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This is your last week to see “The Enduring Spirit of Haitian Metal Sculpture” on display! Haiti has long celebrated a rich artistic and cultural heritage. Discarded steel oil drums have historically served as the base material for Haitian metal artists. The drums’ lids are cut open with a chisel and hammer and a long vertical split is made along the side of the drums. The interiors are filled with dried sugarcane or grass and lit on fire to remove any grime; once cool, the drums are flattened into sheets. Designs are chalked on; pieces are then cut and sculpted using only hand tools and further enhanced by hammering, embossing, cutting holes, and bending the metal. Sculptures reflect everyday life portraits, imaginative themes, and motifs of Haitian Vodou, an African Diasporic religion. Some of the many forms that appear include angels and winged creatures, mermaids and other aquatic figures, musical bands, animals, and earthly, paradisiacal scenes. Special thank you to members of the Haitian Art Society—Anthony Fisher, Larry Kent, and Susan Tselos, for making this exhibition possible, and to Dr. Kyrah Malika Daniels for providing her scholarly expertise. “The Enduring Spirit of Haitian Metal Sculpture” is on display, pre-security, in the Mayor Edwin M. Lee International Terminal Departures Hall and online at: https://bit.ly/HaitianMetal 📸: Map of Haiti Courtesy of Haiti Open R2023.1007.001 Georges Liautaud working on a sculpture c. 1960s Photograph by William Grigsby Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti Courtesy of the Cavin-Morris Gallery ©Randall Morris R2023.1004.002 Dancing figure 2021 Gabriel Bien-Aimé (b. 1951) Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti recycled steel oil drum Collection of Leonard Majzlin, courtesy of Indigo Arts Gallery L2023.1003.004 This image was posted on October 16, 2024.