This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/americas/8510055.stm
The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Previous version
1
Next version
Version 0 | Version 1 |
---|---|
Battered Haitian art shines through devastation | Battered Haitian art shines through devastation |
(about 7 hours later) | |
By Paul Adams BBC News, Haiti Frescoes were destroyed in the cathedral's collapse | By Paul Adams BBC News, Haiti Frescoes were destroyed in the cathedral's collapse |
In Port-au-Prince, art is everywhere. In the teeming capital - even in the midst of the chaos and suffering wrought by last month's earthquake - you are never far from a painting, a mural or a sculpture. | In Port-au-Prince, art is everywhere. In the teeming capital - even in the midst of the chaos and suffering wrought by last month's earthquake - you are never far from a painting, a mural or a sculpture. |
So it is no surprise that art, too, has suffered. | So it is no surprise that art, too, has suffered. |
At the shattered Holy Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, only fragments remain of its frescoes. | At the shattered Holy Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, only fragments remain of its frescoes. |
On a portion of wall left standing, a vivid baptism of Christ offers a glimpse of former glories. | On a portion of wall left standing, a vivid baptism of Christ offers a glimpse of former glories. |
The figures are unmistakably Haitian, including a couple of women in skimpy clothes doing their washing. | The figures are unmistakably Haitian, including a couple of women in skimpy clothes doing their washing. |
In the primary school next door, a brightly coloured mural of children playing is cracked and a whole section has come away, showing the breeze blocks behind. | In the primary school next door, a brightly coloured mural of children playing is cracked and a whole section has come away, showing the breeze blocks behind. |
Plea to UN | Plea to UN |
Father Joseph Tancrel Diegue tells me they will salvage what they can of the frescoes, and will be looking to the cultural body Unesco for help. | Father Joseph Tancrel Diegue tells me they will salvage what they can of the frescoes, and will be looking to the cultural body Unesco for help. |
He points to a sorry pile of coloured stones and says they will try to piece together the originals. | He points to a sorry pile of coloured stones and says they will try to piece together the originals. |
It is the sort of painstaking work that succeeded in restoring frescoes destroyed by an earthquake in Assisi in central Italy in 1997. But in poverty-stricken Haiti, such marvels seem a remote prospect. | It is the sort of painstaking work that succeeded in restoring frescoes destroyed by an earthquake in Assisi in central Italy in 1997. But in poverty-stricken Haiti, such marvels seem a remote prospect. |
class="" href="/2/hi/in_pictures/8511340.stm">In pictures: Haiti's art after quake | |
The scene at the nearby Centre d'Art is similarly bleak. | The scene at the nearby Centre d'Art is similarly bleak. |
The once proud mansion regarded as the home of Haitian art and crammed with paintings and sculptures has been reduced to a dangerous, teetering wreck. | The once proud mansion regarded as the home of Haitian art and crammed with paintings and sculptures has been reduced to a dangerous, teetering wreck. |
Board member Henry Celestin shows me a gaping hole in an upper floor where staff risked their lives rescuing the permanent collection. | Board member Henry Celestin shows me a gaping hole in an upper floor where staff risked their lives rescuing the permanent collection. |
Amazingly, 3,000 works have been recovered, although many more still lie buried. | Amazingly, 3,000 works have been recovered, although many more still lie buried. |
But if the quake took so much away, did it also inspire? | But if the quake took so much away, did it also inspire? |
"Artists are different people," says Mr Celestin. "They get ideas from everything. Even a blow like that." | "Artists are different people," says Mr Celestin. "They get ideas from everything. Even a blow like that." |
At the Galerie Monnin in Petionville, in the hills overlooking Port-au-Prince, there is already plenty of evidence. | At the Galerie Monnin in Petionville, in the hills overlooking Port-au-Prince, there is already plenty of evidence. |
Reynald Joseph has painted an astonishing triptych depicting the moment the earthquake struck. | Reynald Joseph has painted an astonishing triptych depicting the moment the earthquake struck. |
Reynald Joseph's triptych depicts the horror of the quake | Reynald Joseph's triptych depicts the horror of the quake |
It is a chaotic street scene, with figures falling and a jumble of roofs that appear to be collapsing in on each other. | It is a chaotic street scene, with figures falling and a jumble of roofs that appear to be collapsing in on each other. |
The softly spoken Joseph tells me he simply had to paint the scene, which echoes a similar pre-quake triptych. | The softly spoken Joseph tells me he simply had to paint the scene, which echoes a similar pre-quake triptych. |
"I decided not to include any dead people," he tells me. "This is the very beginning. If there is something to follow, it will be worse, because of what happened afterwards." | "I decided not to include any dead people," he tells me. "This is the very beginning. If there is something to follow, it will be worse, because of what happened afterwards." |
Frantz Zepherin, is so inspired he cannot stop painting - 10 earthquake pictures so far and others taking shape inside his fertile imagination. | Frantz Zepherin, is so inspired he cannot stop painting - 10 earthquake pictures so far and others taking shape inside his fertile imagination. |
I meet him as he arrives at the gallery, with his latest work in a plastic bag. | I meet him as he arrives at the gallery, with his latest work in a plastic bag. |
He takes it out and shows me a scene of desperate faces, trapped in the wreckage of a building with a spider's web already covering the opening. | He takes it out and shows me a scene of desperate faces, trapped in the wreckage of a building with a spider's web already covering the opening. |
In another painting, a family of skeletons, he calls them "living dead", is parading through the streets, holding signs that ask for food, water, shelter - and condoms. | In another painting, a family of skeletons, he calls them "living dead", is parading through the streets, holding signs that ask for food, water, shelter - and condoms. |
Mr Zepherin laughs mischievously and notes that in the chaos of post-quake Port-au-Prince, lovers still need to take precautions. | Mr Zepherin laughs mischievously and notes that in the chaos of post-quake Port-au-Prince, lovers still need to take precautions. |
Musician Lolo Beaubrun (right) says the disaster will inspire Haitians | Musician Lolo Beaubrun (right) says the disaster will inspire Haitians |
The skeletons represent survivors, he says, who wander around like zombies, waiting for the international community to help. | The skeletons represent survivors, he says, who wander around like zombies, waiting for the international community to help. |
One of them carries a sign that reads: "Special thanks to the commander in chief and the American people". | One of them carries a sign that reads: "Special thanks to the commander in chief and the American people". |
And it is not just painters who are busy. | And it is not just painters who are busy. |
Lolo Beaubrun is one of Haiti's most famous musicians. | Lolo Beaubrun is one of Haiti's most famous musicians. |
I meet him in his tree-filled garden, where he is joined by the youthful members of up-and-coming group the Four Stars. | I meet him in his tree-filled garden, where he is joined by the youthful members of up-and-coming group the Four Stars. |
One of them, Simon Widy, has written Crier pour Haiti, a lament for their battered country. | One of them, Simon Widy, has written Crier pour Haiti, a lament for their battered country. |
"It's going to inspire a lot of people, for sure," says Lolo in broken English. | "It's going to inspire a lot of people, for sure," says Lolo in broken English. |
"Because what happened to us everybody lost somebody who died. A long time it's going to stay in our mind." | "Because what happened to us everybody lost somebody who died. A long time it's going to stay in our mind." |
Previous version
1
Next version