There is nothing like the first morning in a new, foreign place. At first it seems like any other morning; I’m half asleep and my body and mind has no recollection of the journey last night. Then the magical moment happens. Usually it’s an unfamiliar sound that jolts me out of my dozing state. Where am I? It can take a second before my mind manages to grab the memories. Then it all comes back to me. I feel a surge of joy rush through me. The best part is yet to come. I sink happily back into the pillows and let the cascade of foreign sensations seep in.

Everything is different from back home. The bed, the room, furniture and colors are all different. Even the texture of the sheet gives my skin an unfamiliar sensation. But the immediate surroundings are seldom what excite me. My focus stretches outside. I blend the sounds, scents and what I can glimpse through the window with my imagination.

Acting Appropriately

There are things our children do that are absolutely objectionable. They may be dangerous, disrespectful, or even illegal. Sometimes they do or say things that are objectionable, but are very cute, demonstrate high intelligence and/or express feelings that we share with them, but for any number of reasons we don’t want to share with the world.

Synopsis of Art by Artists of Haitian Descent in the Diaspora –– Part III

By Marcel Duret and Fred Thomas

One of Haiti's greatest exports to the world is its beautiful art. To illustrate the four major trends of the Haitian diaspora as outlined in previous issues of the Tokyo Journal, Haitian art experts Marcel Duret and Fred Thomas cast a closer look on the works of selected artists.

Primitivism

Aside the naive genre, there is primitivism. This encompasses works by artists with formal training but who decide to paint naively and consequently produce works similar to the ones by artists such as Jean Michel Basquiat, Emile Nolde and Jean Dubuffet. Such artists are influenced by the primitive art of indigenous cultures as seen in African masks and artifacts of the so called uncivilized people of other continents. These artists strive to emulate the spontaneity, unsophistication and simplicity of primitive art. They focus mainly on the essential by discarding or neglecting all unnecessary details so that the imagination can be left to complete the work. Blondel Joseph’s paintings and some of Fred Thomas’ newest creations are perfect illustrations of such a tendency.