UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles “No Word for ‘Art’ in Kreyòl”: Haitian Contemporary Art in Transit A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Culture and Performance by Peter Lockwood Haffner 2017 © Copyright by Peter Lockwood Haffner 2017 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION No Word for ‘Art’ in Kreyòl”: Haitian Contemporary Art in Transit by Peter Lockwood Haffner Doctor of Philosophy in Culture and Performance University of California, Los Angeles, 2017 Professor Allen Fraleigh Roberts, Co-Chair Professor Mary Nooter Roberts, Co-Chair The dissertation that follows is an inter-disciplinary study of the ways in which a range of individuals with varying stakes and motivations have constructed a category called “Haitian Art” during a period beginning prior to World War II and extending to the present day. Haitian Art, like any cultural product ascribed to a group of people, is a taxonomic construction that subsumes a diverse and complex set of artistic and cultural practices under a limited and often questionable rubric. Over decades, international connections between Haiti and the US have consistently influenced and directed visual arts production in Haiti. Historically, tourism has played an outsized role in facilitating these cross-cultural contacts and exchanges between Haitian artists and expatriate visitors to Haiti. More recently, “traditional” forms of tourism have given way to visitors who travel to Haiti, not for purposes of leisure, but in response to the myriad crises that have afflicted the country. For this thesis, I argue that movements of people, ideas, and art objects have contributed to narratives of “Haiti” that have circulated throughout the United States vis-à-vis the production, acquisition, and exhibition of works made by Haitian ii artists. While the geographic focus of this dissertation is primarily on Haiti and the United States, I argue that entangled international networks of circulation and exchange rooted in deeper historical models reveal broad, globalized iniquities and imbalances in which individuals with varying degrees of agency and input interact cross-culturally within the realm of visual arts. iii The dissertation of Peter Lockwood Haffner is approved. Lauren (Robin) Derby Patrick A. Polk Allen Fraleigh Roberts, Committee Co-Chair Mary Nooter Roberts, Committee Co-Chair University of California, Los Angeles 2017 iv This dissertation is dedicated to the hope, humor, and resilience of the Haitian people. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction......................................................................................................................................1 Chapter 1 Narratives of Discovery: The Haitian Renaissance and the First Golden Age of Tourism...........14 Chapter 2 High Highs and Low Lows: Fluctuations in the Haitian Art Market and The Rise of Institutionalized Collecting in the United States………………………………………………...81 Chapter 3 Marketplace Transformations and Aesthetic Adaptions in Haiti’s Era of Crisis………………139 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………...200 Appendix A: Figures……………………………………………………………………………205 Works Cited…………………………………………………………………………………….216 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Philomé Obin, Battle Between the Cacos and the American Marines (1949) Figure 2. Petion Savain, Market on the Hill (1939) Figure 3. Geo Remponeau, Coconut Vendor (1939) Figure 4. Philomé Obin, Franklin D. Roosevelt Interceding in the Beyond for the Peace of the Americas (1946) Figure 5. Hyppolite, Ezili Freda and Her Sisters (ca. 1947) Figure 6. Photograph of the resto in Mont Ruis with Hyppolite’s painted doors underneath a sign announcing Ici la Renaissance. Figure 7. US Marine photo of caco leader Charlemagne Peralte’s corpse Figure 8. Philomé Obin, The Crucifixion of Charlemagne Peralte for Freedom (1970) Figure 9. Tshibumba La mort historique de Lumumba, Mpolo et Okoto le 17 Janv. 1961 (n.d.) Figure 10. Jacques-Enguerrand Gourgue, The Magic Table (1947) Figure 11. Luckner Lazard, Paysage I & II (n.d.) Figure 12. Philomé Obin Democracy at Full Speed: Élie Lescot Fleeing Quickly from the Angel of Democracy (1946) Figure 13. Jasmin Joseph, Green Loa (1950) Figure 14. Jasmin Joseph, Les Comediens (1980) Figure 15. Installation photo of Drapo in Sacred Arts of Haitian Vodou at UCLA Fowler Museum, 1995. Figure 16. Rada altar in in Sacred Arts of Haitian Vodou at UCLA Fowler Museum, 1995. Figure 17. Bizango altar in Sacred Arts of Haitian Vodou at UCLA Fowler Museum, 1995. Figure 18. Installation shot of Hector Hyppolite, The Adoration of Love (1946-48) vii Figure 19. André Pierre, Vodou Pantheon (ca. 1980) Figure 20. André Eugène, Military Glory (2010) Figure 21. Myrlande Constant, Haiti madi 12 janvye 2010 (2012) Figure 22. Radhika Khimji Still Standing (2015) Figure 23. Edgar Endress The Story of Institutions (2015) viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Much like the works of art discussed herein, this dissertation has resulted from entangled processes involving a range of people, many of whom are dear to me. My mother and stepfather, Tracy A. Bruce and Stephen R. Davenport III, first brought me to Haiti as a boy in 1995. Their decades’ worth of tireless work with Haitian colleagues, partners, and friends has taught me what it means to collaborate with people living in rough circumstances and to never forget the privilege of having a United States passport. Without the guidance and support of Susan Aberth, my undergraduate advisor, I may not have mustered the courage to explore Haitian art as a scholar. I am grateful for UCLA and the Department of World Arts & Cultures/Dance, which gave me the freedom and support to tell this story in the most comprehensive way possible. The direction, feedback, and mentorship provided by my doctoral committee has proven invaluable in shaping this project. My tireless, indomitable co-chairs, Polly and Al Roberts, gave me confidence to pursue this project and taught me how to write about art without forgetting the humans who made it. Robin Derby’s enthusiasm and selfless advocacy for my work led me to explore just how far this research could go and what it could illuminate. As someone for whom this was not his first rodeo, Patrick Polk taught me the joy in navigating all the hustles and pitfalls of this research. UCLA Professors David Shorter, David Gere, Janet O’Shea, Aparna Sharma, Peter Sellars, Andrew Apter, and Judith Bettelheim provided patience and impassioned guidance. Thanks to my graduate cohort and all the WAC/D grad students who taught me how to be a better, more selfless citizen of the world — you know who you are. I am also grateful for the opportunity to work with Prof. Donald J. Cosentino before he retired from UCLA. As a ix champion for the expressive voices within Haitian arts, his scholarship showed me that it was possible to thoughtfully and comprehensively discuss the fascinating complexities of Haitian visual culture. This dissertation would not have been completed without the generous support provided by grants from UCLA’s Graduate Division, Institute of American Cultures, and Latin American Institute, and the U.S. Department of Education’s Foreign Language and Areas Studies Program. I am grateful to many others at UCLA and beyond: Owsley Brown, Paul Corbanese, Edouard Duval-Carrie, Richard Fleming, Leah Gordon, Claudine Michel, Michel-Philippe Lerebours, Doran Ross, Winter Schneider, Alyssa Sepinwall, Kathy Smith, and Edward J. Sullivan for their time, knowledge, and resources. To those I met through the Haitian Art Society who opened up their homes and offices to me to share their fascination with and love for Haitian art: Arthur Albrecht, Tom and Caroline Crawford, Valerie Coddett, Ed Gessen, Ned Hopkins, Sydney Jenkins, Larry Kent, Jocelyne Lamour, Diane Phillpotts, and Susan Tselos. Special thanks to the curators and staff at the Waterloo Center for the Arts, especially Kent Shankle, Cammie Scully, Chawne Paige, and Elizabeth Andrews. To Marla Burns, Gassia Armenian, Terri Geis, and all at the Fowler Museum at UCLA whose work I admire and hope to emulate. To those in Haiti who have guided, supported, and informed this work, both materially and conceptually, yet whose names do not all fit here: Rev. David Cesar, André Eugène, Olsen Jean- Julien, Axelle Liataud, Richard Morse, Georges Rene, and Philip Salnave; the Delatours – Cavour, Carmel, Lionel, Patrick, and Patsye; the Monnins – Michel, Toni, Gaël, and Pascal; Carlo Napoleon and Jean Lundy, who watched my back and kept me away from trouble; and the people of St. Etienne’s, especially Berton and Kenther Dubic, Herault Joseph, Michelet Joseph, Cristiana LaPointe, and Monique Napoleon. x Writing this dissertation would not have been possible without the love and support of my family. In addition to my mother and stepfather, I would like to recognize my father and stepmother, my siblings and their beautiful families, and all my aunts, uncles, and cousins in both blood and name who never wavered in their support of this seemingly quixotic endeavor. To all of my friends, in particular Tim Callan and Jasmine Probst (and little Eve!) for being there for me throughout, Bridget Denzer for making the audacious suggestion back in 2005 that I should write my undergraduate thesis on Haitian Art, Ben Thornborough for late-night conversations on work and life. To friends new and old, Paul Salveson, Jeanne Dreskin, Michelle Antonisse, Dave Massey, Benny Bakshandeh, and Darius Bell. And to all the miscreants shooting pool down at Little Joy