned a scene of transcendent union among the patients of that same hospital who began to sing in unison the Haitian national anthem. The Haitians are artists like no other in the world and people of remarkable strength. I hope that they finally begin to get the respect for these and other things that they so justly deserve.

In the weeks, months, and years ahead, one cannot help but hope and pray that the generosity of the world toward Haiti isn’t just a temporary gesture of goodwill in the face of disaster but a long-term commitment to getting the country back on its feet. Once that is accomplished, and people are decently housed, fed and employed to a degree that has never been seen before in Haiti, it will be time to address the question of cultural preservation.

Along that line, I am nervous to know what happened to the museums and galleries in Port-au--Prince, where the visual legacy of the nation is housed. Are they standing? Is any of the art able to be retrieved and saved? And what about the libraries and the colleges? The Saint Trinity Episcopal Church with the Biblical murals created by Wilson Bigaud, Gabriel Leveque, Castera Bazile, Rigaud Benoit, Toussaint Auguste and three other artists is a source of wonder, painted in the late 1940s under the direction of the late author Selden Rodman. Is this handsome edifice with its priceless treasures still standing?

To help the victims of the earthquake in Haiti, there are certain charities I recommend including the Children of Haiti Enhancement Foundation at
www.cohef.org, founded fifteen years ago by Elsie Craig, a Haitian-American in Miami, Florida. She emailed me today that the schools that her non-profit charity supports in Kenscoff, Haiti were destroyed by the earthquake, leaving the students and teachers homeless. Judy Hoffman, who owns a marketing firm in Lake Worth, Florida, runs a charity for children with art emphasis in Jacmel, Haiti. While this city twenty miles from Port-au-Prince has sustained extensive damage, the art school is intact, though students and staff are sleeping in the streets with nowhere else to call home. To donate to Judy’s charity, visit the website www.artforhaitichildren.org.

Other worthy organizations to receive donations are Doctors without Borders because their hospitals in the capital of Haiti were destroyed, Food for the Poor, Americares, and the new non-governmental foundation established by the coming together of two former U.S. Presidents -- Bill Clinton and George Bush. It is called
www.ClintonBushHaitiFund.org. Pray for Haiti.

--Candice Russell

-the end-

Shamanic Thoughts for the New Year

Sunday, January 3, 2010

A friend, Haitian art collector and customer visited my home today in order to purchase a superb Vodou flag by master artist Jean Baptiste Jean Joseph. She mentioned how she arranges her collection of small to medium size Vodou flags on a wall in her home and the power that emanates from them. This friend made the connection between the intense spirituality of the flags, which are used in Vodou ceremonies and thought to have considerable influence on the outcome, and shamanism.

When she left, I looked up the meaning of a shaman, a practitioner of shamanism. That person is a medium between the visible and the spirit world, which is the exact definition of a Vodou flag's function when in spiritual use. Vodou flags are held aloft on poles held by special celebrants and "danced" around the Vodou temple, in order to make contact with the unseen pantheon of the spirits. That is why flags are glittering and beautiful, to attract and honor the spirits. When not in use, flags are folded and carefully laid aside so as to renew their spiritual strength.

Spiritual people of all beliefs profess attraction to the innate qualities of Vodou flags. Erzulie, with her universal symbol of the heart, stands for love of every variety, which accounts for her popularity among collectors. But the masculine spirits, like Grand Bois, the spirit of the forest and a healer, is alluring for others. Explore the qualities of Haitian Vodou flags on my website www.Haitianna.com, where I have written about each one.

--Candice Russell

-the end-

Major Haitian Art Sale is Boon to Smart Collectors

November 28, 2009

My holiday in-home Haitian art sale happens only once each year. This time it's Sunday, December 13th and Sunday, December 20th, both days from 12 noon to 5 p.m. Many new arrivals from Haiti, including ten Vodou flags by the master Jean Baptiste Jean Joseph and spirited metal sculptures from several artists, are included in this year's eclectic mix of art. Smart collectors looking to find the rare and different will savor items from my personal art collection including works by master painters.

Going beyond Haiti, I will have masks from Africa and Mexico (as well as Haiti), folk art from American notables including Howard Finster, B.F. Perkins and Mose Tolliver, and unique hand-made ceramics, both decorative and functional, as well as Mexican folk art in a variety of forms. The idea is to sell precious items in search of caring owners who value indigenous cultures and the genius of the artists who create these wonderful works of art.

If you are interested in receiving an invitation, please email me at LuLuGatos@gmail.com. Come and join the fun.

--Candice Russell

-the end-

Haitian Art Bidders Succeed at Auction

Sunday, November 22, 2009


The final tally is in for the recent Slotin Folk Art Auction in Buford, Georgia, open to absentee bidders via telephone and the Internet, as well as in person. Though the focus of the auction was primarily on American folk art, a small, select sampling of art from Haiti was included. Religious Vodou bottles, three out of four of which were painted rather than sequined and beaded, went for a reasonable $200. Unpainted metal sculptures, including "Couple with Turtle" by Serge Jolimeau, sold for $600, well under the estimate of $1,000 to $2,000. A lovely female encased in a pink bubble painted by the late Louisiane Saint Fleurant sold for $375, while other Saint Soleil masters were also sold including Prospere Pierre-Louis, whose "Yellow Face with Snakes" went for $550 -- above the high estimate of $400. It is an outstanding painting, offset by yellow flowers in four corners. Levoy Exil's "Abstract Faces on Blue," measuring 28 inches square, sold for a mere $300, half of the low estimate for the work at $600.

It's rare to find a painting by Francoise Eliassaint ever at auction and perhaps collectors knew this. Her "Madonna with Angels," measuring 16 inches by 24 inches, went for $600. Gerard Paul, represented by two paintings, went for low prices including $250 for "Boat Concert," measuring nearly 31 inches by 23 inches. That seems to be a big bargain. I absolutely loved the painting "Two Pink Women with a Yellow Cross," measuring 12 inches by 16 inches by Makenol Profil. It went for a shocking $50, one-fourth the low estimate of $200.

Who knows what treasures will be offered in the next Slotin Folk Art Auction? The good news for Haitian artists is that attention is being paid, even if the prices that the works are worth aren't being realized. It's largely a buyer's market and savvy buyers know it while snapping up exceptional art at pauper's prices.

--Candice Russell

-the end

To Buy Haitian Art and Help Haiti

November 5, 2009

Once again, collectors, gallery owners and museum curators with money in their pockets and budgets have a fabulous opportunity to go bargain-hunting for Haitian art. The occasion: the fall two-day Slotin Folk Art Auction in Buford, Georgia. which takes place this weekend. It begins on Saturday, November 7th at 10 a.m., followed by a continuation on Sunday, November 8th at 12 noon. Photos of all items, mostly American folk art, can be found on the website www.slotinfolkart.com. There are no reserve prices, which means the estimates are just that -- if there are no bidders at the expected opening prices, buyers can bid lower and walk away with some real treasures.

Along with the great paintings by folk art masters like Bill Traylor, Howard Finster and Clementine Hunter, among many others, there is a choice sampling of art from Haiti. A Sully Obin painting "Soldier" is estimated at an impossibly low $200 to $300. Also under-estimated at $200 to $400 is "Yellow Face with Snakes," an outstanding framed painting by Prospere Pierre-Louis measuring 23.5 inches by 27.5 inches. A central sun with four balanced pale yellow flowers in the composition makes it especially serene and pleasing. There is even a rare painting called "Woman" by Louisianne Saint Fleurant, estimated at between $800 and $1,200. Complete charm is exuded by Gerard Paul's "Boat Concert," estimated at $200 to $400. A stellar Pierre Joseph Valcin "Dancing in the Garden" is estimated at between $300 and $400.

Vodou bottles with more painting and collage elements than beading, metal sculptures of powerful dimension by Murat Brierre, and an other-wroldly "Yellow Man" painting by Lony, a name unknown to me, round out this small, superb selection of art for auction. There is some great stuff here so good luck to all the bidders in securing these special pieces. To email the auction house, write to auction@slotinfolkart.com. To telephone, dial 1-770-532-1115.

Helping Haiti is the point of another event. "Rebuild Haiti: Mission Possible!" is the name of a fundraiser to be held Friday, November 13th at the Coral Gables Congregational Church, 3010 De Soto Boulevard in Coral Gables, Florida (across from the Biltmore Hotel) from 7 to 10 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to R.S.V.P. by November 10th. There will be a silent auction, wine reception, entertainment and display of Haitian crafts. The special guest is Edwidge Danticat, the famed Haitian-American author and 2009 recipient of the MacArthur Genius Award. All money generated will go to Haitian development programs that promote sustainability. For more information or to R.S.V.P., telephone 1-305/448-7421.

--Candice Russell

Silent Auction Fundraising Event

Another opportunity to buy great Haitian art exists for residents and visitors of Washington, D.C. From Octboer 23 to November 6, the Embassy of Haitia, in collaboration with Studio Exhibitions, is presenting "Back to Back/Face to Face: The Art of Haiti and the Dominican Republic." This silent auction fundraising event will benefit Art Creation Foundation for Children in Jacmel, Haiti. You don't have to be a bigwig or someone with connections to President Obama to attend. It is free and open to the public.

With an opening reception on October 23 from 6 to 9 p.m., artists participating in the show will attend. They include Turgo Bastien, Christinne Maryse Coliman, Blondel Joseph, Claes Gabriel, Nadine Lafond, Yvon Fleurival, Iliana Garon, and Scherezade Garcia. The embassy is located at 2311 Massachusetts Avenue Northwest in the nation's capital. We hope that a lot of money is raised for a very worthy cause and people leave the event with Haitian art in hand, becoming unintentional ambassadors for the largest outpouring of superior art in the world.

--Candice Russell

Major Benefit with Major Haitian Art

September 20, 2009


While the art market languishes along with the global economy, even the giants in the field are suffering. Recently the auction house Sotheby's reported a shocking drop in revenues internationally, from $50 billion to $25 billion -- a fifty per cent drop in one year. That includes everything from French Impressionist paintings to rock'n'roll memorabilia and Chinese jade.

In a creative way to get people's attention, Aderson Exume is selling off a portion of his private collection of Haitian art in order to benefit six Haitian non-profit organizations (unspecified in his email to me). The event takes place on Saturday, September 26th from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Washington, D.C. home of author Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, often seen as a political commentator on television, and his wife Marcia Dyson. The entrance fee for this afternoon of Haitian art, cuisine and music is a pricey $250 per person, so the casual or unmonied art lover can't even get in the door.

This is a high rollers' art sale. Included among the artists are such impeccable names as Hector Hyppolite and Philome Obin, reportedly represented by two masterpieces each, Rigaud Benoit, Castera Bazile, and Wilson Bigaurd. The list of names to make a true collector salivate continues with Gerard Valcin, Marcel Wah, Georges Liautaud, Gabriel Leveque, Louverture Poisson, Alexander Gregoire, Pierre-Joseph Valcin, Gerard Paul (rare to find), La Fortune Felix and Jacques Richard Chery. There is even one work by Jean-Claude Legagneur, whose enormous canvases and modernist style are popular with wealthy Haitian expatriates.

I wish everyone at the event all the best and sincerely hope that truckloads of money are raised because Haiti needs help. For more information about the art to be sold at the show, please email Mr. Exume at exumefineart@aol.com.

--Candice Russell

A Great Haitian Humanitarian Has Died

June 21, 2009

The Reverend Gerard Jean-Juste probably did more for Haitian refugees in South Florida and, by extension, all of the country in his lifetime, than anyone else. A Catholic priest and a humanitarian, he defended the rights of this beleaguered minority and lived to see the growth of Haitian political power in Miami as more and more Haitians won elective office. So with these facts in mind, it is no wonder that when he died on March 27th following complications from a stroke and respiratory problems, people came by the thousands to mourn his passing.

According to a timeline in the Miami Herald, Jean-Juste moved to Miami in 1978 and was hired as the director of the Haitian Refugee Center. Eventually he had his own grass roots political watchdog group called Veye Yo. He returned to Haiti in 1991 for the inauguration of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the first democratically elected president in Haiti's history. But arrests on the basis of weapons possession and murder and suspension from his parisih duties at St. Claire Catholic Church were signs that he could be a divisive figure at a time when taking a stand in Haiti can have dire consequences. Released from jail, he continued to officiate mass and feed neighborhood children. All the charges against him were eventually dropped.

Last year he received an honorary doctorate degree from the University of San Francisco in recognition of his advocacy work. It was the generous, caring Jean-Juste that drew 3,000 people inside Miami's Notre Dame d'Haiti Catholic Church in early June, while thousands more stood outside in the rain. The Haitian community has lost an important man, an eloquent spokesman for his people, and a purveyor of good in the world.

--Candice Russell

DEATH AND LIFE IN HAITI

May 17, 2009

Yesterday was the funeral in Haiti for the father of my good friend, Lange Rosner. The ceremonies attendant to all aspects of life, including death, are important to Haitians. They are closer to these rituals than many other cultures in the Western hemisphere and are stronger for them, in my opinion. The funeral procession, the burial, even the screaming and crying as the coffin is lowered into the ground are part of the plan, a recipe for grieving and what Americans speciously dub “closure.”

Last weekend was the ten-year anniversary of the death of my good friend, Dr. Carlos Jara. A psychiatrist and diplomat from Chile, he came to Haiti in the late 1980s and established a solid reputation as one of the island’s foremost art dealers. To his credit, he befriended many of the artists whose work he loved. Carlos accompanied renowned Saint Soleil painter Stivenson Magloire to a Port-au-Prince cemetery late one night and performed a ritual of his own making to relieve Magloire of what he thought was an evil spell put on him by his enemies. When Magloire’s mother, Saint Soleil painter Louisiane Saint Fleurant, lay sick and near death in a rural hospital, it was Carlos who brought her the medicine she needed to make a full recovery.

The loss of Carlos was not only a terrible blow to the art world but to his beloved wife, Emeraude Michel Jara, their sons Jorgen and Sergio and Yanne, with whom she was pregnant when Carlos suffered his fatal heart attack at age 54 on May 9, 1999. No one was better at finding and encouraging the great artists of Haiti. When we made a visit to Andre Pierre (also now deceased) in Croix-des-Missions, Carlos insisted we stop at a bakery in Petionville to get the artist a special cake, which was happily received. A wonderful host, a bon vivant and raconteur, Carlos was intelligent, funny and impeccable in the way he conducted business.

His own funeral involved three speakers besides the preacher at the church in Delmas -- his oldest son Carlitos, his pregnant wife Emeraude, and myself. A one-eyed cat walked in front of me as I took the stage, which other people mentioned to me at the graveside. There was a small orchestra of young people playing somber classical music and quiet sobbing. It was a beautiful ceremony, followed by a trek to the cemetery for the wealthy near Petionville. As the coffin was lowered into a deep hole and covered with wet cement, it was nearly silent but the air was electrically charged with grief. Carlos died way too soon and all too suddenly. No one was prepared for this tragedy.

In keeping with the Haitians’ reverence for passed-away ancestors and death rituals, death is part of the subject matter used by some of the country’s best artists. Look no further than Wilson Bigaud’s painting “Zombie Being Led from the Cemetery,” incorporating a widely-held myth that the dead can rise again. It was inspired by a similar painting originated by Hector Hyppolite, the grandfather of the current Haitian art renaissance launched in the 1940s. Just like the Mexicans, whose Day of the Dead corresponds with the Haitians’ Guede ceremonies around November 1, the Haitians understand that death is part of life, less to be feared than incorporated into existence.

--Candice Russell

Haitian Art Aficionados, Take Note

March 15, 2009 -- Haitian Art Aficionados, Take Note
Twice a year, Slotin Folk Art Auction in Buford, Georgia conducts major on-site auctions of wonderful folk art, primarily done by U.S. artists. Stalwarts like the late Howard Finster, known for his Christian iconography and spiritual writing on his paintings and plywood figures, are featured in the upcoming March 28th auction. But this time, there are also a number of choice Haitian artworks, including paintings and superb Vodou flags, those hand-sewn sequined and beaded wonder works that carry so much of Haitian ancestral tradition as well as contemporary ceremonial weight. There is even a superb metal sculpture made from a recycled oil drum.
What does this mean for the cognoscenti, those in-the-know folks with a few dollars to spend on expanding their collections? Bargains, for the most part, if past Slotin Folk Art Auctions with Haitian art, including one with the holdings of film director Jonathan Demme, are any indication. This auction firm is different than most, in that there are no reserves on pieces. The low estimate may be $500 on a painting, but if it doesn’t get that high on the opening bid, the work could sell for $400 or $300 or even less. Obviously, this isn’t the optimal condition for sellers of artwork at the auction. On the other hand, it’s great for buyers who may get lucky.
Prefete Duffaut followers should take special note of a painting by the master of the fantasy landscape genre. Titled “Haitian Village” and measuring 29 inches by 24 inches, it is dated 1954. The painting is from an aerial perspective of a bay with sailboats, the rooftops of large buildings and the white towers of a seaside church. In excellent condition, the painting is estimated between $1,000 to $2,000, which seems under-priced considering the earliness of the work.
Gerard, also known as Gerard Fortune (though he only signs his first name on paintings), is represented by “Rooster,” an undated paint on board work measuring 25” by 25”. This charming primitive work shows a gigantic rooster with a rope around his neck, pulling a small cart in which ride two people. Extolled by the late scholar-author Selden Rodman as being one of the best primitive artists of his generation, Gerard is a prolific artist who has yet to gain the prominence that Rodman and others like myself thought he should attain. This beautifully balanced painting shows Gerard’s control of the subject. He shades his figures by putting them in between two trees with pink trunks. Amazingly, the estimate on this painting is $200 to $400. If it went for less, the buyer would be paying a price equal to what Gerard works go for in Port-au-Prince.
Bourmond Byron, another under-valued yet famous artist, has “Homage La Sirene” in the auction. Measuring 34” by 23,” this oil on board has a scratch in the lower left corner that an art conservationist could probably restore without difficulty. Byron pictures the mermaid in control of people who have anything to do with the sea in a small lake, with people standing on shore around her. It’s a serene masterpiece with an estimate of between $500 and $800.
If you like the paintings of Jasmin Joseph, who anthropomorphizes animals in his paintings, you may be the candidate to bid on Pierre Augustin’s “Rabbits Reading Little Red Book.” Estimated to have been painted in the 1960s, this sweet painting in oil on masonite measures almost 24 inches by almost 26 inches. The rabbits are perched on a rock in the forest for their reading session.
My personal favorite is an untitled painting with religious and voodoo icons by Gerard Paul, the under-sung painter who left Haiti many years ago to work as a hospital orderly in New York. What became of him I don’t know, which is why it’s a treat to see his paintings pop up now and then at auction. Measuring 44 inches by 34 inches including the frame, this superior work pictures Ogou Feraille or Saint Jacques le Majeur also known as the conquering hero on his white horse, the Virgin Mary holding a cross, and other Erzulie Danthor, the dark-skinned Virgin Mary holding her baby. Strong primary colors distinguish this painting, estimated at between $1,000 and $1,500.
Other painters featured in this auction are Leonel, Fernand Pierre, Charles Obas, Edouard Jean, Thermofils, and Louverture Poisson. Even if you don’t bid, the catalog is a keeper.
In the field of metal sculpture, look for Brierre’s “Lady Swan,” measuring 36 inches by 70 inches and estimated between $500 and $800. The unusual subject matter and burnished copper metal material make “Hog and Snake” by Liphete Lajeunesse worthy of consideration. It measures 71 inches by 34 inches. The estimate is between $500 and $800. The sassy fat pig holds its own as the snake hisses at its face.
Vodou flags, five total, are also included in the auction. None are identified by artist, but collectors like myself can figure out who did at least two. “Erzulie Dantor -- Heart with Knife Through It,” measuring 30 inches by 30 inches, bears the intials S.J., which stands for Sylva Joseph. The estimate is between $200 and $400. “Small Dambala,” measuring 17 inches by 20,” features two green snakes of Dambala and his consort Ayida Wedo, against a pink background. The Estimate is between $100 and $300. “Man with Peace Doves and Large Knife,” measuring 35 inches by 30 inches, stylistically looks like the work of Georges Valris. The estimate is between $300 and $500.
Full-color, descriptive auction catalogs are free to anyone who calls 1-770-532-1115. Shipping costs are extra and spelled out exactly next to the artwork’s description. Absentee and telephone bids are accepted, which is how I became the winning bidder on an outstanding iron cross with heart designs by Georges Liautaud more than a year ago. I paid a little more than I wanted but I got an outstanding piece at a more than fair price.
--Candice Russell
-the end-

Art And A Contracting World Economy

February 28, 2009 - The State of Things

Every week I get requests from strangers to buy or evaluate their Haitian art. With a contraction of the world economy, people are eager to liquidate their assets, including paintings and other art objects from this wonderful island country. Since I am in a position of selling rather than buying right now, I am not in a position to purchase some pieces that would I might have snapped up immediately two years ago.

A Haitian man from Miami, Florida drove one county to the north to my home, without an appointment, to sell me six paintings in the back of his car. I was only interested in one, a typical landscape scene of a waterfall with white wading birds by J.R. Bresil. The painting looked authentic and the price was reasonable, but I had to pass.

Someone else found me through my website and approached me about some lovely sculptures by the famous Georges Laratte for ridiculously low prices. Again, I had to turn away.

What I do have in stock within my own personal collection is sufficient for my needs right now. As for the Haitian art I am trying to sell on my website, eighteen small paintings and twenty-eight ceramic tiles including some by renowned Haitian-born ceramic artist Klawdia Proia were added to www.haitianna.com since January 1st of this year. Within a few days, thirty-two new Vodou flags of all sizes and prices will also be available for sale at fair prices. They include a fabulous "Erzulie Danthor" by Wagler Vital priced at $700. The image is of a half-woman, half-symbol heart design wielding a sword. Done in his inimitable folky style, this flag has tremendous spirit and whimsy.

Also among the new Vodou flags is "Erzulie Freda with Double Blue Cloth Border" by the famous Clotaire Bazile, measuring forty inches by almost thirty-six inches. Decently priced at $800, though his works go for much more, this exceptionally beautiful flag portrays the loa of love in strong colors. A sampling of small treasures by Jean Baptiste Jean-Joseph, known for his use of luxurious materials, is also on the website very soon. "Mermaid in Yellow with Trumpet" by Maxon Scylla at $600 is reminiscent of the flags by the late Antoine Oleyant.
I hope you'll take a look and find an irresistibly desirable Haitian artwork to add to your home or office.

--Candice Russell

Andre Pierre Painting - At Auction

January 31, 2009

What if you had the opportunity to buy a painting by a renowned Haitian master at a bargain price? Would you forego a mortgage or rent payment and borrow funds from Aunt Sally just to get the work in your personal collection? I understand the collecting urge because I am prisoner to it on many occasions. But if the price is out of reach, it's out of reach and practicality overtakes whim in helping to decide what to do. I'll have to pass but maybe someone reading this blog will act on the information. The auction is Sunday, February 1st -- tomorrow.

These thoughts were in my head this week when an official at Thomaston Place Auction Galleries in Thomaston, Maine emailed me with nine images, including a close-up of the artist's signature, of a magnificent painting by Andre Pierre. The untitled work on canvas, measuring thirty inches by thirty-nine and three-quarter inches, portrays a group of people watching a Vodou priestess or mambo creating a veve or line drawing in the earth. This forest scene also shows a man leading a bull into a circle for sacrifice. A metal cross is in a bonfire while a sack is tied to a tree.

In strong primary colors and a style rare to find, this painting by the late Andre Pierre dates from 1967. The low estimate is $2,000 and the high estimate is $3,000. But it could go for a much higher price than $3,000. Or it could go unnoticed by Haitian art collectors because the work is the sole Haitian piece in a person's collection of more than 300 items, ranging from advertising items and Native American beadwork to bronze sculptures.

The only problem with the Pierre painting is a small puncture to the canvas, though a savvy art restorer could repair it undetectably. Ideally, either a collector or a museum will snap up this rare opportunity to own a masterpiece for very little money. To learn more, visit the web site www.thomastonauction.com or telephone 1-207-354-8141. If you access the web site, look for the February 1st part of the auction and click on 2-D art and scroll down until you find it. If you're the fortunate buyer, let me know and I'll tell your story to other readers.

-- Candice Russell

Jean Camille Nasson (1961 - 2008)

January 17, 2009

It is with regret and sadness that I report the death of the great Haitian sculptor Jean Camille Nasson (1961-2008), who died last month. In a country plagued by natural disasters like floods, rampant poverty and political uncertainty, lives are cut short by a multiplicity of factors. And collectors are left wounded by the loss.

One of my favorite Haitian art possessions is an angel-devil figure carved of dark wood by Nasson. Its wings are made of metal and its head is festooned with tiny nails around which are wound brassy-colored metal threads. The figure has horns. In front of him is a metal cross attached with nails. Instead of eyes, there are empty sockets. The work is gritty and raw, yet breathtakingly sophisticated. Nasson evoked the duality of good and bad within the same personage. An explanation about this intriguing work came from Haitian art dealer Reynald Lally, who was exhibiting the work of Nasson and other cutting-edge Haitian sculptors several years ago in Miami, Florida. He said that Nasson, as a child, had been molested by a Catholic priest. This sexual attack left him with conflicted feelings about the church, which obviously were manifest in my sculpture.

Lally, who lives in Haiti, was kind enough to write about Nasson in an email to me: "His work with sculpture began at the age of eight, when a Catholic priest showed him how to make religious sculptures. He became friends with Haitian contemporary artist Mario Benjamin who showed him art books.

"Nasson started doing figures carved out of wood. He added nails, metals and other found materials. He made devils and Virgins Marys with antennas. I asked him why he placed antennas on his figures and he answered, 'So they can send and receive messages.'

"His work can be found in museums around the world including Casas de Americas in Havana, Cuba, the Vatican collection in Italy and the Waterloo Center for the Arts in Waterloo, Iowa, among other places. The new stars of Haitian art from the Grand Rue -- Guyodo, Celeur and Eugene -- were highly influenced by Nasson. He always had a smile on his face. That is how I will remember him."

Nasson's remarkable sculptures were seen in the landmark Haitian sculpture exhibition "Lespri Endepandan: Exploring Haitian Sculpture" at Florida International University's main museum in Miami, Florida several years ago, Writing for City Link newspaper at the time, I called these mixed media figures fetishistic and born of influences from Christianity and Vodou. Nasson's sculptures held their own amidst works by Georges Liautaud, Lionel St. Eloi, Pierrot Barra and Edouard Duval-Carrie, among many others. Nasson was a titan and a true original in the ever-evolving Haitian art scene.

--Candice Russell

Annual Haitian Art Holiday Sale

December 18, 2008

My annual Haitian art holiday sale continues for its fourth and final weekend come Saturday and Sunday. For information and directions to my home, telephone 954/792-9887. Thank you to everyone who came, enjoyed the art work and sipped champagne. Among the avid buyers and collectors this year are Linda Stabile, Grace Barnes, and Marguerite and George Bolge, who is the executive director of the Boca Raton Museum of Art. George is contemplating the purchase of a black-and-white painting by Saint Soleil master Levoy Exil. This rare painting from my personal collection was purchase more than twenty years ago from the Port-au-Prince gallery of the late Issa el-Saieh. Gustavo Ponzoa, the noted pianist and fanatical collector, made an appearance last weekend with photos of the newest Prefete Duffaut painting he just purchased. A good time was had by all.

Despite the global economic woes, Haitian art remains a good investment. The aesthetics of these great paintings, Vodou flags, and metal sculptures are beyond the reach of any economic recession. Their value holds. Speaking of Vodou flags, I acquired some real beauties from friend and gallery dealer Axelle Liautaud, who came this month from Haiti for a short visit. Soon they will appear on my web site, so please look for them. The prices of Clotaire Bazile Vodou flags were recently lowered in time for holiday gift-giving. These wallet-friendly beauties are done by a true genius of the sacred textile medium.

Haitian art is the cover subject of the new January, 2009 issue of "Holistic Health Magazine," for which I serve as editor-in-chief and main writer. Featured on the cover is the exquisitely beautiful painting "Peace Dove" by Eric Jean-Louis, a Haitian artist who currently resides in Miami, Florida. His transcendent vision makes this painting very special. As he explains it to me, the inspiration for the work came from the late Haitian art dealer Dr. Carlos Jara, who visited Jean-Louis' studio in Haiti and suggested he create the image of a child's hands releasing a white dove in the forest. Jean-Louis complied with the suggestion and created this work, suitable for a UNICEF greeting card, posters, or Christmas cards.

Better things are coming for Haiti in the new year. More art will soon appear on my web site.
Thank you for reading this.

--Candice Russell

Changing Art Market Bodes Well for Haitian Art Buyers

April 8, 2008

A long article in the Miami Herald's business section on April 7th, 2008 is headlined "Art Enters Its Black Period." Writer Brett Sokol discusses the shifts in the market for high-end American art and cites the example of commercial mortgage broker Lang Baumgarten trying to cash in on the current boom preceding a predictable bust. This Miamian is putting a portrait of fashion designer Zac Posen by artist Alex Katz up for bid at Christie's auction house for between $200,000 and $300,000. He bought the painting for $90,000 four years ago and feels it is time to cash in before prices plunge as the U.S. copes with a period of unfortunate economic recession.

Art as investment is always a tricky business. As in any collectible field, it is wisest to buy what you love, thus shielding the monetary investment you have made by the adoration you have for the object, regardless of market conditions. Prices usually do come back and occasionally increase over time.

Nowhere is this truer than with Haitian art. Prices for old master painters continue to increase at a value higher than the average stock because once someone like Andre Pierre dies, there is a finite number of works available forever forward into time. It is absolutely essential that a collector deals with a reputable dealer capable of providing a provenace for a work of art. Speculators who buy what they think is an Andre Pierre painting, because the thrift store owner downtown told them so, are in for trouble as fakes of Pierre and other masters enter the market.

**********************

The recent death of artist Frantz Zephirin, Jr. is an example of a promising young light of the new generation not able to reach his full potential. He could have reached the heights of his well-known father Frantz Zephirin. The younger artist's fanciful imagery and respect for Haitian history could have carried him into museums, catalogs and books on Haitian art. But Zephirin, Jr., who made paintings of revolutionary heroes on horseback, swimming mermaids, and Vodou queens in mid-ceremony, succumbed to an unknown disease while either eighteen or nineteen years old. One person who believed in his talent was Haitian gallery dealer Axelle Liautaud, who oversaw and funded the thin and sickly artist's stay in a Port-au-Prince hospital. She championed his genius and sold the handfuls of paintings he produced in a few short years.

-- Candice Russell

-30-

Too Many People Are Selling Bad Haitian Art.

February 5, 2008

What the new year bodes for Haitian art is anyone's guess. But from the expert opinion of two people in Haiti, both of them in the art business, the outlook isn't good. To protect their identities, I won't reveal their names because their communication was personal.

Each person bemoaned to me the abundance of fakes in the marketplace. Even more sad is the knowing collaboration of U.S. dealers in this deception, which dilutes the value of the originals. Tiga, the renowned painter, died a little more than a year ago and is already being copied in Haiti and sold to unsuspecting buyers. Another problem is the absence of a strong tourist base going to Haiti with the purpose of buying art. A new generation of collectors needs to start travelling to the island to buoy up the market. But the persistence of political instability and kidnappings scare off even the most intrepid travellers, myself included.

Too many people are selling bad Haitian art, as seen commonly in neighboring Dominican Republic and as sold on Ebay, unfortunately. Haitians don't support their own artistic output is another complaint voiced by my insider. As a result of all these things, the prices for Haitian art has gone down. A Hector Hyppolite which used to sell for $40,000 now goes for $25,000. One respected dealer said he actually lost money for participating in the International Caribbean Art Fair held in New York City in November.

While painting is experiencing a low point in Haiti, sculptors and Vodou flag makers are on a wonderful high, creating works of surpassing creativity according to one Haitian art dealer. There are still buyers for Haitian art in Haiti, largely from the well-paid expatriate community looking for souvenirs to take back home after their service in Haiti.

Just as in the floundering real estate market in the U.S., there are bargains to be had in Haitian art. So in spite of all this negative reportage, the long-term outlook for Haitian art remains positive, if not radiant. Discoveries will be made of new and original artists doing things never seen before in Haitian art. Savvy collectors will start spending now in anticipation that their wise choices in art will increase in value eventually. The worth of the art is less monetary than intrinsic within its aesthetic parameters and the reputations of the artists. If an Andre Pierre painting is under-valued now, think what a work by the foremost artist painting the loa of the Vodou pantheon might be worth in 2018 or beyond?


The time to buy for sharp-eyed collectors on a budget is now. My advice is to buy in multiples and negotiate a lower price with a reputable dealer. Consider the source before making a purchase, so as to authenticate the originality of your artwork. Haitian art is indisputably the best art in the world and if the world's a little slow in recognizing this fact, you stand to be on the cutting edge of a future trend. Buy now and enjoy Haitian art.

--Candice Russell

Don't Miss Out on My Annual Haitian Art Sale!

December 16, 2007

Today begins the last weekend of the 2007 Holiday Haitian Art Sale at my home in Plantation, Florida. Those unable to attend can request a free photo packet of items customized to your taste. Those coming will enjoy seeing items not seen in previous weekends because Mr. Lange Rosner in Haiti, my friend and buyer, just sent me a shipment of terrific artwork -- small paintings perfect for gift-giving, whimsical painted metal sculptures spelling out the words "joy" and "Noel," wonderful unpainted metal sculptures including a small nine-inch circle of a tree with little birds in it by David Joseph, and exquisite Vodou flags, including a miniature treasure made exclusively from beads of a veve (design drawn on floor of Vodou temple prior to a ceremony) by Jean Baptiste Jean Joseph. There are other well-priced (low) Vodou flags including a cheerful "La Sirene," a "Carrefour" veve, and a fabulous head of a bull on green satin. The bull is a symbol of fortitude and determination, perfect for anyone trying to surmount obstacles in their life.

Speaking of Jean Baptiste Jean Joseph, I met a new friend this week when Dominique Carvonis of Haiti and Pembroke Pines, Florida visited my home this week. She owns a dental practice in Port-au-Prince and goes back and forth to Haiti all the time. Carvonis brought over a tempting selection of Joseph Vodou flags, each more lovely than the last. After purchasing two for my personal collection, I took two small ones on consignment including a "Bossou" or bull, a very masculine-looking strong flag.

Besides being newly stocked for the show, the Children of Haiti Enhancement Foundation will benefit from weekend sales. Certain items each day will be put up for a silent auction, which is exciting. Good food, champagne, friends and fellowship besides surpassingly wonderful art -- what could be better? I hope you can join us.

--Candice Russell