Detail of Manasa, Ink Drawing, 1978
Detail of Baptist Ground Paintings, Mixed Media, 1980
TRINIDAD AS ART
25th May - 21st July 2001
This is the first in a series of five exhibitions on the topic "TRINIDAD AS ART". The purpose of these exhibitions is to explore, through the visual arts, the meanings, significances and the manifestations of Trinidad as phenomena and as art. The intention is to re-present Trinidad to itself- as the subject and object of the persuasive powers of the visual arts. The goal, ultimately, is to chart a new path of noteworthiness, which could lead to the re-invention of THE TRINITY itself.
The discovery of Trinidad and continental America prompted Columbus to conclude that he had found " the Other World". This exhibition is about "THE OTHER PEOPLES" who are now the principal players in Trinidad- citizens of African, Indian and other descents.
This is a retrospective collection of works on paper, which explore the traces, connections and continuities of the sacro-magical structures and sacro-religious structures of consciousness of Hindus, Orissas, Spiritual Baptists and Pre-Columbian visual culture.
In naming this island Trinidad, Christopher Columbus imposed upon all future generations of the "Other Peoples" the burden of coping with the complex notion of the Trinity as a centralising ideology which could fuse a purely religious value system with speculative logics and rationality into instruments of faith. Thus, for contemporary new "Other Peoples" the residual notion of art as the abode for retrospective gods and deities is now rendered highly problematic by the tripartite structuring of the old Trinity enterprise.
TRINIDAD
The Dogs of God invoked the notion of the Trinity to justify and complete the project of religious and racial cleansing in Spain. This centralising myth became the ideological centrepiece for the suppression, extermination and enslavement of "THE OTHER PEOPLES". TRINIDAD became an object of art when Columbus expediently saw the isomorphic fit between significant physical features in the landscape and the tripartite structure of the MYTH OF THE TRINITY. In naming the island Trinidad Christopher Columbus was able to transform discovery as an event into an ART OBJECT - now identified and recognised by a given name.
Without a critical understanding of the TRINITY the art of making art will remain limited to interpretations. Intention, will and creativity will continue to be deferred or sacrificed at the many altars of the TRINITY. Furthermore, the name TRINIDAD, in full conformity with the religious and racial exclusiveness of the TRINITY, will continue to be at odds with the sensibilities of "THE OTHER PEOPLES".
Trinidad and Tobago is the only country whose citizens are burdened by the everyday task of coping with the "trialectics" implied in the mythical construct of the Trinity. Trinidadians have developed a unique national schizzo-culture to enable individuals to cope with the high incidence of stress, conflict and tension associated with the uncritical acceptance of the myth of the Trinity. Many individuals are able to cope with schizzo-culture and sustain authentic personalities. For many, however, the search for meaning and authencity in the everyday Life- world is wasted in the shifting sands of schizzo-culture.
RACINATION AND DIVERSITY
Emancipation, release from bondage and indenture, independence, citizenship are no longer the paradigmatic conditions circumscribing and authenticating personality and identity. In recent times there have been effective demands, especially in the grass-roots of society for what might best be called a sacred personality. This is, perhaps, understandable when the objective circumstances of the life-world of the grass-roots, in particular, its underclass, were outside the norms of the prevailing meritocracy and the web of connections in and to a rentier economy. This was an outsider class whose life-world was lived on borders of economic and social disaster.
The demand for a sacred personality is, however, historically grounded in the need to rehabilitate the self from the profane status mandated in slavery, indenture, etc., to a new status of sacredness of self, identity and personality. In recent times the demand for a sacred personality has been matched by a proliferation of diverse religious, cults, etc. each providing its own rituals for authenticating sacred personalities and new bonding formations.
The amalgamations of organizations, formed in the above with the more established Hindu religious and cultural formations - provide the new objective circumstances under which the historical need for the rehabilitation of the self can now be transformed into effective demand. This is also the precursory condition under which a new and viable definition of Trinidad can be formed.
TRINIDAD AS SUBJECT OF THE ARTS
The new consciousness which assert authentic personality will, as it were, elevate the process by which Trinidad becomes the subject of the arts to a higher level of abstraction and complexities. The level of mutual interests and respect within this amalgam has already begun to show an exponental leap in intersubjective understanding and awareness. This, in turn, has expanded the meaning and cultural viability of Trinidad as the accommodating subject producing transformations in the visual arts. These transformations will, within the context of the pluralism of codes and meanings presented by each respective ethnic or religious group, leave the traces of erased meaning or emerging meanings in the form of layered or multiple coding. Each trace or code would have its roots in a respective group or combination of groups.
TRINIDAD AS THE OBJECT OF ART
Trinidad, viewed as an object of art, could now be understood in terms of a new historic role or mega-cultural artifact. Specifically, Trinidad is "becoming" a multi-coded enterprise in which images and meanings keep sliding in and out of significance. The coding system for this very liquid and pluralistic enterprise is, in terms of time and space, horizontal and vertical. The horizontal coding system will address root values and issues, eg., the genera which ratifies linguistic expressiveness in art. The vertical coding system will carry the trace of being and becoming, of presence and absence. Essentially, vertical codes will be addressing the archaeology of modifications, derivations, transformations etc as values, attitudes and dispositions change in grass-root cultures.
This structure enables
the creator of art, the critic and the general public to share psychic competencies
in the encoding and decoding of meaning. Simultaneously this process will determine,
to a great extent, the efficacy of Trinidad as Art.
The successful expansion of codes enhances linguistic expressions of desire.
In this way Trinidad can become the object of desire and the object of the negations
of desire.
THE FOCUS OF THE EXHIBITION
The focus of the exhibition is on the visual culture of the people of African and Indian origin here in Trinidad. These are at the moment the two major players in the production of grass-root culture and to which the principle of horizontal and vertical coding can be productively employed. They face the same predicament in the productions of art. They have to cope with persistent and residual impulses from visual and cultural heritages from West Africa and India respectively.
West African art is distinctly different from Indian Art. In two-dimensional art, the non-conceptual "beginnings" of a work of art prevails. A work of art does not represent a centralising system of order- nor, for that matter, is it tied firmly to a narrative tradition. It is however, a highly plastic art form. Indian Art, on the other hand, is nearly always narrative. It speaks to the great epics and to linguistic expressiveness in the doings of gods and deities etc. More over, Indian Art follows the ordering principles of Brahmanical rules, Tantric rules, etc. It was, therefore, from the outset capable of developing and sustaining a classical style and tradition.
Traditional Hindu Art also differs from its West African counterpart in the faith orientation of the artist, respectively. Where the Hindu artist relies upon the certralising rules and norms of Brahmanical, Tantric and other nominative systems of order and composition, the West African artist relies upon faith in an authentic sacred personality to unite action and authority, simultaneously, in the making of art. Where in traditional Hindu Art intentions are framed by canons of Brahmanism, etc, and is highly conceptual from the start, African art is mainly non- conceptual. The precursory initiative of the West African artist remains alive, so to speak, in the indelible trace in the work of art itself. In many cases, the precursory initiative maybe re-ritualised to give form to the beginning - the arché of the art.
Faith directs intention. It also directs the intentions of the artist to the meaningful production of art. It is in this sense that faith essentialises itself as the precursory force which brings into play the power to transform energy into movement, balance, linguistic expressiveness etc. Manifestations of faith can be found in every confrontation with new materials or techniques. The great painting heritage of Dutch School resulted from faith in oil paint-a new material, on the one hand and faith in the bonding of the Dutch middle class - manifested in the collective portraits. The works in this exhibition testify to faith in the pen. They also testify to faith in the eye, brain, and hand co ordination as a productive TRINITY. In this way faith becomes the precursory initiative for the creation of wonderment and charisma.
THE NEW TRINITY 1 OF 5
The NEW TRINITY will confirm the current trend to inclusiveness. Unlike Africa, India and Europe etc, where territory has so often given art it's form; and where the frontier of space and time provided the environment of the avant garde, the NEW TRINIDAD will have to look inwardly for it's own morphic resonance. As the OLD TRINITY disappears the relevance of traditional African and Indian art will recede.
Glean Chase
May 2001
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Trinidadian Glean Chase, presents
30 years of drawings in his exhibition ‘Trinidad as Art’ (Main Gallery)
at CCA7, a Centre for the Contemporary Arts. ‘Trinidad as Art’ will
be on display from Friday 25th May – Saturday 21st July 2001. Opening hours:
Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 6pm.
About Glean Chase:
Glean Chase was an early member of the Trinidad and Tobago Art Society. He was
one of the pioneers of abstract constructivist painting in Trinidad. He has
had several one-man exhibitions, and was honoured with a commission for an exhibition
of his work to celebrate the Independence of Trinidad and Tobago in 1962.
This exhibition is a collection of works dating back to the 1960s. These works explore the potential residual and persistent African, Indian and other visual expression in Art.
Glean Chase Statement:
The consecutive discoveries of Trinidad and the continental coastline of Venezuela
prompted Columbus to conclude that he had found the "Other World".
This exhibition is about the "Other Peoples" who are now the principle
players in Trinidad.
This is a retroactive collection of drawings and works on paper. The collection examines connections and continuities of the sacro-religious and sacro-magical art of Pre-Columbian, Orishas, Spiritual Baptist and Hindu cultural traditions.
The exhibition explores the potential for cross-fertilisation and new modes of visual hybridisation which can come from respect and understanding of the visual culture of the new "Other Peoples".
It may well be that Trinidad blessed with a citizenry of "Other Peoples" has the divine mandate to produce the new abodes for gods and deities as Art.
About the Talk Series:
As part of CCA’s Talk Series, Glean Chase will be giving a talk
about his work on a date to be announced. There is no cover charge.
‘Trinidad as Art’ was
part of CCA’s continuous programme of exhibitions in The Main Gallery at
CCA7 from May 25th to July 21st 2001.