Basic HTML Version
ARTISTES /
ARTISTS
39
L’image de l’Occidental dans la peinture caribéenne
.
2011, acrylique, aluminium, tôle, charbon,
vernis, cadre en bois sur toile, 239 x 150 cm.
DB
|
How do you view the Caribbean artistic milieu in the archipelago and in
the diaspora and its ability to be integrated into the international market?
TTSP
|
The questioning of languages in the Caribbean region and in its diaspora
has become quite visible in the last few years. Many works succeed in being
rooted geographically by avoiding this form of exoticism towards itself. They
are rooted geographically in their connection to politics and history, in the
social approach and in the question of identity, which remains an issue – by
adopting new attitudes. The problem today is whether these new attitudes
appear so that the artworks will be integrated into the international market or
out of creative necessity. If our own art institutions fail to learn to appreciate
the works of our regions in their social and historical context, any attempt to
approach this market will be in vain, even if the artist accepts its standards.
DB
|
How does one pursue a career as an artist living in Guyana?
TTSP
|
By attempting to find one’s way in the complexity that characterizes
us. That means being constantly on the lookout for relevant language, allow-
ing ourselves some recognition outside the country, which does not exclude
wariness towards prevailing international standards. It also means having
an odd relationship with the local media, which are not interested in what
is really at stake in artistic creation and tend to widen the gap between the
public and creators.
It also means, first of all, producing art at all costs, sometimes with very
poor resources, knowing that wealthy local residents know nothing about the
advantages of philanthropy, which has delayed the arrival of an art market,
and secondly, by navigating the nascent history of art in our regions.
Having an artistic career in Guyana means waiting for requests from art insti-
tutions that choose to relinquish a certain idea of otherness and a neo-exotic
view of works from “elsewhere”.