CARIBBEAN ARTS AND POPULAR CULTURE CARIBBEAN ART FORMS
CARIBBEAN ARTS AND POPULAR CULTURE CARIBBEAN ART FORMS HUMAN AND CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT CONTRIBUTIONS MADE BY INDIVIDUALS ART FORMS IN THE DIASPORA
CARIBBEAN ART FORMS • The processes of hybridization; syncretism and creolization have created diverse cultural art forms that are distinctive to the Caribbean. • Key terms: • Popular culture: The mainstream culture that is based on the taste of the masses. It is often in contrast to high culture/ elite culture. • Arts: Vehicles of cultural expression, which include: literary art forms (literature and poetry); performing (music, dance, drama) and visual (painting and sculpture)
MUSIC • Most of the music created in the region is related to the migration of people to the region. When migrating to the region, they brought with them their traditions, rituals, music, dress etc. These various influences have been through a process of syncretism and the results are: • Reggae: This is the most internationally recognized form of Caribbean music. It is associated with Jamaica and the Jamaican diaspora. According to Professor Peter Manuel (1998), Reggae can be seen as a reinterpretation of American Rhythm and Blues, Jazz, Calypso and African music. • Reggae was popularized in the 1970’s by Bob Marley and is associated with Rastafarianism. • In Jamaica, the Reggae Sumfest is one of the largest foreign exchange earners for the country.
MUSIC • Calypso: This art form has West African origins. It was used as a form of resistance to the colonial powers and was sung by the lower socio-economic classes. Calypsonians used their lyrics to protest, mock and criticize institutions, political powers, the church and the like. • It is an art form that is mainly associated with Trinidad and Tobago. • Calypsonians: The Mighty Sparrow, Arrow, Calypso Rose have gained international recognition but not as much as reggae. Some popular songs are: “Ah feelin Hot”; “Fire in meh wire”. These pioneers have promoted regional culture to the world.
MUSIC • Calypso in particular have been used to promote Caribbean unity and identify unifying issues e. g. Black Stalin: “The Caribbean Man”; David Rudder: “Rally Round the West Indies”, “Haiti I’m Sorry”. • Both Stalin, Rudder and Machel Montano have been issued honorary doctorates for their contributions to Caribbean development in music.
MUSIC • Soca: The term soca (initially spelled sokah) was coined in the 1970 s by Trinidadian musician Lord Shorty (Garfield Blackman), who sang calypso, a type of Afro-Trinidadian song style characterized by storytelling and verbal wit. According to Lord Shorty, the new music was meant to be a mixture of calypso with East Indian music, a reflection of Trinidad’s two dominant ethnic groups. Others, however, have explained the term soca as a contraction of “soul calypso, ” emphasizing the music’s connection to African American and Trinidadian traditions.
MUSIC • Chutney: These are hybridized forms of East Indian and African Rhythms. An important element of Chutney music is the inclusion of East Indian dance which has also evolved into chutney dance. • Reggaeton: This is a fusion of Reggae and Afro-Caribbean Latin rhythms. It is said to originate in Panama but is also popular in various Latin American countries and North America. • Punta Rock: This type of music was created in Belize in the 1970’s. The sounds are mainly call and response. It has become popular throughout Central America. • Drumming: This is another feature of Caribbean music that has roots in West Africa. Drumming was strongly discouraged and slaves were forbidden to drum since the colonial powers recognized that it was a form of communication amongst the slaves.
MUSIC • Steel band: The steel band is the only music instrument to be invented in the 20 th Ce. The instrument originated in Trinidad. The development started from 1935 -1945. These bands provided the medium for the dispossessed descendants of the African slaves to pursue their love of music and rhythm. They were chiefly identified with the street parades of the annual Carnival Celebrations, where the strongest influences were of the French Creole and African traditions. • The Steel pan is used throughout the Caribbean, North America, Asia and the Caribbean diaspora • Pan music has been integrated in the school’s curriculum in North America and in Europe.
CULINARY PRACTICES • Much of what is considered Caribbean staples such as: salt fish, peas and rice, souse, ackee, breadfruit, ground provisions, fried fish cakes were all derived from the diets of the African enslaved. These were the staples, used by the colonizers, to feed the slaves on plantation. Much of the diet was made from discarded meats such as: pig foot, chicken foot, fish head, cow heel. However, over time, these foods have come to represent West Indian cuisine both in the region and the diaspora.
CULINARY PRACTICES • INDIGENOUS PEOPLE were skilled at cooking wild meats both jerk and barbequed. The also like spicy food and ate meals like pepperpot soup. They also used corn, cassava and other tubers which were used to make bread. • EAST INDIANS cooked with curries, pepper, lentils and various herbs and spices. These are the main ingredients in pholourie, doubles and roti. These are considered staples in the diet of Trinidadians.
CULINARY PRACTICES • CHINESE: The Chinese introduced various rice and vegetable dishes with fry rice, chow mien , stir fry vegetables and noodles being the most popular. • ENGLISH: The use the Irish potato as staples in the Caribbean diet and the custom of eating porridge for breakfast and the drinking of tea are some of the culinary practices that were passed down through the generations. • DIASPORA: many in the diaspora have participated in the spread of Caribbean cooking. Many have opened restaurants that serve Caribbean food etc.
FESTIVALS • The diversity of Caribbean society is reflected in our festivals. Some festivals are secular and others are religious. Caribbean festivals are noted for its use of music, dance, crowd participation and the use of costumes. • Some secular festivals include: Carnival. In Trinidad Carnival is widely celebrated and it has placed the region on the world stage. It combines calypso, soca, chutney, steelpan, costume and dance. It contributes to the economy by attracting tourists and earning foreign exchange. It is also a marketing tool since it promotes Trinidadian culture to the rest of the world.
FESTIVALS • Crop Over Festival- Barbados. This is a carnival style festival that originated in the 1970’s and lasts for five weeks. The festival end with a parade- The Grand Kadooment. • Junkanoo- The Bahamas. and stated during slavery. • Reggae festival- Jamaica. • Tobago Heritage Festival • Tobago Jazz festival This festival is celebrated during Christmas
FESTIVALS • Some religious festivals include; • Muslim festivals: • • • Eid-al-Adha Hindu Festivals • • • Eid-al-Fitr Diwali/Divali Phagwa Christian Festivals • • • Easter Christmas Corpus Christi (Roman Catholics)
THE ARTS AND ITS IMPACT OF DEVELOPMENT • People are agents through which development can occur and be sustained. Human development is attained through the arts in the following ways: • • It is able to empower and unite people. It increases people’s productivity. Greater equity in society. Create sustainability.
PETER MINSHALL • Peter Minshall was born in Guyana on 16 th July, 1941, and grew up in Trinidad. He attended Queen’s Royal College where he became heavily involved with the school’s theatre productions and did designing for the Trinidad Light Opera. After high school, he trained in theatre design at the Central School of Art and Design in London, England. He was one of the first to design costumes for the Notting Hill Carnival in London.
CONTRIBUTIONS MADE BY INDIVIDUALS TO CARIBBEAN DEVELOPMENT • Several opportunities arose for him to design mas in Trinidad, which led to groundbreaking works: the individual From the Land of the Hummingbird (1974) and Paradise Lost (1976). • At the international level, Minshall played a major role in the design and artistic direction of the opening ceremonies of the Summer Olympics in 1992 and 1996, and the 2002 Winter Olympics, among other major spectacle events. • He has received numerous awards for his achievements, among them: the University of the West Indies Guggenheim Fellowship (1982); an honorary doctorate from The University of the West Indies (1991); the Trinity Cross (1996); and an Emmy for the Opening Ceremony of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. • Ref: http: //icons. niherst. gov. tt/icon/peter-minshall-tt 2/
GEOFFERY HOLDER • Artist, dancer, and choreographer, Geoffrey Holder, was born in Port-of. Spain, Trinidad, on August 20, 1930. While in Port-of-Spain, Holder attended Queens Royal College, but received much of his education in dancing and painting from the Holder Dance Company, his older brother Boscoe's dance troupe. • https: //www. thehistorymakers. org/biogra phy/geoffrey-holder-39 This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-ND
CONTRIBUTIONS MADE BY INDIVIDUALS TO CARIBBEAN DEVELOPMENT • Holder premiered in his brother's dance company at the age of seven, and by 1947, he was in charge of the troupe. In 1954, Holder made his first Broadway performance as Samedi in House of Flowers. For the next two years, Holder appeared as a principal dancer on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera Ballet and continued to work with his own troupe through 1960. Holder also continued to paint, and in 1957 was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship; • Holder also directed; his production of The Wiz, an all-black retelling of The Wizard of Oz, earned him Tony Awards for best director and best costume design. Holder also wrote Black Gods, Green Islands, an illustrated collection of Caribbean folklore, and Geoffrey Holder's Caribbean Cookbook
• Derek Walcott was born in 1930 in the town DEREK WALCOTT of Castries in Saint Lucia. After studying at St. Mary’s College in his native island at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica, Walcott moved in 1953 to Trinidad, where he has worked as theatre and art critic. At the age of 18, he made his debut with 25 Poems, but his breakthrough came with the collection of poems, In a Green Night (1962). In 1959, he founded the Trinidad Theatre Workshop which produced many of his early plays. • In 1992, he won the Nobel prize in literature. • https: //www. nobelprize. org/prizes/literature/ 1992/walcott/biographical/
• Determined, imperious, flighty, charming, Beryl Mc. Burnie was born in Trinidad and went to New York in the early 1940 s to study dance and drama. She also made a name for herself as a dancer and singer, Belle Rosette. But she turned her back on the bright lights to return to Trinidad. There she continued the work she had begun before World War II, researching and performing the dances of the Caribbean, especially those that drew on African traditions. She was part of an anticolonial movement that recognized the unique culture of the country and the region and eventually led Trinidad and Tobago to independence. • Artistically, Mc. Burnie’s work influenced dancers throughout the region and beyond. She also devoted years to building the Little Carib Theatre. Intended as a home for folk dance, it also housed Derek Walcott’s Theatre Workshop and became a crucible for the performing arts. • http: //www. uwipress. com/books/beryl-mcburnie BERYL MCBURNIE
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