Milocan Tous Les Saints Tous Les Mortsc. 200042 1/2 x 56 1/2 " (108 x 143.5 cm)Sequins and beads on fabricGift of Robert Brenner2012.3.101550784496Myrlande ConstantTextilesCopyright for this work is under review. 'MILOCAN TOUƧ LES ƧANTS TOUS LES MORTS' recto upper center in green beads'CONƧTANT' recto lower center in green beads Milokan, all the saints, all the deadMilokan, all the saints, all the deadMilokan, all the saints, all the deadPort-au-PrincePort-au-PrinceHaitiTextilesPort-au-PrinceMyrlande Constant is acknowledged as the matriarch of a generation of contemporary Haitian Vodou flag makers. She began her creative journey more than twenty years ago after leaving her job in a wedding gown factory in Port-au-Prince. It was here and from her mother, who also worked in the factory, that the artist learned and perfected the painstaking beading skills that have helped her to revitalize the flag tradition in her home country. Traditionally a male art, Constant was one of the first women to make Vodou flags and is credited with innovating the use of solid round and cylindrical beads in addition to flat sequins. She also works on an unprecedented scale, creating sweeping religious, mystical, and political narratives that come to life as the materials pick up the surrounding light. Vodou flags are used in religious ceremonies to mediate between the worlds of man and spirit. In her act of flag making, Constant has also navigated dualities of world views: male and female, traditional and innovative, material and spiritual. In this piece, Constant calls on the living and the ancestors, saints named and unnamed, and those who are present and those who are not, so all are included in this homage to the Vodou ceremony.
Stacy C. Hollander, "Vodou Banner: MILOCAN TOUS LES SAINTS TOUS LES MORTS," exhibition label for Ooh, Shiny!. Stacy C. Hollander, curator. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2012.
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated with new research. Records are reviewed and revised, and the American Folk Art Museum welcomes additional information.
To help improve this record, please email photoservices@folkartmuseum.orgMilokan, all the saints, all the deadMilokan, all the saints, all the deadMilokan, all the saints, all the deadMilokan, all the saints, all the dead19952005 2012 3 1 Myrlande Constant is acknowledged as the matriarch of a generation of contemporary Haitian Vodou flag makers. She began her creative journey more than twenty years ago after leaving her job in a wedding gown factory in Port-au-Prince. It was here and from her mother, who also worked in the factory, that the artist learned and perfected the painstaking beading skills that have helped her to revitalize the flag tradition in her home country. Traditionally a male art, Constant was one of the first women to make Vodou flags and is credited with innovating the use of solid round and cylindrical beads in addition to flat sequins. She also works on an unprecedented scale, creating sweeping religious, mystical, and political narratives that come to life as the materials pick up the surrounding light. Vodou flags are used in religious ceremonies to mediate between the worlds of man and spirit. In her act of flag making, Constant has also navigated dualities of world views: male and female, traditional and innovative, material and spiritual. In this piece, Constant calls on the living and the ancestors, saints named and unnamed, and those who are present and those who are not, so all are included in this homage to the Vodou ceremony.
Stacy C. Hollander, "Vodou Banner: MILOCAN TOUS LES SAINTS TOUS LES MORTS," exhibition label for Ooh, Shiny!. Stacy C. Hollander, curator. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2012.
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated with new research. Records are reviewed and revised, and the American Folk Art Museum welcomes additional information.
To help improve this record, please email photoservices@folkartmuseum.org