Wednesday, January 31, 2007 10:30 PM CST
Haitian Vodou flags on view now at the Tarble Arts Center
By the JG/T-C
editorial@jg-tc.com
CHARLESTON -- More than 50 beaded and sequined Haitian Vodou flags are currently on view in the Main Galleries of the Tarble Arts Center at Eastern Illinois University.
“Saints in Sequin: Vodou Flags from Haiti” features a comprehensive collection of Haitian drapo Vodou (Vodou flags), including examples of West African textile traditions from which the Haitian flags emerged. Drapo Vodou is an artistic expression of the religion of Vodou, a system of beliefs honoring African ancestral spirits that emerged in response to slavery.
A blending of African religions and Catholicism forced upon them by the French, Vodou expresses the aspirations of the poor and disenfranchised people of Haiti. The exhibition continues through February 25.
Originally, the flags were made and used solely for ceremonial purposes, but in the 1950s, collectors started to buy the flags and the priests started to make them to raise money for their congregations. Most of the flags in the exhibition were made as works of art, not as ceremonial flags.
“Saints in Sequin: Vodou Flags from Haiti” was curated by Haitian art expert Laurie Beasley of Ridge Art, of Oak Park. Lenders to the exhibition include Dr. Jacques Bartoli, Laurie Beasley/Ridge Art, Ed Gessen, Tina Girouard, Marilyn Houlberg, Nancy Mikelsons and Anne Mitchell.
“Saints in Sequin” will serve as the basis for the Spring 2007 Junior-Senior High Enrichment Program, offered at no charge to area junior-senior high art teachers and their students. After a guided tour of the exhibition, students will create a fabric collage using design elements drawn from the flags. The program was developed by Tarble Curator of Education Kit Morice and Dr. Gene Harrison of the EIU Art Department and will be presented by EIU Art Education students.
This exhibition is presented in conjunction with Eastern Illinois University’s African American Heritage Month. The Tarble Arts Center, a division of the College of Arts & Humanities, is funded in part by Tarble membership contributions, the Tarble Arts Center Endowment, and by the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.
Open hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday; closed Mondays and February 16 for Lincoln’s birthday.
The center is located on Ninth Street and Cleveland Avenue on the EIU campus.
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