Art And Voodoo In Haiti

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This new Voodoo exhibition at the Museum Of Man in San Diego's Balboa Park consists of more than one hundred objects by 50 artists dating from 1945 through 2001—paintings, beaded flags (drapo), Voodoo paraphernalia, and sculptures fashioned from steel oil drums or wood. Jacmel artist Prefete Duffaut introduces his "Island of Haiti-2001" in a new work that incorporates twelve lwa (spirits) dispersed like "apostles'' as guardians across the terrain. All the works are from the private collection of La Jolla resident Dr. Robert Brictson who also lives in Jacmel, Haiti, a 17th century coffee port where he has owned a gingerbread gallery-home since 1973. The show also includes a 13-minute film by Oscar winner Jonathan Demme that celebrates the talent and perspectives of Edger Jean Baptiste who recalls his career before his blindness in 1985. He is renowned for his vivid crepuscular sunsets, narrative art and Voodoo spirits. Later, during Fall 2001, the internationally renowned Danish filmmaker Jorgen Leth, who also is a collector, has agreed to premier a new film, "The Dreamers," which will include rare footage of master artists over the last 20 years. Interviews in the film will reveal "...another Haiti, where creativity and optimism seem inexhaustible...a strong sense of historical destiny..."with inspiration from the Voodoo universe and the dream of paradise. Voodoo evolved as the predominant religion of the Haitian people by merging many traditions imported by enslaved Africans to the New World. Black and Carib peoples endured dehumanizing, tyrannical conditions for five centuries. The diaspora and their exposure to European traditions, including Roman Catholic practices, defined and differentiated Voodoo beliefs and rituals. Art inspired by Voodoo provides new insights on the beauty and mystery of Afro-Caribbean religion and culture. The show celebrates
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