I am a sucker for artists, especially great ones. Note that my definition of art is muy broad: The mother who stretches a hundred pennies one hundred ways to keep food in her children’s bellies is a master artist. The machann who negotiates jagged mountains paths with wooden chairs stacked on his head and no shoes on his feet—to make sure the children get to school—deserves an achievement award. Children who fashion toys out of sticks and mud are the true prodigies. Count on me to press the Like button for musicians who promote Haitian culture throughout the world (Wave Hello, Markus!)
I love our storytellers: photographers, painters, authors, and closet poets. Love our supermodels–oh yes, Ms. Tomba! Love our singers–You’ve got to hear Yanick Etienne to know what I’m talking about. The scholars are artists, too—aren’t they? It takes major creativity to earn a Ph.D from a tier-1 University when you got to the United States with less than two English words to rub together.
This post is dedicated to an artist whose work has taken my breath away on so many occasions it’s a surprise I’m still alive.
His name is Raphael Sagage. If you are not familiar with his work, get ready to convert to Sagagism. For a glimpse into the artist behind the art, check out the forthcoming VoicesfromHaiti INNERview.