i just finished an anthropology of religion course at tufts university, with a focus on how witchcraft, magic, and rituals of lesser practiced religions play a part in religion as a whole. it was a really great class, and has opened me up to a lot of interesting ideas and thought processes. one of the religions that we spent a good deal of time on was Haitian Vodou. (in fact, aside from our textbook, the only other reading we did was an amazing book i would definitely recommend, Mama Lola by Karen McCarthy Brown, which is about a mambo (Vodou priestess) who lived in brooklyn).
i was looking up Vodou imagery the other day (Vodou has a focus on spirit worship, and some of the goddess imagery is really interesting. they also use altars quite frequently, which you may know i am also greatly interested in) and i came across the artwork of Renee Stout -or Fatima Mayfield, her alter ego who she uses "to help confront [the] issues... in a way that's open, creative. and humorous" (see her artist statement for full quote).
much of her work seems to be inspired or dealing with Vodou beliefs and spirits, and her monoprints and silkscreens in particular are really beautiful. her work is a combination of installation, photography, printmaking and painting. it's definitely worth checking out.
Stout's website
photos: http://www.reneestout.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment