 | This lithograph by Isaac Mendes Belisario, titled "Koo, Koo, or Actor Boy," appeared in the artist's book "Sketches of Character, In Illustration of the Habits, Occupation and Costume of the Negro Population in the Island of Jamaica." |
An exhibition marking the abolition of the British slave trade 200 years ago
will open on Thursday, Sept. 27, at the Yale Center for British Art.
T H I S
Exhibit chronicles slavery
and emancipation in Jamaica
Titled “Art & Emancipation in Jamaica: Isaac Mendes Belisario and
His Worlds,” this is the first exhibition to focus exclusively on the
visual culture of slavery and emancipation on the island nation. It will be
on view through Dec. 30.
The show chronicles the iconography of sugar, slavery and the topography of
Jamaica from the beginning of British rule in 1655 to the 1840s, with a particular
focus on the turbulent years preceding and immediately following emancipation
in 1838. It gathers together for the first time paintings, drawings and prints
depicting life on the Jamaican sugar plantation and images used by the anti-slavery
campaign. The show features rarely or never-before exhibited works lent by
private and public collections in Jamaica, including the National Gallery of
Jamaica, the National Library of Jamaica and the Institute of Jamaica, as well
as works from collections in the United States, Great Britain and France. The
exhibition was inspired by, and includes many works from, the Yale Center for
British Art’s holdings relating to the Caribbean.
At the heart of the exhibition will be the series of lithographs titled “Sketches
of Character, In Illustration of the Habits, Occupation and Costume of the
Negro Population in the Island of Jamaica,” which were made by the Jewish
Jamaican-born artist, Isaac Mendes Belisario. Published in Jamaica in 1837-1838, “Sketches
of Character” provides the first detailed visual representation of Jonkonnu
(or John Canoe), the celebrated Afro-Jamaican masquerade performed by the enslaved
during the Christmas and New Year holidays.
Other items on display will also trace the West African roots of Jonkonnu,
its evolution in Jamaica and continuing transformation into the 21st century.
These include Jamaican and West African costumes and musical instruments; video
footage of historic and contemporary performance; and a specially-commissioned
sound-track. The exhibition will conclude with work by contemporary Jamaican
and Afro-Caribbean artists investigating the complex legacy of slavery and
emancipation.
“Art and Emancipation in Jamaica” was curated by Gillian Forrester,
associate curator of prints and drawings at the Yale Center for British Art;
Tim Barringer, the Paul Mellon Professor of the History of Art at Yale; and Barbara
Martinez-Ruis, assistant professor of art and art history at Stanford University.
The three curators are also editors of a publication titled “Art and
Emancipation in Jamaica,” which is being issued in conjunction with the
exhibition by the Yale Center for British Art and Yale University Press. The
volume will offer a series of new perspectives on the visual culture of the
North Atlantic; the iconography of slavery and emancipation; the Jewish diaspora
in the Caribbean; and Afro-Jamaican culture, with a focus on Jonkonnu.
Special events
There will be a performance and lecture to mark the opening of the exhibition
on Wednesday, Sept. 26. At 4 p.m., there will be a Jonkonnu performance by
the Caribbean Institute of Dance in the Wuertle Sculpture Garden of the Yale
University Art Gallery, 1111 Chapel St. At 5:30 p.m., Professor Rex Nettleford
of the University of the West Indies will present a talk titled “Jamaican/Caribbean
Collective Creative Imagination: Mask, Myth and Metaphor” in the Yale
Art Gallery’s McNeil Lecture Hall. Both events are free and open to the
public.
A special “Jamaican Art & Culture Community Day” will be held
10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 29. It will feature performances by Baba
David Coleman Drums for Peace and St. Luke’s Steel Band; a Jonkonnu dance
performance and workshop by Adrian Fletcher and the Carribean Institute of
Dance; a “Make Your Own Jonkonnu Figure” session in which children
ages 4-7 can create a miniature dancer decorated in feathers and bright materials;
and curator-led exhibition tours. The event is free and open to the public.
Information about other exhibit-related activities — including lectures,
concerts, Family Fundays and films — can be found in the Calendar section
of this newspaper and its online version at www.yale.edu/calendar; and at the
museum’s website, listed below.
Support for the “Art and Emancipation in Jamaica” project has been
provided by The Reed Foundation.
The Yale Center for British Art, located at 1080 Chapel St., is open to the
public free of charge 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday; until 8 p.m. on Wednesday
through Nov. 28 (except Nov. 21); and noon-5 p.m. Sunday. The museum is wheelchair
accessible. For further information, call (203) 432-2800 or visit www.yale.edu/ycba.
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Campus Notes
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