Art Exhibition Details Haitian Culture
BOBBY ARDOIN
Editor/Consulting Author
Part of the world’s largest collection of Haitian paintings went on public display Saturday, while their cultural connection to southwest Louisiana was detailed during a reception at the St. Landry Parish Tourist Center.
Glenn Stokes, who owns over 3,000 pieces of Haitian art, explained at a reception for the exhibition that the history of the Caribbean island is more often told on canvas than in written documents.
Stokes developed his appreciation for Haitian art nearly 50 years ago, having visited Haiti frequently for business since then. He said artists depicting island life have developed a unique style that relies heavily on the brilliance of the primary colors of red, blue, green and yellow.
Stokes noted that a percentage of the Haitian artwork he sold was transferred to the island to help fund educational and medical expenses.
Stokes said Haitian art continues to enjoy worldwide recognition and popularity among collectors and the art community.
Stokes stated that recent covers of Smithsonian and New Yorker magazines were by Haitian artists.
“There is no other country with similar art. It’s immediately apparent. Art from Haiti has its own style that is distinctive and easily recognizable,” Stokes said.
The exhibition paintings for sale have dominated an area of the tourist center for almost two months.
Most of the paintings depict familiar aspects of Haitian life over the past four centuries.
Stokes said the exhibit, which was recently shown in several major American cities, will continue to be on display for the next two weeks.
Stokes said it is hoped that St. Landry’s school children will be able to view the exhibit before it is removed from the tourist center.
Many of the paintings on display at the tourist center depict scenes typical of Haitian agriculture, such as workers growing and harvesting the island’s most productive crops, such as cotton, sugar cane and indigo, which became valued trade commodities in the New World, Stokes said.
The Voodoo religious cult, which was widespread in Haiti throughout its history, can be seen in many of the paintings in the collection.
Attendees at the event smiled as Stokes pointed to a screen showing gamblers placing bets and shouting for their favorite birds at a celebratory cockfight.
Stokes also explained the connection that St. Landry and several neighboring communities have to Haiti.
The island, originally known as Saint Domingue, experienced a major fire and a prolonged slave revolt in the 1790s that forced several thousand Haitians to leave the island and eventually settle in New Orleans and the parishes of St. Martin, Iberia, Avoyelles and St. Landry, Stokes said.
“Many of the family names we know, such as Chenier Martel, Vital, Segur, Pecot, Journee and Jardoin, have their roots in Haiti,” Stokes added.
Stokes said that during his many visits, he and his wife Yvonne have developed a special love for the Haitian people, who, he acknowledged, have remained their strength despite a series of political unrest and natural disasters such as earthquakes and severe tropical storms.
Stokes stressed that it was painful to see Haiti embroiled in recent unrest, which has been marked by riots and disruptions to education, left many incarcerated and compromised basic health services.
“It was an unfortunate place. The recent disasters there made me cry,” Stokes added.
