What happens when first world art rubs up against third world art?

I had a friend send me a link to this event (and since I am a total nerd when it comes to art shows especially multi-media), I can’t help but “nerd” out (by that I mean blog about it)…

Ghetto Biennale: The Grand Rue Sculptors are a community of artists living in a downtown slum neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. This is the newest art community to have emerged in the last ten years. They have produced art that reflects a heightened, Gibsonesque, Lo-Sci-Fi, dystopian view of their society, culture and religion, and have dragged Haitian art into the 21st century. Jean Herard Celeur, Andre Eugene and Guyodo are at the core of the movement, which contains seven or eight other younger artists, all producing powerful sculptural works.  Their work has opened entirely new vistas into the creative possibilities of the Vodou-inspired arts of Haiti. Their muscular sculptural collages of engine manifolds, computer entrails, TV sets, medical debris, skulls and discarded lumber transforms the detritus of a failing economy into deranged, post-apocalyptic totems.

I feel like I spend a lot of time talking about Haiti’s woes (usually, I am not such a downer I swear). You just don’t read or see enough about the beauty and talent in Haiti or how magical it is and how special the people are there.

I hope that you will take a few minutes and check out the links I provided and that you will open yourself up to Haiti’s magic.

-April

P.S. Two artists from New York are making the trek to Haiti this December to participate in the Ghetto Biennale event. Check out their page, pretty cool stuff.

P.P.S. Check out this video showcased at the event. Gives you a glimpse into Haiti and the needs they face. “Pepe” means secondhand clothing in Creole.