The Imagining and Imaging of Haiti by African-American Artists, 1915-1940
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TROUBLING ISLAND: THE IMAGINING AND IMAGING OF HAITI BY AFRICAN-AMERICAN ARTISTS, 1915-1940 Lindsay Jean Twa A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Art. Chapel Hill 2006 Approved by: Advisor: Dr. Michael D. Harris Reader: Dr. Mary D. Sheriff Reader: Dr. Carol Mavor Reader: Dr. Joy S. Kasson Reader: Dr. Richard J. Powell © 2006 Lindsay Jean Twa ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii © 2006 Lindsay Jean Twa ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT LINDSAY JEAN TWA: Troubling Island: The Imagining and Imaging of Haiti by African-American Artists, 1915-1940 (Under the direction of Michael D. Harris) Images of Haiti have circulated in the social imagination of the United States through painting, sculpture, illustration, performance and film since the late eighteenth century. Although much scholarship addresses the intertwined and often problematic relationship between the United States and Haiti, sparse art historical research addresses the complexities of U.S. visualizations of Haiti. The period of the U.S. occupation of Haiti (1915-1934) and its immediate aftermath resulted in the opening up of Haiti to unprecedented numbers of writers, ethnographers, and artists who focused both on Haiti as a contemporary nation, and retold and reinterpreted its revolutionary history to express new social and political needs. This dissertation contributes to a greater understanding of how representations of Haiti overwhelmingly articulate issues of race, while also touching on cultural anxieties of class, religion, patriotism and national identity. This dissertation specifically examines how African-American artists have worked against mainstream representations of Haiti to create alternate visions, combating and complicating many stereotypes, while also furthering an understanding of the transnational influences and outlook of several prominent twentieth- century African-American artists. Aaron Douglas, Jacob Lawrence, and William E. Scott are just a few of the African-American artists who drew on Haiti as a source of racial pride and heritage, personal transformation, or as a signifier for revolutionary change. iii While rooted in art historical analysis, privileging the visual over the text, this is an interdisciplinary dissertation that focuses on the broader context of cultural studies. I draw on both popular media and the performing and fine arts, and match art historical traditions with histories of anthropology and its evolving ethnographic practices, and the politics of U.S. international relations in the Caribbean. Through this lens, I expose how creative representations by African-American artists attempted to open new spaces in interpretations of Haiti, escaping the litany of tired and derogatory tropes so frequently applied to the “Black Republic.” iv DEDICATION I dedicate this dissertation to my husband, Mark Larson, who has accompanied, sustained and joyfully encouraged me in all of my endeavors. His outlook challenges me to be a better person and an active citizen beyond the narrow confines of my discipline, even as his humor reminds me never to take myself too seriously. v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation has been greatly aided by numerous people and institutions. I thank my advisor, Michael D. Harris, for his enthusiasm and support. Additionally, this project has been sustained and greatly improved through the energy, guidance, criticism and intellectual challenge of my committee: Joy S. Kasson, Carol Mavor, Richard J. Powell, and Mary D. Sheriff. I must thank Dr. Sheriff, in particular, for her ever attentive and thorough comments on all of my writing and her constant support. The completion of this dissertation has been made possible through the generous financial support of a Henry Luce Foundation/American Council of Learned Societies Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship in American Art (2004-2005), and the University of North Carolina, through an Off-Campus Research Fellowship (2003) and Graduate School Dissertation Completion Fellowship (2005-2006). Many people along the archival trail helped and hosted me. Regenia Perry of Amistad Research Center, Tulane University proved to be not only a great help but also a gracious host and dynamic guide, introducing me to the city of New Orleans. I must also acknowledge the immensely helpful librarians and archivists at Fisk University’s Special Collections Library, Syracuse University’s Special Collections Research Center, Yale’s Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Howard University’s Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, the New York Historical Society and the New York Public Libraries, especially Tammi Lawson of the Art and Artifacts Division at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. My framing of the project benefited immensely from vi conversations with Tritobia Hayes Benjamin of Howard University, Sydney Jenkins of Ramapo College, Corrine Jennings of Kenkelaba Gallery, Carole Rodman, and Shelley Wiley of Morningside College. Through this process, many colleagues and mentors, whom I have the good fortune of also calling friends, have proved that dissertations are never created in isolation. While in Chapel Hill, the Ackland Art Museum became my second home and I have benefited greatly from each member of the museum team through their constant enthusiasm and support, especially Carolyn Allmendinger, Leslie Balkany, Betty Carr, Lyn Koehnline, Beth Shaw McGuire, Timothy Riggs, and Carolyn Wood. Carolyn Allmendinger, in particular, has been an important mentor to me since my first days as a Master’s student. She cheerfully and thoroughly editing my writing, and later opened her home to me when I returned to Chapel Hill for research. Others have also opened their homes to me during my time spent on the research road, and I am indebted to Brad and Susan Dyson Jones, Lori Pistor, Amy and Jason Ripley, and Amy and Brian Stephens. Though I often had to participate from a distance, my dissertation writing group sustained me through the journey of ABDness: Ann Millett, Leisa Rundquist, Betsy Towns, Pam Whedon, and especially Elizabeth Howie, who cheerfully photocopied and mailed important sources to me during my stay in Birmingham, England. Several students, perhaps unknowingly, became my mentors, and I thank each for their gems of wisdom and humor: Ann Driscoll, Laura André, Mary Fournier, Evan Gatti, Benjamin Harvey, Beth Hudson, and Maureen O’Brien. I must also thank Amy Paxton and Janne Boone who have covered many miles (literally) with me in this final year and helped to remind me of the world outside of my dissertation. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF FIGURES…………………………………………………………………..ix Chapter 1. Thoughts of Haiti: Introduction…………………………………………………..1 2. Presenting the Taming of Haiti…………………………………………………..23 3. Illustrating The Emperor Jones………………………………………………….68 4. Imagining a Black Magic Island………………………………………………..122 5. Documenting Haiti: African-American Creative Ethnographers…………...…157 6. Vernacularizing Haiti’s Revolutionary History………………………………...209 7. Conclusion: Looking Forward—the 1940s and Beyond………………………261 BIBLIOGRAPHY…………………………………………………………………..273 FIGURES…………………………………………………………………………...292 viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1.1. Edwin White, Thoughts of Liberia: Emancipation, 1861, oil on canvas, 21 x 17.1 in., The Robert L. Stuart Collection, The New York Historical Society………………………………………………………………..292 1.2. William Hackwood, Am I not a Man and a Brother?, 1786, seal designed for the Slave Emancipation Society and produced by Josiah Wedgwood…………………………………………………….…..………...293 2.1. Port-au-Prince and Santo Domingo City photo spread. Published in “Wards of the United States: Notes on What Our Country is Doing for Santo Domingo, Nicaragua, and Haiti,” National Geographic 30 (August 1916): 154-55.…….................................................................294 2.2. Unattributed photograph, The Fish Market: Port au Prince, Haiti, n.d. Published in Anonymous, “Wards of the United States: Notes on What Our Country is Doing for Santo Domingo, Nicaragua, and Haiti,” National Geographic 30 (August 1916): 154………………………………….……...295 2.3. Unattributed photograph (Harry Johnston/Arthur Greaves), The Entrance to a So-Called Vaudoux Temple: Haiti, c. 1908-9. Published in “Wards of the United States: Notes on What Our Country is Doing for Santo Domingo, Nicaragua, and Haiti,” National Geographic 30 (August 1916): 153…………………………………………………………….....…...296 2.4. Unattributed photograph, Sorting Coffee by Hand: Haiti, n.d. Published in Anonymous, “Wards of the United States: Notes on What Our Country is Doing for Santo Domingo, Nicaragua, and Haiti,” National Geographic 30 (August 1916): 148…………………297 2.5. Unattributed photograph (Harry Johnston/Arthur Greaves), A Haitian Country Home of the Better Class, c. 1908-9. First published in Harry Johnston, The Negro in the New World (1910). Reprinted in Anonymous, “Wards of the United States: Notes on What Our Country is Doing for Santo Domingo, Nicaragua, and Haiti,” National Geographic 30 (August 1916): 162…………………………………………………..298 2.6. Unattributed photograph, Officers of the Haitian Army on the Streets of Port au Prince, Haiti, n.d. Published in Anonymous, “Wards of the United States: Notes on What Our Country is Doing for Santo Domingo, Nicaragua, and Haiti,” National Geographic 30 (August 1916): 152……………………………………………………………………299 ix 2.7. Mrs. C. R. Miller, A Typical Country Road in Haiti, n.d.