20692: Esser: Fowler's vodou artifacts at risk in Haiti

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: D. Esser torx@joimail.com

The Daily Bruin
http://www.dailybruin.ucla.edu

March 22, 2004

Fowler’s vodou artifacts at risk in Haiti
By Tami Vuong
DAILY BRUIN CONTRIBUTOR
tvuong@media.ucla.edu

The recent crisis in Haiti has caused concern among curators at the
Fowler Museum of Cultural History over the safety of important
artifacts residing in the beleaguered country.

With two Haitian artifact exhibits scheduled to be on display at the
Fowler Museum, which holds one of the most extensive permanent
collections of vodou artifacts in the world, there is worry for the
survival of important Haitian vodou artifacts, said Donald Cosentino,
a guest curator and world arts and cultures professor.

Haiti has been plagued with political and social unrest. An
insurrection there has resulted in U.S. military intervention and the
abdication of President Jean Bertrand Aristide from office.

Currently, an interim government has taken control of the country
while U.S. Marines and a multinational peacekeeping force maintain
order.

Several works of Haitian American artist Edouard Duval-Carrie, whose
artwork makes up the second Haitian exhibit at the Fowler Museum,
have already been burned when rioters attacked museums in Haiti.

The upcoming exhibits of Haitian artwork at the Fowler Museum seek to
reveal the spiritual power of art that is deeply intertwined in
Haitian life.

Stacy Abarbanel, a spokeswoman for the Fowler Museum, said the first
exhibit will be unveiled in the galleria of the museum this August.

Titled "Saluting Vodou Spirits," the exhibition will feature 40
sequined Haitian flags from the Fowler Museum's larger repository of
vodou sacred artifacts that are used in sacred vodou ritual. Made of
material such as velvet and rayon, and ornamented with sequins and
applique, these flags are used to salute the spirits at the beginning
of vodou ceremonies.

In October, the museum will feature Duval-Carrie's work, called
"Divine Revolution." The artwork comes in various mediums, from newly
sequined renditions of Duval-Carrie's paintings depicting the Haitian
revolution to an intricate altar for vodou spirits.

Both exhibits, which had been planned in anticipation of the
bicentennial anniversary of Haitian independence, make reference to
the country's independence from France, achieved in 1804. Many
Haitians believe vodou spirits facilitated their independence.

Representations of the vodou religion are often targeted in times of
political upheaval because of the enormous power they signify,
Cosentino said.

Cosentino said the celebratory nature of the exhibits will not be
undermined by the recent crisis. Rather, he said it "makes the
exhibition more relevant because it highlights the fact that Haiti
was born out of inequality."

He added that the people of Haiti have struggled for equality
throughout their history, and these works of art will further portray
that struggle.

Six newly commissioned sequined portraits based upon Duval-Carrie's
paintings for the follow-up exhibit were being sequined by artists in
Haiti when the crisis occurred. Yet the artists remained undeterred
by the unsteady social atmosphere.

"These artists insisted on continuing work, demonstrating that they
weren't going to be prevented from completing their art. I think it
demonstrates a resilience of the arts," said Polly Roberts, deputy
director and chief curator at the Fowler Museum.

She added that the two exhibits work together to "overall portray the
uplifting and positive sides of Haitian life that continues in the
face of the turbulence. The combination of exhibitions will be
striking for people visually and culturally."

Roberts said the pieces of art shown at the Fowler Museum will
demonstrate that the Haitian artists strive to show that the vodou
spirits are still involved in their country's political landscape.

"The way that these Haitian artists interpret the power of cultural
tradition gives them hope amidst political turmoil. It is an
opportunity that we should seize to see the extraordinary artistic
vitality that continues nonetheless," she said.
.