Traditional Mas concludes

" Love Chinaman will be putting milk in your coffee.. sooner rather than later Chinee children will be calling you daddy ..."




This video clip gives a summary of the Traditional Mas held in St. James, Trinidad, West Indies. It begins with the Pierrot Grenade who test the audience with a mix of polysyllables to form words. Then to the Black Indians with their antics and untranslatable rant. A Carnival performer who has been portraying the Bookman devil for over sixty years, and two Midnight Robbers churning out their speech.

Ashraph's Mas

An exhibition explores the state of Carnival in Trinidad and Tobago



It all came together after months of preparation, Whe de asse..whe de mas, the Band, turned up at the Annex of Trinidad and Tobago's National Museum in Port of Spain, and at the most appropriate time. A week from now, masqueraders will be prancing on the streets for carnival 2008.

Mr. Ramsaran's (Ashraph) approach begins with the very state of Carnival. By this, his sculptural pieces played their own mas by puns and by literal representation. Ashraph's strongest works are the striking Papier-mâché Red Devils against the white walls and metal sculptures. The Midnight Robbers shows his potential as a conceptualist, with its use of ready-made objects fused together to translate a national figurehead. More amusing is the rituals of Carnival for which Mr. Ramsaran had been forewarned regarding the use of an alcohol motif. One of his Fancy Sailor suffered its fate, the golden glittered Rum bottle broke.

Visitors to the museum may be puzzled by what these forms mean, in any sense they come from a place of tradition. They are nuances to the very fabric from which Trinidad's carnival is derive from. The Midnight Robber, the Fancy Sailor, Bats, Red Devils and Fancy Indians, Kings and Queens and to its current transitional state of feathers and beads, all inclusive, as a brown paper bag.

A Carnival Exhibition, National Museum of Trinidad and Tobago, January 29th till February 10th, 2008

Badjohns at Panorama

" All Stars getting buried tonight.....Ah putting All Stars in Tunapuna cemetery tonight…..Ah not putting dem in a poorfoot dat too good for dem, and if ah cyar get one, Ah put dem in de San Juan when I go down south........."



Towards the track at the Queen's Park Savannah, and to the North Stand and its stage, Steelbands are in a fierce competition to get into the panorama finals. The mood in the Savannah is thick and less festive as factions of supporters hail insults at each other. The video begins with Renegades and ends with All Stars as the steelband passes Desperadoes parked to their right towards the long pull to the stage.

Above: The percussion section of Renegades steelband at the entrance to the Queen's Park Savannah, Trinidad West Indies.

A day of Art

On the 26th of January, there were a number of shows to go to in Port-of-Spain. At Y Gallery, a group show on the theme of Mas, at In2Art, Edward Bowen's recent works and at Horizon's Art Gallery the work of Brian Wong Won.

With so much art to look at, it was a very good day. In Belmont the artists, Marlon Griffith, Jamie Lee Loi and Nicholai Noel created an installation in an empty lot that deals with their personal concerns about crime in Trinidad and Tobago.

With so much to see, I felt quite filled and fulfilled by a day spent looking at and socializing around art. On the one hand, the carnival shows attempt to create a nostalgia about what is mas imagery, and Peter Sheppard was able to capture the whimsical side of that question, as did Brian Wong Won. Edward Bowen's show on the other hand had nothing to do with carnival, but a lot to do with colour and collage technique.

Mr. Bowen's show has taken a slightly different bend from his shows of the past. Here at In2Art, Mr. Bowen's work takes on a very light, almost mellow intention. Usually, his technical skill is such that he embroiders his paintings with personal hieroglyphics that give the pieces an air of dark magic. One wonders what is the motivation to fill every open space with loose scrawls that lie on the surface in dramatic ways. In this show, that is still apparent, but the colour is the main attraction, as it speaks from canvas to canvas.

The huge contrast between those shows and the three artist installation is worth a look, as they grapple with a very emotional issue, creating a sort of CSI crime scene across from a PNM constituency office and an actual high crime area. - Adele

LA FANTASIE - 44 Norfolk street Belmont

A public art installation attempts at a social underclass



A make-shift dwelling at 44 Norfolk street, Belmont, Trinidad and Tobago raises the question of the demographic and accuracy of crime. How it is portrayed questions the very illusion, fiction and reality of the problem. The artists involved with the project are commented for their efforts.



Three artists recently did an installation in Belmont, Trinidad and Tobago. They received funding from the Netherlands foundation, Prince Claus to build a makeshift structure on a plot of land. The work centered around crime in the country. You enter a picket fenced yard and open a door. Once inside, the interior is black and you use the UV light given at the door to comb the crime scene. Revealed are drawings on a derelict sofa and on the floor and refrigerator. There is a small area where you can see through to the ground and a video is looped over that space and looks eerily like a scene from Predator.
















The artists, Nicholai Noel, Marlon Griffith and Jamie Lee Loy have endeavored to recreate a scene of violent crime, on a main street in the city. The reaction for such an event is mixed. So many questions remain to be asked, and in a way, that proves the success of the work.

choosing that location for example is a stickler, as opposed to an area untouched by real violent crime? Are they somehow glamorizing the theme by posing the objects in the house? Are they accomplishing what they have set out to prove or show? I understand their dilemmas. I too have done a great deal of work on crime, and I am very concerned about aping the reality by drawing from images in the newspapers and in all other media.

While doing my embroideries on the subject, I was very wary of sending a sanitized message, of not reaching the mark of what I really want to say. It isn’t an easy choice to do work on contemporary subject manner. You do come from a place of (that dreaded word to some) privilege. But so be it. Artists are impacted by society and vice versa, and so we create because we have to, and it is in the creating that we can look at ourselves even when we more often than not, miss the mark. Adele

Jab Jab - Diable Diable

Jab Jabs are considered as the pretty devil mas dressed up as a medieval colorful jester, but devils they are. At the Traditional Old Mas competition in St. James,Trinidad, West Indies spectators had the chance to the see these masqueraders master their whips in a choreographed dance and something more.... that strength may not be related to size. Paid close attention to the video.

Bats - Traditional Carnival 2008

Finding an identity we can call our own



They gathered at the entrance to the make-shift stage. One or two sat on the road with their wings wrapped around themselves. The event was the Traditional Mas competition in St. James, Trinidad and a number of Bats were ready to take flight to reenact the flying mammal.

Trinidad carnival it is not about the beads or feathers, elaborate head pieces or five hundred pound floats, but rather for the individual to play themselves, for one to find an identity they can call theirs. Carnival is about the reenactment of an cultural identity copied from books, television or from observations played out as a performance....I really don't know who I am, but this is what I'll like to be. Next: Jab Jab

Dem old time ting - Fancy Sailor's last dance

How come no one has come up with a sailor costume tarred with beads and plumes of feathers?

At the Traditional Mas in St.James, Trinidad, West Indies, the Carnival competition began with the tribute of two masqueraders who had died in 2007, one of whom was Gilbert Defreitas, a.k.a. Popeye on roller skates. Every year it seems, the few individuals who have kept the traditions of Old Mas alive are becoming less visible. There were four Fancy Sailors on show, yet their enthusiasm and attention to the sailor dance brought a nostalgia, if not taught to the younger sailor masqueraders, the art may perished as well.

The video begins with a tribute to Popeye at last year's event and continues with the classic Fancy Sailor dance. Above: Gilbert Defreitas a.k.a. Popeye dancing on his roller skates in 2006. Nest: Bats

St. James's Dame Lorraine

The mocking society

At the traditional carnival street competition in St. James last evening, a hefty crowd came out to support a handful of Old Mas performers. From the Midnight Robbers to the White Fruit Bats, masqueraders did their jig of speeches, dances and enactments.

The Dame Lorine is a character taken from the French aristocrat from the 18th century. The costumes are an elaborate fanfare of hats, fans and large hoop skirts decorated with glitter. The dance of the Dame Lorraine may vary to a dainty chip or to a contemporary lewd, all on the ground Jamette wine, the latter generally is awarded with a ruckus applause. The essence of the costume is the exaggeration of the bosoms and derrière to fit the physical characteristics of the Negro woman. The swaying of the hip and high position of derrière is an open invitation that wets the sexual appetite of the male observer.

The clip shows the Dame Lorraine portrayed by a family of sisters. One Dame Lorraine has called her costume, short season as she complained over the difficulty of getting fabric to cover the length of her gown. The last is a tribute to the cricketer, Brian Lara. Above: The Dame Lorraine at the traditional Mas in St. James, Trinidad and Tobago. Next, Fancy Sailors.

The road to a new city

Only we to blame for a Capital with no character


Standing on shaky grounds, St. Clair, Trinidad.

It is a trend that seems to be happening and no one really cares. One day you see an old colonial house, then the next day it has vanished leaving behind a large empty dirt plot. This is what architects proclaim as progress at the will of their clients in the name of boxed steel and glass. Port of Spain, the capital of Trinidad and Tobago is changing in front of our very eyes and the conservationists who should be protecting these historic buildings seem less to care as the capital is beginning to lose its Caribbean quaintness.

Oils - handmade journals

I am not a machine



These are a series of journals which were produced in late 2007. They were intended to be sold as a set at an affordable price and for artists who may like to have a body of drawings contained as one volume.

Oils
9x8ins
Saw in with cords
50 pages Bond paper acid free
Covers: original oil on canvas

A day at Panorama 2008

The preliminaries to Panorama began quietly with the judging of the small, medium and large steelbands. This is the stage to the North stand and to the track where supporters came out in their masses towards the evening. At 8pm, the medium bands were still on stage and the larger steelbands where rehearsing at the entrance of the Queen's Part Savannah which was best described as a tranquil bliss of calm.

The video on youtube explains it all.

Playing yuh self - Trinidad Carnival 1950's

The keepers of our past...



The still of the masquerader sitting on the back of a donkey during Trinidad and Tobago's carnival was filmed by an American visitor from 1956-7 according to Ray Funk. It shows the track to the Queen's Park Savannah's stage, and how masqueraders played their mas as they marched across the stage recorded with a 16mm home movie camera.

Recently, a discussion on the preservation of Trinidad carnival stressed that footage such as the sample may have been taken by members of the society who were wealthy enough to own recording devices, and there is the likelihood the spools of film may be tossed in some cardboard box gathering dust from the grandchildren of people who filmed the festival over fifty years ago. Thanks to Ray Funk, the archivist of Trinidad and Tobago's Steelband, Calypso and Carnival, he is preserving a collection by seeking out finds as with this footage.

The youtube is a commentary by Ray Funk, Allyson Hennessy and Holly Betaudier on local television.

Carnival Mannequin Moods

This showcase brings great excitement to what can be expected for Trinidad's Carnival in 2008. In its enclosure, the mannequins are to wet the appetite of the Mas buyer. Moods is the title of the Carnival band and the designers are Humphrey and Associates.

The basis of these two costumes are the bathing trunks and bikini swimwear in navy blue and lime green, respectively. The accessories for men are a large collar which is carried over the chest with three rings of blue and magenta. A waist band with a loop buckle secures the knee length pants. To the right of the garment, three loop rings hang at the side. The masquerader's headband is obscured by a large Ruby plastic stone set within a metallic star shape. This may indicate the third eye, but players are going to tilt the piece to the back of their heads so to avoid injury by not jooking out their eye. The rest of the costume is accessorised by an arm, wrist and calf bands which politely matches the manly tones.

As for the Moods women, they should be delighted by the adornments attached to the bikini swimwear. Chain beads with loops of rings. There is a neck collar and the bikini bottom has attached, particularly at the crutch, a series of rings and beads that fall about 12ins in length. It will be interesting to see how the masquerader will deal with this hanging as it looks most uncomfortable as it slaps between her legs. The head piece is adorned with the plumage of peacock feathers reassuring Mas players the reasoning behind the 500 extra dollars in cost. Petite knee bands are decorated with rings and navy blue feathers.

A public show window in St, James, Trinidad, West Indies.

Hosay - Night of Flags

This is the first night of the Hosay precessions on the streets of St. James, Trinidad and Tobago. There are three families who celebrate the Day of Muharram, Night of Flags. A procession that began at 11pm on the quiet streets and echoed the rhythms of the Tassa drummers surrounded by a small but attentive audience.

The clip on youtube shows a synopsis of the evening from the three processions. Note the energy and compassion from the drummers.

The Carnival March

She dancing as if she is a Carnival Baby

By now, Trinidadians will be exercising around the Queen's Park Savannah in preparation for the Carnival festival 2008. Mas camps will be working overtime to get those skimpy costumes made and delivered. Less feathers and beads this year and more body paint.

On these two days before the Christian observance of Ash Wednesday, white women will seek out pan men, Indian girls will hunt down white men and Port of Spain will smell of urine. In its bacchanal and aftermath, people who took a wine together will pass each other on the street straight and there will be many surprises in October for the deeds done, namely, Carnival babies.

Yet, with this photograph, this masquerader with her basic costume of an pair of shorts and a top is in a spirit of Carnival. She is in an energy that has captivated her on the streets of Port of Spain. This is not about winning or drinking or having a man at your tail, but of a brisked march that keeps the dancer going for of two days straight. From left to right, the trot makes us free the spirit and puts us in a place that with all of the hardships and political unkindness, life is wonderful in its simplicity. In her world, she is truly free.

Public paintings n° 171

This by all means this is a dilapidated building in St. James, Trinidad West Indies. Thousands of people pass by it everyday but do they ever consider it as a work of Art?

From the flakes of paint n° 171 is an old wooden colonial building that shows the beauty in its composition, in its tones of tortoise and gray blue which has been weathered by the Caribbean sky.

Candelabrum in St. James

In Judaism, a candelabrum with seven branches is used in ceremonies to symbolize the seven days of Creation. The graffiti artist who is responsible for these Judeo-Christian inscriptions has done his home work. The candle stick indeed has seven holders along with some biblical quotations that occupy the walls of a cemetery, St. James, Trinidad.

Before the current influx of graffiti artists, dating back from the 1990s, this work and works like it was sprayed in blue paint in parts of the capital, Port of Spain.

King Cobo - John Stollmeyer

Muda of mudas, fada of fadas ,You belong to the Earth, de Earth does not belong to you, I am General Motors, the World Bank, granulated sugar, the creater of the population explosion

For visitors to Trinidad and Tobago, this is one of our traditional carnival characters called the Midnight Robber. King Cobo, performed by John Stollmeyer is a sample of its role to upkeep the traditions of Carnival from the grip of commercialism.

The King Cobo character's concept was born, as Mr.Stollmeyer explains in 1990, Toronto's Caribana . In 2000, King Cobo dies and this is the incarnation as his mother, Nikita B Nekbet, the vulture goddess of Upver Nile. listen to his speech in its entirety on youtube. It should be noted that the honking of car horns is an acknowledgment of the performance.

Brooklyn Museum shows Art of the Caribbean

Foot in the door - How to trick your audience

The current exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum, New York is showcasing upcoming contemporary artists from the Caribbean. Curated by Tumelo Mosaka, the theme is based on artists who best represent the region. Entitled, Infinite Island, the exhibition is of forty six artists, and their work full the upper floors of the Morris A. and Meyer Schapiro Wing.

Contemporary Caribbean Art is difficult to define as Contemporary Art lends itself to interpretation to those who lack a reference point. There is the general consensus that it has become gimmicky and contemporary artists are using every attempt to justify the quality of their work by attaching some sort of relevancy in its meaning, hence, a table is a table or the platform to address a subject of cohesive matter.....

For a younger audience, this may enlighten the very aspect that in Art, anything goes as long as debate over its theoretical backing exists. Yet, a table, objects, installations, branding, technical drawings leave less to the imagination. Based on the Exhibition Catalogue, this is a quick walk through, no stopping, no intrigued, and sadly no heart. Contemporary Art is dead or just too sterile to evoke any emotion. How much more can the audience except this as art depending on their taste, if that matters at all.

Above, from the Catalogue, Trinidadian Steve Ouditt , a poor reproduction of an installation which may not be the work exhibited as with a number of plates seen in the book. Mr. Ouditt used a series of graphic based iconography as call cards to reflect the political status of Trinidad and Tobago.

Primarily, Infinite Island, touched on the globalisation of American culture, the rituals of religion still practiced in the Caribbean and hinted on the flirtation of sexually. Infinite Island, August 31, 2007 till January 27, 2008 Brooklyn Museum, New York.

To the left, Authentic Caribbean Art from Trinidad and Tobago. A sculpture made out of bamboo for the Divali celebrations in 2007. The helicopter is used as a surveillance device. On the 31st of December 2007, it was used to enjoy the New Year's fireworks.

Jackie Hinkson + Queen's Hall + Blackmas

At Queen Hall, a theater for the performing Arts in Trinidad and Tobago, the foyer is hosting an exhibiting of twenty three Carnival charcoal drawings by Jackie Hinkson. It is a body of work that has been recently produced in 2007 and others that dates from 1996.

In the compositions, Mr. Hinkson shows vignettes of Trinidad and Tobago's carnival by his observation and by his interjected social motifs. In its energy, in its tradition and of its people, his drawings are puns on contemporary society which are representational of Trinidad and Tobago. Mr. Hinkson's later works are less detailed. His strokes are softer and parts of the composition appear to look incomplete. He should either simplify the form or push the gamma of grays to give his drawings the intensity and depth of field exhibited in his earlier works. Yet, it is in the message, in his choice of character (the Midnight Robber) that evokes his satirical stance as his strolls across the streets of Port of Spain, preaching to those who neglect to see.

Mr. Hinkson has often eluded to Francisco Goya as an influence to the satirist view on society. Goya is known for representing the ills of man which he captured the inhumanity of his motherland Spain via its subversive insurrection. Either way, Jackie Hinkson is recording Trinidad and Tobago as its landscape changes. In its architecture, political climate and people.

Blackmas continues till the 31st, January, 2008 at Queen Hall, Port of Spain, Trinidad, West Indies. Here is the opportunity for visitors to island to peek at a culture that seems untamed in its multiplex energy to be creative, yet loss in its direction in a social goal. The drawing above is a detail of a large panoramic view at Viey La Cou. This is where traditional carnival characters such as the Pierrot Grenade (centre) perform. See his mural on the outer facade of the hall.

Mission not Impossible

From an overheard conversation: She belly high, dat sweet to fock

A wall painting entitled, Mission Impossible, Trinidad, West Indies

In a quaint part of Princess Town, Trinidad, West Indies, in one of the local bars called Obsession, a wall painting brings some humour to patrons who may be a bit intoxicated to even care. It is an airbrush painting of a couple who have sex on their mind but also have physical compilations to consummate the act. . The artist has illustrated a pregnant women pleading to her partner for some pleasurable coition. At the looks of it, he is competing with her by the tremendous amount of weight in fat folds which he carries over his belly. But don’t mind this, men generally find innovative means to overcome the predicament. Sooner or later she cyett getting lick up and he totee getting suck.

Cyett: Vagina
Totee: Penis

Is four women holding up meh car ?

This may be lifted from an automotive part ad promoting car shocks. Here is another version which has already been written about. Yet it is the delight which the artist took to illustrate the nude pinkish women as part of the car suspension.

In a mechanic shop on the old southern main road, a replica of a pin up, Trinidad, West Indies.

Bobiesingh yuh see yuh name deh ?

There is no explanation needed here other than not seeing your name written in chalk on the expel board. In many rural bars across Trinidad and Tobago, misbehaving patrons will be barred from entering the bar if their names are listed

A blackboard in a decrepit building, San Fernando,Trinidad.

Vishnu in concrete and paint

Vishnu as a mural in concrete and paint. The decorative relief is on the wall of a small temple in a private home. Eastern main road, Trinidad.

Vishnu is described as the all-pervading essence of a all beings, the master of the past, present and future and the creator and destroyer of all existences. It has been brought to attention that the mural is more likely a portrayal of Saraswati, the goddess of wisdom. Thank you for your observation.

The future

Focus strength creativity and change



The concept of Trinidad and Tobago as a paradise is shown here by this mural on a metal panel. There is the coconut shell as a face with flowers, a palm tree and steel drums over a setting sun. It is a paradise we hope for at at time of uncertain, social neglect mixed in with greed and disrespect.