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On July 27th 2021 the Caribbean lost a respected pioneer and giant in the Visual Arts - LeRoy Clarke. He was 82 years old. Born in Belmont, Trinidad on November 7th, 1938, he was recognised as a visual artist, poet, lecturer/inspirationalist, philosopher, and an Orisha Leader. His family's official
LeRoy Clarke
notice of his passing read, “Chief Ifa’ Oje’ Won Yomi Abiodun, wishes to announce that he has transitioned to the realm of the ancestors.” Often described as “controversial”, he was the first Trinidadian artist to be conferred with the title “Master Artist” by the National Museum and Art Gallery of T&T; the winner of an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT); named National Living Treasure by the Trinidad Hilton and declared a national icon by the Trinidadian government. The Barbados Arts Council joins all Caribbean artists in mourning his tremendous loss, while we give thanks for the gift of his life, his works, and his influence.
Jill McIntyre Newsletter Editor & Artist
If you haven't visited the Barbados Arts Council Art Gallery recently, you are definitely missing out on some really beautiful artworks! On the following pages we give you a very tiny sample of what's currently on show and available in the Gallery. If an artwork resonates with you, please don't hesitate to give us a call at (246) 426-4385 and speak with
Juliette Clarke, who will be more than happy to help you find what you are looking for. Remember, the BAC Gallery is open on three days a week - Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm. Please note that COVID-19 protocols are in effect at the Gallery for the safety of all. Featured on the cover of this newsletter is a painting of a mask by Petra Toyin, and it's one of the many captivating artworks currently being shown in the Gallery. Our artists are not restricted to a particular style or genre, and we promote the work of both mature and new, emerging visual artists, as well as photographers.
Above: painting by Carloph Jones Below: painting by Juliette Clarke
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Artists left to right: Kay Morgan, Wendy Ferguson, Larrie Belgrave, Glenroy Jordan
Artists left to right: Angela Barnett, Hugh Walker, Hilary Armstrong, Allan Ashby
Artists left to right: Alison Chapman-Andrews, Audrey Saul-Bryan, Lana Phillips
Artists left to right: Susan Alleyne-Forde, Virgil Broodhagen, Reginald Gill
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It’s that time of year again, when we would normally be gearing up for a Grand Kadooment with all of the excitement and colourful pageantry of masquerade bands and revellers, marking the culmination of the Crop Over Festival. Unfortunately, Grand Kadooment 2021 is yet another casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in honour of the season and the absence of the masquerade, I thought we should highlight the art and magic of masks, especially since we are all now of necessity required to wear Above: Two of the 11 stone masks from the Neolithic period. them! Masks have been a part of human culture for thousands of years. A mask is described as any device that wholly or partially covers the face, and they are used for numerous reasons, for example: to hide or disguise your identity; to protect the face in sports and healthcare situations; to entertain, frighten or amuse such as in plays, masquerades, dance performances and carnivals; and for religious rituals and ceremonies. Cave drawings dating back 25,000 years depict people wearing animal masks. The oldest intact masks ever discovered are 11 stone masks which date back to the Neolithic period and were found in the Judean Desert in the Middle East. Right: The gold funerary mask of the 18th-dynasty ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun (reigned 1334–1325 BC), Found in tomb KV62 in the Valley of the Kings in 1925.
Left: The Venetian Plague Doctor Mask is a popular costume mask worn during Carnival in Venice. It mimmicks the masks worn by 17th century European physicians to protect them while tending patients suffering from the Bubonic plague
Apart from the protective masks which we now wear daily in accordance with COVID-19 protocols, masks have traditionally been worn in the Caribbean for entertainment and masquerading purposes, during bank holiday celebrations, festivals and carnivals to celebrate legendary and mythological figures, and to bring theatre and pageantry to the streets. /cont'd...
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Most of the various Caribbean carnivals have their origins in the pre-Lenten traditional Catholic carnival which would have been brought to the region by French and Spanish colonizers. These carnivals and other Caribbean festivals and celebrations grew and evolved with a very strong injection of rich African traditions of masquerades (this is a “catchall” description for festive social gatherings, plays, religious ceremonies, or dances by masked performers). African masquerades have traditionally provided entertainment, defined social roles, and communicated religious meaning. Over the years the Caribbean has developed as a multiracial, multicultural region and we now benefit from the creative influences of other peoples and times. On these pages, we take a look at some examples of masks from different cultures all over the world, used for religious ceremonies, for theatrical performances, for festivals and other celebratory events. Artistic inspiration comes to us in many different ways, but one way to recharge your creative energy is to look at what other Creatives are doing.
Top and middle photos: Masks of the African Dogon, an ethnic group indigenous to the central plateau region of Mali, in West Africa, south of the Niger bend, near the city of Bandiagara, and in Burkina Faso. The Dogon are best known for their religious traditions, their mask dances, wooden sculpture, and their architecture. Bottom: Among the southern Bwa peoples in Burkina Faso, large wooden plank masks are carved to represent various spirit characters from the myths of their families and clans,
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1 - Aztec serpent mask; 2 - Aztec jaguar mask; 3 - Inca mask 4. - Mask from Sri Lanka; 5 - Chinese New Year Dragon mask
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6 and 7 - Masks worn for The Day of the Dead, a Mexican holiday celebrated on November 1 & 2 in Mexico and elsewhere. It is associated with the Catholic celebrations of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day. The multi-day holiday involves family and friends gathering to pray for and to remember friends and family members who have died.
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The National Cultural Foundation is currently offering a free online course: “Unmasking the Masquerade” featuring six video lessons by instructor Wayne Smith, Barbadian Fashion & Masquerade Designer. The course is structured as part-interview giving us a /cont'd...
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Above: Barbados postage stamp featuring a Crop Over scene with masqueraders and masks Below: Various performance and decorative masks by Petra Toyin, Barbadian Creative Practitioner
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behind-the-scenes perspective, part stepby-step instruction, and wholly interesting. It uses Barbados’ stage presentation at Carifesta XII, 2015 in Haiti to illustrate the process of creating masquerade costumes from start to finish; while revealing the inspiration, roots and heritage of masquerade. Episode 4 deals with basic mask design. You should make an effort to check it out. If you have an interest in the topic of masks, costumes and Barbadian culture, and would like to delve more deeply, you should read “Losing our masks: traditional Masquerade and Changing Constructs of Barbadian Identity” by Dr. Marcia Burrowes, Coordinator and Lecturer in Cultural Studies, The University of the West Indies (UWI), Cave Hill, Barbados.
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Lorna Ann Rudder is a visual artist who specializes in heraldic arts and textiles. She creates tapestries and banners that are overflowing with history and meaning. Born to Bajan parents in New Jersey, USA, Ann says her career as an artist had its genesis in her early childhood. She explains, “In the early days of television, there was a children’s show hosted by “Bill Baird & his Puppets” (way earlier than Sesame Street). One day they announced a contest where all we kids had to do was to draw some fantasy characters called “The Snookwiggies”. Yep, “I WON” and the prize was a Giant Golden Book about “Pirates, Ships and Sailors”. Hmm, I might have surmised, ‘If I draw stuff, I get stuff’. Around this time I also drew “Mr. Tooth Decay” for another project and folks liked that one too. I was soon on my way.”
Visual Artist, Ann Rudder Artistic genes are embedded in her DNA; her Bajan father, Frank Lisle, was a very good oil painter (she regrets that she doesn’t have any of his works). Her aunt Winifred rendered in oils too, and was also a craftsperson, while her mother’s sister Dorothy was a Milliner. Ann left Dwight Morrow High School Englewood, New Jersey, with four art classes and a scholarship to The New York Phoenix School of Design (ranked #4 after Pratt, Parsons, and the School of Visual Arts, Phoenix). She gained certification in Commercial & Advertising Art. Her late sister Lynn also attended School of Visual Arts and went on to work with a NYC Walt Disney design studio. Ann describes herself as a very lazy artist who needs to become really inspired or to receive commission requests before she can create. “My alternative is spontaneous deep dives of creativity into topical or historic themes. I really do not copy anyone else and I’m kind of proud about that. I have photos of a real lot of work, located in businesses, homes, churches and organizations in a lot of /cont'd...
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near and far away places. My “trapunto” Royal British Legion Lions’ Head affront, was made in San Francisco and sent to their HDQRS in the Tower of London.” Heraldry is described as the science and the art that deal with the use, display, and regulation of hereditary symbols employed to distinguish individuals, armies, institutions, and corporations. Ann’s considerable expertise in heraldry is self-taught, and her preferred tools of trade are applique and a sewing machine. She has designed textile banners, corporate badges, ties, scarves and logos; and restored national insignia commissioned for Government Headquarters, the law courts, the National Library, and the Grantley Adams International Airport. Ann is especially proud of her two commissioned Heraldic Armorial Achievements of Queen Elizabeth I & Sir Francis Drake. This project was quite unique with regard to its required materials.
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Heraldic art and textiles on this page by Visual Artist, Ann Rudder She explains, “Through a flag manufacturer I received some of the same material used for presidential flags. It was manufactured with “cupernonium” a coated or woven “mystery ingredient” that prevented ‘warp and woof’ stretch issues and also resisted moths and fading, The deep indigo blue background carried ‘gold fringe’ that was exactly that, 6% gold bullion. The 5’x5’ Armorial Banners were commissioned for the 400th Anniversary of Drake’s global circumnavigation 1577-1580 that led to the ‘discovery’ of ‘Nova Albion’.” These particular creations are on permanent exhibition in Grace Cathedral on top of Nob Hill in San Francisco.
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Ann has created numerous Mothers’ Union Banners for several churches here in Barbados, “When I was first commissioned in 2003 to craft the 1st Diocesan Mothers’ Union banner, I began to uniquely reference historic “Virgin and Child” depictions rendered by Verona, Botticelli, Raphael and other classic painters. Then the suitable images become enhanced via my fabric collage applique. It was a treat to view the procession of twenty on parade from Queens Park for the Mothers’ Union 100th Anniversary.” She is also the author of the Reference Booklet “The Heraldry of the Commonwealth Caribbean”, which was published to accompany the 17 Armorial Banners as part of the Barbados Parliament National Art Collection.
All heraldic art and textiles on this page, as well as the two previous pages, are the work of Artist Ann Rudder.
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On Thursday, May 27th 2021, Visual Artist HeatherDawn Scott spearheaded a peaceful protest at Block A Building, The Garrison, St. Michael, the proposed site for the the Barbados National Art Gallery. A banner which declared "Ceci n'est pas un NAG" (translation: This is not a NAG) was erected, with the image of a horse/nag. It was a clear reference to Rene Magritte's famous painting "The Treachery of Images". Artists and Art lovers will understand the message. In Heather-Dawn's words, she explained, "A vast amount of energy and commitment has been harnessed over the past 64 years towards making a National Art Gallery a reality here in Barbados. None the less for too long the public has been kept unaware of the magnificent collection of art that has literally been kept under wraps, in the dark and out of their view. Our National Collection consists of sculpture and textiles, conceptual art and film... not just the paintings that come first to mind. These are yours and mine, they belong to the people of Barbados. They have been acquired through careful vetting, demanding competitions and also bequeathed and gifted by great acts of generosity so that we can all grow from them and derive enjoyment from them. But still they remain out of sight. I think I can speak on behalf of all the artists when I say - that having their most successful work, born of progressive thinking, hard won skills and sacrifice buried away for over half a century is painful and offensive. It is clear that the general public is entirely unaware of the situation and that the time to
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Barbadian Visual Artist - Heather-Dawn Scott redress the task has passed us by once too often and I despair that in waiting the collection faces inevitable decay. The banner at Block A is in protest to the clear lack of progress made by the National Art Gallery Board since its formation, and was erected in the hope that we can combine our energies towards a solution without further delay."
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Caribbean creatives should take note of a new website made just for us. LVTYart.com is a virtual art and cultural space that celebrates Caribbean culture. According to creator Kelli Blake, "LVTY Art is dedicated to amplifying the voice of artists living and working in the Caribbean. We help them connect with their audience in international markets; ultimately elevating the narrative, creating thriving ecosystems and opportunities for more stories and artistic perspectives. Our point of view is West Indian with a global sensibility." Here's a small taste of one of the site's articles featuring one of our local Barbadian visual artists:
When the River Meets the Ocean... And The Ocean Goddess Paints by Ashley Gibbs "Yemaya Assessu, Assessu yemaya, Yemaya olodo, Olodo yemaya A celebration of the moment when the river meets the ocean. Jillian McIntyre depicts this ocean goddess’ home with bright blues and the calm froth of the ocean waves. As the river gives way into the vast and lonely expanse of the ocean, explore the mysterious underwater world. You may encounter Yemaya — fierce yet gentle energy. As the “Mother of All,” she is a symbol of endless compassion and creativity. Her spirit is that which imbues the resilience of an artist. No matter how they may be forced to suppress their God-given urge to create, they somehow find a way. It’s a story especially true for this artist. After years spent repressing her calling, Jill is bursting at the staves with creativity. Talent and creative energy manifest through acrylic paint on canvas. Each blank canvas represents a chance to fill space with a striking medley of color. It’s an exciting opportunity to learn something new and rediscover the art she feels compelled to bring to life, just as Yemaya gives life to all things."
Above: "Octopoda" by Jill McIntyre
You can read the entire article at the following link: https://lvtyart.medium.com/when-the-river-meets-theocean-9a15d4e33a0b
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Canajun/Bajan, Maureen Tracey seen here this winter in Montreal, has to use both her heart and mind to keep painting the wonderful Bajan images she loves to create. In Spring 2020, Maureen had to leave Barbados and return to Canada and since then she hasn’t been able to come back to the island. But that didn’t mean she could give up painting Bajan scenes and continued to put together a new series of favourite Bajan images which can be seen on her website www.maureenptracey.artsites.ca. With the freezing temperatures, wind, snow and grey days it wasn’t always easy for her to get into the vibe. However, a quick shot (or two) of rum ‘warmed up her spirit’. Well that’s what she likes to say anyhow!
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Visual Artist, Maureen Tracey Maureen can’t wait for the moment she can return with missing her many friends so much. Hopefully ‘these times’ will be over soon.
On this page are some of Maureen's Bajaninspired artworks
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BAC Member Benefits The BAC’s primary purpose is to nurture the artistic expression of creatives in Barbados. If you are an artist who wants to learn, share ideas, and contribute to the growth of Visual Arts as a viable sector in Barbados, then you should join the Barbados Arts Council. We also welcome persons who appreciate art but who may not be artistically inclined, and who want to add their other talents and time to help nurture the visual arts in Barbados. Apart from the satisfaction of assisting the Council in achieving its goals, here are some of the benefits that BAC members enjoy: 1. Members can participate in any BAC group show without paying hanging fees! (up to 3 pieces per person) 2. New and emerging artists get the opportunity to show their artwork and gain experience at the BAC gallery when they might not yet gain access to other galleries 3. The BAC gallery commission on sales is only 30%! (considerably less than other galleries) 4. Members get a 5% discount when they purchase art supplies from Laurie Dash & Sons 5. Get a 5% - 10% discount on selected items from The Art Hub Visit the Gallery and apply for membership today. An annual fee of Bds $100 is applicable. Art Students (secondary school and BCC) are eligible for a student membership fee of Bds $50 per year.
BAC Art Gallery hours: Mon, Weds, Fri 9:30am to 3:30pm, #20 Pelican Craft Centre, Harbour Road, Bridgetown, Barbados Tel: (246) 426-4385 Email: thebarbadosartscouncil@gmail.com Facebook: Barbados Arts Council Official Page Instagram: BarbadosArtsCouncil www.thebarbadosartscouncil.com