Katia Cadet : With You

Props to this woman! Fabulous song and awesome video to complement it. Kudos to her and we await more great music and opportunities in her future.

Michel J Martelly talks to the Miami Herald

Though recognizing the formidable (and highly tech-savvy) campaigning of Martelly, I remain somewhat neutral on my position just after the results of the presidency. As much as I would like to savor this moment of hope, full of potential for change, I know this feeling usually sets up for great disappointment all too well. My guarded optimism forces me to remember just what President-Elect Martelly is up against; such colossal obstacles their remedies seem to require divine powers. Between the tent cities, cholera, brain drain, unemployment (and the list goes on) Martelly will have to represent the emergence of a new era as well.
Take it from someone who cried watching Barack Obama win the presidential election in 2008, even the most qualified and eloquent symbol of change is still a man and no messiah. It will take the collective efforts of Haitians, both in and out of the country, to contribute to the reversal of the direction of the country. We cannot be blind fanatics but vigilant constituents ready to hold Martelly accountable to his words.

Jean-Michel Basquiat & ARt in the Jaspora

During its stint at the Sunshine Theater, I went to see "The Radiant Child", a doc style film on the life of deceased artist, Jean Michel Basquiat. Quite the personality, Basquiat was born to a stern Haitian father and Puerto Rican mother in 1960. In the film he came off as a shy and deeply pensive young man with a profound desire to express himself through several art mediums (street graffiti, clarinet, painting). The many excerpts of his interviews compounded his shyness with mystery and complexity and gave him such an endearing appeal, making his even untimely death harder to accept.

Another theme that stood out from Basquiat's young life was the desire for his father to accept his artistry and deem his artwork/talent legitimate. As a "first generation kid" I knew all too well why Basquiat would have a hard time gaining his father's blessing to be a professional artist, or an artist period. There are many layers involving masculinity and gender/occupation roles that often surround an artists' identity in any milieu and is further complicated by immigrant parents who have likely emigrated here for educational and/or career opportunities. Though I have met many Haitian artists that defy the "lawyer/doctor (engineer/nurse)" stereotype, I don't feel as if there has been a bridge built between artists and non-artists, in thinking or actual collaboration. Why the division? 

Having to be one or the other seems like a narrow perception to viewing art. Were not many inventors also artists, and artists also mathematicians, engineers and anything else? As vibrant as Haitian art is across the board, whether the music, sculptures or paintings, it's hard to understand why artists are not embraced or as celebrated as our MANY professionals (JD, MD etc)-Or is that a jaspora thing?

I think of Michel "Mickey" Martelly and how his career as a musician may have cost him serious consideration from many Haitians both in Haiti and abroad. Running against an intellectual, Sorbonne-taught law professor Manigat, amplifies this division many folds.

It could also be a projection on my part. Perhaps Basquiat's father was not distant with his son because he was an artist specifically, but because Jean Michel deviated from his expectations; perhaps he had wanted Jean Michel to follow in his footsteps and become an accountant for example, and anything outside of that would have resulted in the same tension.

I believe being Haitian living in the United States influenced Basquiat's father's views, thus Basquiat was facing typical first generation strife (his gigantic talent, though, not so typical).

I remember a painter, Edouard Duval Carrie, visited my college one year and discussed his journey as an artist living both in Haiti and abroad. He shared how his family was less than pleased with his choice of livelihood.

We explored as a group that day class, religion and masculinity and their involvement in the views Haitians everywhere develop about artists, their purpose and their importance. We came to no consensus yet agreed as young Haitian-American college students, it would do little good for our health (and financial backing) to announce plans for artistic careers to our parents. 

I can't help but remember the point in the film when the story unravels of Jean Michel running into his father, who is among colleagues at a restaurant. The ecstatic Jean Michel was snubbed by his father, pre-occupied with his meeting. Later, the film's narrator shares that before most gallery openings once Jean Michel's work was gaining more attention, he would request that his father view his work ahead of time. At times, his father would oblige.

We will never know what specifically created the friction between Basquiat and his father. Yet, I walked out of the theater intrigued to explore how this Haitian half of his DNA was either a great source of inspiration in his work or of frustration and sadness, likely both. 

Whichever way, I believe that Haitian people harbor a great deal of artistic ability whether we exercise it or not. I think back to my African art classes where we learned about the perception many West African societies held towards art which was that art was apart of life with function as well as beauty, not something to hang in museums and admire. (I did see my share of Dogon and Chi Wara masks at the Brooklyn Museum this weekend however, but I digress).

The painter, Hector Hyppolite, led a project (Saint Soliel) which involved providing everyday payisans with paints and paintbrushes because he felt that Haitians were natural born painters.

I'd like to agree with him and extend it to natural-born artists. That is only because my definition of art extends wide enough to consider lifestyle as much an art as music or cuisine. What is it that needs changing then? Our views on artists or on art in general? 

Music: Mamina

Mamina playing some classics on the alto sax.

The Agronomist: Jean Dominique

If you have yet to see this film, please make it your business to.

A superb doc about the Haitian journalist, activist, radio station owner and gigantic personality that was Jean Dominique. His approach to journalism resembled more of relentless detective work while his uncompromising attitude in the pursuit of truth and justice led Haitians to recognize him as a national hero. Alongside his wife Michele Montas, the film allows us to see Dominique at his essence, the agronomist who believed in the power of his people. This film helped me have a better understanding of the meaning of journalism in Haiti as opposed to elsewhere. Some noteworthy collaborators include Edwidge Danticat as a producer and score by Wyclef Jean.

Boukman Eksperyans: Ke'm Pa Sote

Classic!!

Political Opinions from A Few Artists I Respect

Edwidge Danticat and Raoul Peck weigh in on the current political atmosphere in Haiti and speculate about what comes next. Of course I STAN for Edwidge, her books alone made me reeeeally consider getting an MFA in writing. Beyond her gifts of imagery and transporting you to her settings and among her characters, her genuine love and respect for her people is always apparent. (More on her here). Raoul Peck is a filmmaker who I also admire. He grew up in the Democratic Republic of Congo as a result of the end of the Belgian colonialism and the need of French-speaking black professionals, like Peck's parents. Of his work, I have recently seen Lumumba, about the Congolese nationalist and activist Patrice Lumumba. (Peck's IMDB page).