Haiti's Flag Artists
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| Haiti Vodou Flag Artists 2009 Photo copyright by Michelle Karshan (taken in Haiti) For info or to purchase, contact: Michelle.Karshan@gmail.com or call 917-853-0433 |
Erzuli by the late Eviland Lalanne
Papa Loko by CR
St. Jacques or Ogou (paper) by Maxon
Ceremoni by Ronald Gouin
Grand Bois by MR
Bossou in Ceremony by MR
Larenne Macaya by MR
Papa Look with Skull by CR
Haiti’s Vodou Flags Represent the
Spirits and Call Upon them for Help
Spirits and Call Upon them for Help
The Haiti Art Cooperative is a network of
non-profit projects with programs in Haiti serving Haiti’s poor, including
persons deported, street children, orphans, students, persons in need of
medical care, and families.
Our projects all purchase art at fair trade
prices from artists in Haiti that we have developed long term relationships
with, and, we collaborate in the sale of art as a fundraising vehicle for our
programs.
In turn, our steady purchase of art from in
Haiti works to support those individual artists in their personal and artistic
lives. And, we all take pleasure in sharing the beauty of Haiti’s culture with
others.
This is part of a larger collection. To inquire
about purchasing Vodou flags or other Haitian art, please contact Michelle.Karshan@gmail.com or call 917-853-0433.
Haiti’s Ceremonial Banners, or Vodou Flags,
vary in size and are tapestries of sequins and beads sewn on material or a rice
sack and trimmed with a satin backing and border.
“They are probably the most familiar of all
Vodou objects and they are enchanting, combining the graphic clarity of African
applique banners with the scintillating luxuriance of Christian liturgical
vestments.” Holland Cotter, New York Times, 1998
The flags represent various spirits, or lwa, of
Vodou, based on religious beliefs and practices slaves brought with them West
Africa. Each spirit embodies unique characteristics, and plays a different
role. Vodou flags, exhibited in ceremonies, serve to call down particular
spirits who help practitioners with their personal problems and aspirations.
Vodou spirits are represented by either the
image of the spirit, or the corresponding symbol, or veve, that represents it.
Because slaves were forbidden from practicing Vodou, they also adopted Catholic
saints to represent the various spirits of love, water, twins, trees, crops,
etc.
Haitian Vodou flags have been the center of
numerous museum exhibits, including the Sacred Arts of Vodou that toured
museums such as the Smithsonian Institute and the Museum of Natural
History.
Our collection includes flags made by Lalanne, Gouin, Maxon, and others whose works have been included at museums, galleries, and in
key articles and books.
For info or to purchase, contact: Michelle.Karshan@gmail.com or call 917-853-0433
Click her to read about Li, Li, Li! Read program in Haiti
Click her to read about Alternative Chance program in Haiti