VOODOO ART
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ABOUT THE ARTIST and AUTHOR
Yemaya, Mother of the Seven Seas
by
voodoomama
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My interest in Voodoo art came honestly. As a New Orleans native and the daughter of two of the best artists in the world, I was exposed to a wide variety of art forms from the time I was old enough to be aware. My father was a formally trained medical illustrator (Donald Alvarado, he illustrated the Gray's Anatomy among other things) and my mother was largely a self taught painter of folk art, nature, and mystical imagery.
Growing up in the Deep South provided me with ample opportunity to experience mysticism in its many forms, including Voodoo, from an early age. I remember my first seance on the bayou was led by my aunt who was teaching me the ways when I was about 6 or 7 years old. At that time, I had my magick box that I kept hidden under my chest of drawers that contained, among other things, Gypsy Witch Fortune Telling Cards and a Voodoo doll. I kept that Voodoo doll for years. I experimented with manipulating energy and drawing and painting images hidden deep in my psyche all throughout my youth. Childhood was not such a happy time for me, and well, I will just leave it at that. Let's just say that art and music were my saving graces from the trauma that befell me. What I created then was Voodoo art, but I didn't know it at the time. In fact, I did not realize that I was a Voodoo artist until well into my adulthood. Like much Voodoo art, my art was art born out of trauma.
My interest in mysticism never waned. My personal journey led me through a number of spiritual rites of passage reflecting my indigenous and multicultural roots. I eventually became a traditional healer. I got my bachelor's degree in cultural anthropology and my Masters in Clinical psychology. I took every opportunity to study spirituality, religions, and mysticism. I fell in love with Jung. Now, I am about 6 months away from getting my PhD in psychology research and evaluation. In spite of my extensive academic background and quest for sound science, I still believe in the healing arts, magick, and Voodoo. I know that without my art, I would not be where I am today.
Read on for an introduction to some noteworthy Haitian Voudou and Louisiana Voodoo artists.
Baron Samedi aka Papa Guede
This image is the Lord of the Cemeteries, known as Baron Samedi or Papa Guede. It is a digital pen and ink/painting I recently created and is available at Voodoo Butik.
Baron Samedi
ABOUT VOODOO ART
Voodoo Doll Baby by voodoomama
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Voodoo art is some of the most expressionistic and powerful art I have ever had the honor and privilege of laying my eyes on. Voodoo itself is probably the most misunderstood religion in the world, but truth be known, it is born of the trauma of genocide resulting from the forced enslavement of Africans by Arab, English, and American slavers. Poor European servants were also enslaved, as were many indigenous peoples. The Africans brought their religions with them, and eventually the ancient religions of Africa, European folk magic, and indigenous healing practices combined to form what is known as Voodoo today. Because of the unique blend of French, Spanish, Native American, Haitian, and African cultures, New Orleans provided a setting ripe for the practice of Voodoo. Prior to hurricane Katrina, 15% of the New Orleans populations practiced some form of Voodoo.
Because of the similarities between Catholicism and Voodoo, it is believed that many of the slaves adopted aspects of Catholicism to cloak their true religions. Cloaking was necessary because Voodoo was viewed as, and still is by most, an evil and threatening practice. Open practice typically resulted in further trauma and even murder for its followers.
Art is often a creative expression of the psyche. With so much trauma and abuse present, it is no surprise that the theme of death is ever-present in Voodoo art. However, there are a number of other themes that are commonly found as well, including images of daily life, historical references, portraits, images of Voodoo cosmology, cemeteries, Christian symbolism, veves, and renderings of the pantheon of gods and goddesses (referred to as loas or orishas). There is also an element of humor and sex that can be found. New Orleans Voodoo artists will often incorporate images of the carnival, the bayou, Marie Laveau, Dr. John, among others. My personal Voodoo art reflects a number of these themes. In fact, Voodoo art is often expressed in sculptures, dolls, poppets, talismans, jewelry, salvage art, collage, as well as paintings and drawings.
Ives Telemak
From Bel Air, Yves has been attributed to be the first artist to put the signature on his work "Y.T. Art", as only the name of the loa (spirit) was supposed to be in the flag art. A young man in this 30s, he's supporting his family with his art and is considered a commercial success.His works are fully sequined with no background fabric showing, indicating that they are intended to be shown only as art pieces. His works are recognizable for this emphasis on borders and lavish geometric patterns. The contents of his work stay close to the Bel Air tradition, but he's evolving his own style as reflected in the use of borders.
Unique to Haiti, Voodoo Flag or Drapo Voodoo is the most elegant and profound sequin art. Flag art originally started as a praying cloth in honor to the loa (spirits). The art is both complex and intricate, starting with the 18K-20K sequin and glass beads that are needed to complete a piece. Each loa is an abstract diagram called a veve that serves as a symbol. Spirits can also be represented in animals, objects or human figures having particular attributes. The iconography of voodoo is extensive and complicated. Voodoo artists need to have a good understanding of it and the color scheme for each spirit. The new generation of artists combine spiritual devotion with artistic ambition, appealing both to the art market as well as religious devouts. Danthor is Erzulie's love, she symbolizes the mother of the many and hard working.
Danthor by I.Telemak
Danthor by I.Telemak
Is Voodoo art the collectible art form of the future?
The Mystic Voodoo has carved out a niche for itself by creating museum quality voodoo dolls that are fast becoming the collectible art form of the future.Read the full article here.
Vilaire
An up and coming young flag maker, Vilaire is drafting his own style with larger sequins in this work of the spirit of the forest. He uses a fine stitching method and adorns the borders with new designs. VOODOO ART ON AMAZON
Lori Anderson
Voodoo Artist from Louisiana
Voodoo artists are few and far between. When I stumble upon someone that represents the southern Voodoo folk art style that I hold so near and dear to my heart, I take note. Such was the case with Lori Anderson, a Voodoo artist from Louisiana.
What I like about Lori's style is the raw simplicity of her pieces. She utilizes items found in her environment and incorporates them into her work. Many of her pieces consist of polymer clay and wire, vintage linen, and human hair.
Lori had this to say about her work:
"I really started making my dolls 4 years ago. I was going to work one day and hit a patch of ice on the expressway. After living down south for 20+ years- I just didn't have the skills to drive in the ice. I lost control of my jeep wrangler (soft top- not hard top) spun around a few times, then rolled down an embankment. Totaled the jeep. At the hospital I found out I was 4mos. pregnant. And that I had cancer. I started doing my art again to keep from dwelling on everything that was happening to me. Positive thinking and a belief in a higher power helped. 4 years later I am fine, my son is perfect and I am still doing my dolls to help myself and others. So, whatever I am feeling at the time goes into my dolls. I hope that helps explain some of my work."
Lori describes the top piece pictured thus: "This is the start of another little poppet. It will be approx 3 inches high when complete. I have the small torso complete and the face sculpted. At this point he needs to sit and tell me what he wants to be, but I believe he will be a good luck/big money/no whammies focusing tool."
About this piece, Lori states, "This is my personal voodoo/hoodoo doll- it is a focusing tool. Voodoo dolls that are to be used against others ( like the ones you see with pins) are NOT a feature of the Haitian religion of Voodoo. Voodoo dolls are used in alters to represent or honor the spirits that have passed but are still with us day to day. They are simply power objects-not objects of torture."
You can view more of Lori's Voodoo art by visiting her blog Creepy Little Voodoo Dolls.
More Voodoo Art by Voodoo Mama
Voodoo art can be expressed in any medium. Although I do a lot of three dimensional work with Voodoo art dolls, I also paint, draw, work with mixed media, and graphics. This is a study for a painting of Erzulie that I was working on.Here is the same image but as an acrylic painting.
George Valris
George Valris claims that he does not believe in "Vodou Dambala, Erzulie and all these things I put on the flags" When asked why he used the images for the Iwa instead of just drawing something else he replied "because that is how you make a Vodou flag", as though making any other image out of sequins was inconceivable for him. For the months that followed, he made imagery to prove that is was a devout catholic.He was born in Cavaillon Haiti. George attended primary school in Lees Cavas and at 19 set out for Port-au-Prince to make a life for himself. Discovering a way to support his family, he gradually became a sequin artist. His technical ability outreaches that of other artists. His pearl work (like in Bon Angel) is particularly exquisite.
Great Art Doll Stuff on Amazon
Emile Jean Baptiste
Emile Jean-Baptiste was born in a small village called Cochon Gras near Jacmel, Haiti, in 1952 and now lives in Carrefour. Carrefour is a sprawling, working class suburb of Port-au-Prince that used to be a well-to-do resort area. As conditions for the Haitian peasant farmer worsened over the past decades, more and more of the rural population moved to the city, changing the composition of suburbs like Carrefour. Jean-Baptiste came from such a peasant background and worked as a farm laborer before economic conditions brought him to Port-au-Prince in 1977.Unlike most rural peasants, he did attend school long enough to learn some reading and writing. He also had some drawing classes. Because he was literate, he managed to find work in a gas station until 1983 when he started sewing flags for his kinsman, Eviland Lalanne. After a year, he left Lalanne's atelier and set up his own workshop.
At first he paid someone else to do the drawings for his flags, but in 1986 he had developed enough confidence in himself to draw his own. Like all Haitian nts his cultural background is Voodoo but unlike many of the traditional flag makers, such as his kinsman Lanne, he is not a Voodoo practitioner. He is inspired mainly by the images in the chromolithographs of the Catholic saints. He is a practicing Catholic, although not devout. When his parish priest challenges what he does as being anti-Catholic, his justification is that he has to make a living. Above all, Jean-Baptiste is a practical Haitian peasant, doing what he must to survive.
He is very disciplined and his atelier is quite productive. He employs 15-18 sewers most of the time. He has trained other flag makers like Catile who have gone on to establish their own workshops. He also draws for other flag makers like Lafleur. His use of bugle beads and hand-dyed sequin reflects Lalanne's influence, but recently he has begun experimenting with matte sequin to give his more recent flags a three-dimensional look.
ROSE MARIE DESRUISSEAUX
The following photo is a painting by Rose Marie Desruisseaux called "Ceremonie Vodou." It measures 36 x 48 and goes for $ 18,000.00. Available from
http://www.martellyartgallery.com.
http://www.martellyartgallery.com.
Ceremonie Vodou by ROSE MARIE DESRUISSEAUX
Haitian Art on eBay
Roi David Annisey
Annisey,a Vodou initiate, uses his understanding of the spirit world to generate intricate images. Creating work that is intense and disturbingly beautiful, these paintings are far more than representations of vodou mythology. They become a visual lexicon for the political and personal struggles of the Haitian people. They are lush, complexly patterned and completely original. It is no wonder that the University of Indiana included his work, along with Haitian Masters Wilson Bigaud and Voltaire Hector, in a special 1995 exhibition. More recently, Annisey was a part of the "Island on Fire" exhibition, organized by collector Jonathan Demme.Roi David Annisey
Roi David Annisey
Voodoo Art on CafePress
Francois Bellande
Dr. Francois L'Amerique Bellande was born in Jacmel in 1966. He began painting in 1987, but has only recently become properly appreciated as a Vodou artist. Like many Haitians, he has been immersed in the knowledge and practice of Vodou since he was a small child. For several years, he has been accepted as having the sufficient knowledge to be an herbal doctor; recently, he has been selected as houngan of the Vodou establishment in Achaie. Bellande loves to paint and says that he wants to show the things he has seen so that others may understand. Bellande's narrative paintings combine a figuration that is raw and from the gut, with a bold and sophisticated sense of color. Each painting has a story behind it; transcripts of many of Bellande's tales are available upon request from the gallery.Francois Bellande
Francois Bellande
Voodoo Art Sites
Voodoo Spells: Want revenge? Or help with love? Try these powerful Voodoo Spells. Absolutely guaranteed!
- Galerie D'art Nader
- This is a site for fine art and has a section on Voodoo art. They just started a Haitian art auction featuring the art of Stivenson Magloire, (1963-1994), Jacques-Enguerrand Gourgue (1930-1996), Rolf Sambale,
Robert St-Brice,(1898-1973), Gérard Valcin(1927-1988),and Frantz Zéphirin. Much of Haitian art reflects a Voodoo theme as the majority of the population practices the Voodoo religion. - Santeria and Voodoo Art
- This is a folk art site that features Santeria and Voodoo art for sale.
- Hoodoo Voodoo Magick and Ju Ju
- Here is a great lens with just about everything Voodoo!
- Ju Ju Shoppe
- Where the original artwork of Denise Alvarado can be found on t shirts, mugs, bags, journals, and more!
- El Coqui Gifts
- Discover Haitian art, flag art and metal sculptures, inspired in voodoo religion and that is becoming collector's pieces.
- Haitian art inspired on voodoo art, AfroCaribbean culture
- Discover Haitian art, flag art and metal sculptures, inspired in voodoo religion and that is becoming collector's pieces.
- Voodoo Art Dolls
- Labels: denise alvarado, doodle, gretchen little, heart-a-day, how to make a voodoo doll, squidoo, voodoo art, voodoo art dolls, voodoo-doll-a-day ...
- VOODOO DOLLS
- A new Voodoo Doll art form, these paper Voodoo dolls capture the essence of the Voodoo spirit with exquisite quality and detail. Signed by the artist for ...
Soliman Delva
Emotional Realism
Delva began painting at the age of 21, and in the last 8 years he has shown a remarkable progression in both skill and sensitivity. His special brand of social realism has an amazing empathetic quality. In spite of his youth, he understands and portrays a wide range of human experiences, from birth to death. Although he struggles with health problems Delva remains one of the most dedicated and dynamic artists represented by the Haitian Art Company gallery.Soliman Delva
Soliman Delva
Voodoo Art Dolls
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byVoltaire Hector
Voltaire Hector was born in Port-au-Prince in 1952. His brother, Roland Hector, encouraged Voltaire to start painting in 1977. He began by painting simple landscapes, moving on to other subjects when his brother died.Hector has since become one of the best contemporary Haitian folk artists. His paintings are generally autobiographical, often accompanied by a line or two of narrative text. They reflect his experience of daily Haitian life: family life, Voudou ceremonies and icons, medical procedures, political events, and Hector's own love life.
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Voodoo Doll A Day
Changing the face of Doodle art, one Voodoodle at a time
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byBin Laden and Virgin Mary Morph into Jesus
Now this is a statement on the state of sociopoliticalreligious current affairs...An Aussie artist who created a controversial piece depicting Usama bin Laden morphing into Jesus Christ defended her work, calling for people to look beyond the comparison of good and evil, the News Limited of Australia reported on Thursday.
Priscilla Bracks denied she was trying offend people.
"Absolutely not, no, no," she said in the News article. "I am not interested in being offensive. I am interested in having a discussion and asking questions about how we think about our world and what we accept and what we don't accept," she said.
Check it out here.
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voodoomama
Writing is an outlet for the voices in my head....
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