25937: Frisken (reply) RE: 25936: Corbett (announce and ask) New intriguing library (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Jim Frisken <jfrisken@hotmail.com>

Because I've had a long-time interest in Vodou-related art and imagery, the 
Philippe Sterlin book sounds like a good find.  The three books that I have 
that deal primarily with veve, are Milo Rigaud's VE-VE: Diagrammes Rituels Du 
Voudou, a trilingual, French - English - Spanish, book published by French and 
European Publications, which has about 600 pages of black and white 
illustrations of veves, and a couple of photos.  About 100 pages are primarily 
text.  The second book is Karen McCarthy Brown's 1976 dissertation The 'veve' 
of Haitian Vodou: A Structural Analysis of Visual Imagery (427 pages, but 
primarily text).  The third book is new, and one that I'd recommend to those 
who enjoy Haitian art.  The author is artist Nancy Turnier Ferere  and the 
title is Veve: Ritual Art Of Haitian Vodou.  Her husband, Dr. Gerard A. Ferere, 
is very knowledgeable on the subject of Vodou, and contributed much to the 
text.  The 102 page, 8.5" x 11", book is in French, English and Spanish, and 
contains 36 beautiful color art prints of veves.   The book is available from 
the author ($35)  gernancy2@hotmail.com   .

I did an internet search (using dogpile,a search engine that combines several 
search engines) for the author Philippe Sterlin, and it appears that Geo 
Remponeau may actually be the illustrator of the Sterlin book.  The web site 
http://www.georemponeau.com/life.html   lists amongst Remponeau's works 
"1950's; another memorable book was a page-by-page display of colorful Voodoo 
Veves in a book written by Philippe Sterlin" .  It also lists the 102 Rue Des 
Miracles address as that of Geo Remponeau's studio and gallery.  The web site 
has examples of his art, including one veve.  Also says that he was associated 
with the well known Centre d' Art in P-au-P in the 1940's, and later director 
of the Musee D' Art, and that he designed postage stamps.  He was the first to 
introduce veve designs in wrought iron used in architecture.  I believe that 
the Ife Hotel/Guest House in Petionville has veve designs in the wrought iron 
of the 2nd floor balcony (as well as a nice historical, life-size portrait in 
the dining room).   Geo Remponeau was at least still living in 2003.  He was 
born in 1916.


Another entry for 1/27/2003 states that the Haitian Embassy in Berlin was 
having an exhibit "Veve-Zeichen Des Vaudou Zeichnungen Des Haitianischen 
Kunstlers Philippe Sterlin".

Jim