a1895: Albert Mangones;Honor, Respect

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

from LeGrace Benson/Arts of Haiti Research Project
29 April 2002   legrace@twcny.rr.com

One of the artist-intellectuals significantly involved in what could be
called
the "pre-history" of the justly famous Centre d'Art in Port-au-Prince
has just passed away at the age of 85.  Albert Mangones, then a young man
recently returned from his studies in Europe and the United States, was a
quiet
and unwavering voice urgently proposing a center where painters and
sculptors
would have a gathering place and studio space.  The diligent collaboration
of
the small group of Haitians, of which he was an active member, finally was
able
to attract funding from outside the country and subsequently from the
government
of Haiti.  Mangones appears in many of the photographs of the founding
era; from
others present we know that his ideas were thoughtful and influential.
When the
fascinating works from what Jean Price-Mars and Jacques Roumaine had
called
"Aiti Toma" appeared, Mangones was an enthusiastic supporter.  He
remained so throughout all the contentions over the valuations of these
artists
and their works. He remained also a friend and supporter of the Centre
d'Art to
the end of his life. Researchers studying that institution found him to be
knowledgeable in every detail, fair-minded, generous with his information
and
helpful in assisting with arrangements to confer with others associated
with the
visual arts in Haiti.

He is probably best known for the statue of Neg Mawon, a work that is
iconic for
Haiti and has in recent years become a symbol for freedom and independence
across the Caribbean.  As an architect, he brought advanced ideas learned
at
Cornell University to Haitian building.  In the 1980's he would be honored
by
the American Institute of Architecture for his works.  His considerable
engineering expertise would be notably put into service for the
preservation of
historic sites, especially the Citadel and Palais Sans Souci in Milot,
Province
du Nord.  As director of ISPAN (the Institute for the Safeguarding of the
National Patrimony) he restored other monuments as well, the last of these
being
the Old Cathedral in Port-au-Prince.  He brought more to these tasks than
technical expertise.  Steeped in Haitian history and culture, including
some of
the least-known, arcane aspects at all levels of rural and urban life, his
approach to the monuments was to be the technician of the nation's soul.

As a youth he had thought to become an agronomist. He became instead an
architect and sculptor, but his ideas about the importance of the land,
its
flora and fauna, continued to shape his life.  He turned the grounds
around his
own home in Martissant into a botanical preservation site like some Eden.
When
one thinks of the innumerable paintings of a lush, tropical paradise that
is a
major theme in Haitian painting, one should know that at least one artist
tried
to make that Eden happen again.  He saw the preservation of Citadel and
Sans
Souci in that light: "It should be a national park...," he said.
"It is very important to try to preserve and conserve that whole area
surrounding the historic sites.  It is endangered. It must be preserved."
ISPAN and the indefatigable biologist, Dr. Florence Sergile, made common
cause
and the Citadel Historic Site is indeed now a National Park.

When a UNESCO team came to account for the support they had provided for
the
Citadel project, I observed that they were highly pleased to see the jewel
in
its biological setting. When they went over the paper reports they were
impressed with precise accounts that showed a productive frugality.
Moreover,
there were additional gains in Milot and vicinity.  People had learned
new,
transferable skills. The roads were improved, and there were now channels
to
accommodate the devastating waters of tropical rains.  The village as a
whole
showed signs of modest prosperity.

This remembrance of Albert Mangones comes from someone who went to Haiti
just to
write one article for Art International many years ago. I thought I would
just
run down there and do that and come back to my central academic enterprise
of
studying how art means something. Within twenty-four hours of arrival, my
notions of what constitutes art and what constitutes meaning were called
into
question. A salutary earthquake. The art simply could not be approached
over the
same routes I'd used to understand everything from Giotto to Picasso.  It
was
going to be a long term study.  I was grateful to be able to have the
overview
of someone who already had all that information in his bones and blood.  I
was
grateful to receive my initiating instructions from an artist, engineer,
patriot
and careful, de-mythicizing poet-historian.  I will try to preserve his
instruction; try to make sure it continues to generate a properly
ecological and
social study of the arts of Haiti.

Hone', respe', Albert.