Haitian Art

HAITIAN ART

Paintings Made in Haiti

Title: “Coffee Plantation”Author: Wilbert Laurent

2013

Did You Know? In 1788, Haiti supplied half the world’s

coffee and in 1949, Haiti was the third largest coffee exporter in the world.

Nowadays, in spite of political instability and near collapse,

coffee continues as a backbone of Haiti’s economy.

Title: “Market Ponies”Author: “Aland Estime”

Did You Know? Rural Haitians are not subsistence farmers. Peasant women typically sell much of the family harvest in regional open-air

market places and use the money to buy household foods.

Title: “Something to talk about”

Author: Wilbert Laurent2013

Did You Know? In Haitian Etiquette, visitors to a household never leave empty-handed or without drinking coffee, or at least not without an

apology. Failure to announce a departure is considered rude.

Title: UnknownAuthor: Wilbert Laurent

2013

Did You Know? The Haitian economy has become

primarily domestic, and production is almost entirely for domestic consumption. A vigorous internal marketing

system dominates the economy and includes trade

not only in agricultural produce and livestock but also in homemade crafts.

Title: “The Harvest”Author: Wilbert Laurent

2010

Did You Know? Although only 30 percent of the land in Haiti is

considered suitable for agriculture, more than 40

percent is worked.

Title: “School days”Author: Gerard LaFontant

Did You Know? Tremendous importance and prestige are

attached to education in Haiti. Most rural parents try to send

their children at least to primary school, and a child who excels and whose parents can afford the costs is quickly exempted from the work demands levied

on other children.

Title: “Market at Dusk”Author: Gregory Senechal

Did You Know? There is a thriving internal market that is characterized at most levels by itinerant female traders who specialize in domestic items such as produce, tobacco, dried

fish, used clothing, and livestock.

Title: Unknown Author: Jimmy Hani

Did You Know? In the dry, treeless areas, houses are constructed of rock or wattle and daub with mud or lime exteriors. When the owner can afford it, the outside of a house is painted in an array of pastel

colors, mystic symbols are often painted on the walls, and the awnings are fringed with colorful hand-carved trimming.

Title: UnknownAuthor: Josue Joseph

Did You Know? Per capita, there are more foreign nongovernmental organizations and

religious missions (predominantly U.S.-based) in Haiti than in any other country in the world.

Title: UnknownAuthor: Roslmor

Did You Know? In both rural and urban areas, men monopolize the job market. However, there are a few wage-earning opportunities open to women in

health care, in which nursing is exclusively a female occupation, and, to a far lesser extent, teaching.

Title: Unknown Author: Janet Sanon

Did You Know? Less than forty percent of the non-elite population marries. When marriage does occur, it is usually later in a couple's relationship, long after a household has been established and the

children have begun to reach adulthood.

Title: “The Sugar Cane Harvest” Author: Louis Tales

Did You Know? A working man’s

profession can be easily told by the tool he carries as

each man has only one tool. If a man is carrying a Machete, he is most likely to harvest sugarcanes or chop firewood for

a living.

Title: UnknownAuthor: Ysmay

Did You Know? Despite Haitians being really hard workers, real income for the average family has not increased in over twenty years and has declined precipitously in rural areas. In most rural areas, the

average family of six earns less than $500 per year.

Title: UnknownAuthor: Jn-Claud Paul

Title: UnknownAuthor: Gilbert Tataille

Title: Unknown Author: R Francillon

Did You Know? Over one million native-born Haitians live overseas; an additional fifty thousand leave the country every year,

predominantly for the United States but also to Canada and France. Very large numbers of lower-class Haitians temporarily migrate to the Dominican Republic and Nassau Bahamas to work at low-income jobs

in the informal economy.

Title: “Rice for Life” Author: Charly Pierre

Did You Know? Rice and beans are considered the national dish

and are the most commonly eaten meal in urban areas of

Haiti. Traditional rural staples are sweet potatoes, manioc, yams,

corn, rice, pigeon peas, cowpeas, bread, and coffee.

Title: UnknownAuthor: Alexander

Did You Know? In most areas, men plant gardens, but women are thought of as the owners of harvests and, because they are marketers,

typically control the husband's earnings.

Title: Unknown Author: Gerard LaFontant

Did You Know? Major industries in Haiti include small gold and copper reserves, one cement

factory – most of cement in the country is imported – and a

single flour mill.

Title: UnknownAuthor: Aland Estime

Did You Know? Haitians generally eat two meals a day: a

small breakfast of coffee and bread, juice, or an egg and a

large afternoon meal dominated by a carbohydrate source such as manioc, sweet potatoes, or

rice. Fruits are prized as between-meal snacks. A snack customarily is eaten at night

before one goes to sleep.

Title: “Market Joy”Author: Maccene Laurent

2011

Did You Know? Haiti is a nation of small farmers, commonly referred to as peasants, who

work small private landholdings and depend primarily on their own labor and that of family

members.

Title: “Island Life” Author: John Loris

Did You Know? Three-quarters of the Haitian terrain is

mountainous. The mountains are calcareous rather than volcanic and give way to widely varying

microclimatic and soil conditions. Tectonic fault line runs through the country, causing occasional

and sometimes devastating earthquakes. The island is also located within the Caribbean

hurricane belt.

Title: Unknown Author: Julio

Did You Know? There is a private university and a small state university in Port-au-Prince, including a medical school. Both have enrollments of only a few thousand

students. Unfortunately, both have been severely damaged in the last earthquake that hit Haiti.

Title: Unknown Author: Elie Nelson

Did You Know? Haiti is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. Until the 1970s, over 80 percent of the population resided in

rural areas, and today, over 60 percent continue to live in provincial villages, hamlets, and homesteads scattered across the rural landscape.

Title: Unknown Author: Elie Nelson

Did You Know? For most of Haiti’s history the official language has been French. However, the language spoken

by the vast majority of the people is kreyol, whose pronunciation and vocabulary are derived largely from

French but whose syntax is similar to that of other creoles.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Wilbert LaurentBorn in 1974, he debuted in painting in

1981, under close watch of his older brother Maccene, who is also a painter that is represented in this album. His

works are well known in Europe, especially France. His paintings evoke

memories of a fertile rural life, with green mountain fields and plantations.

Maccene LaurentBorn in January, 1943 in Jacmel, he is the leading figure in the community of artists from Marbial Valley. He started painting in 1972 under the direction of his cousin Hugh Domond. His paintings focus on vision of fertile rural Haiti and

his works are well known in North America and Europe, particularly

France.

Gregory SenecalAn artist since the age of 17, Gregory has been fortunate enough to support

two children as a single father. Inspired by God and nature, his favorite style is abstract, but he

doesn’t limit himself when it comes to his own work.

Gregory is also a participant of TOMS’ “Haiti Artist Collective” where

popular shoe brand TOMS works with Haitian artists to help them

economically by putting Haitian paintings on the shoes.

Janet SanonBorn in February, 1962 in Haiti, she came from an art family. She completed her first canvas at the age of 11, which was in 1973. Her first painting was bought by the Gallery Monnin. In 1975 she

went to “Centre d’Art” but still considered school as her main priority and art as a pastime. It wasn’t until in the early 80’s that

Janet started to take painting seriously. From 1980 she exhibited in France, Italy and US. In 1983, She won second place in a poster contest sponsored by Air France. From 1983 she became one of

Haiti’s most sophisticated painters.

Aland Estime Aland has been working with gallery in Port-au-Prince for over 30 years. His paintings often depict flowers and birds and are

constantly on display at the gallery. He has participated in exhibitions around the U.S including in Washington D.C and

Dallas, Texas.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The material for “Did You Know?” facts was taken from an online article on “Countries and Their

Cultures” Website at the following linkwww.everyculture.com/Ge-It/Haiti.html