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From Now thru July 23th, 2006 at Bass Museum Art in Miami Beach, Florida: "Allegories of Haitian Life from the Collection of Jonathan Demme" presents more than 80 paintings and sculptures by Haitian artists, as collected by the Academy-Award winning film director. Probably best known for The Silence of the Lambs and Philadelphia, Demme is also the force behind the documentaries Haiti: Dreams of Democracy and The Agronomist. He became a griot of sorts after visiting Haiti in the mid-'80s and falling under the spell of its rich visual culture.

It's easy to see why. Taking in the mid-century works of master Haitian painters such as Hector Hyppolite, Rigaud Benoit and Wilson Bigaud, and later works by Andre Saturne or Andre Pierre, one cannot resist their honest and detailed iconographies. They are embroidery stitched from worship and daily ritual: a culture of trees housing ancient spirits, roosters and sparrows carrying the promise of healing. There are deities decked in sequined robes and crowns, but there is also humble country life: a gardener tending his roses or women gathered at the village square to honor the harvest.

The exhibit is part of a tryptich celebrating Haitian culture at the Bass Museum of Art, and this portion, in particular, houses a wide sweep of styles and subjects.

By the show's finish, the contradictions make utter sense. Edger Jean-Baptiste's colossal-sized phantom straddling a moonlit street seems as natural as his sweet rendition of a couple courting on a pebbled beach. And Etienne Chavannes' frenzied rendering of a Port-au-Prince auto shop fits neatly with Ernst Prophète's stab at the perils of mass agriculture. Each scene is a verse, and the epic revealed is more than a history of Haiti, its paintings or even the elaborate faith known as Vodou. What comes into focus is the spirit of a people accustomed to living with both beauty and terror, magic and simplicity -- all at once.

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Allegories Of Haitian Life from the Collection Of Jonathan Demme

Bass Museum of Art, Miami Beach, Florida

Gertrude Silverstone Muss Gallery

Friday, May 19, 2006 - Sunday, July 23, 2006

$8 adults, $6 seniors/students. Free, members & children under 6.

Demme, the Academy Award winning film director of ?The Silence of the Lambs? and ?Philadelphia? began collecting Haitian art in the mid-1980s. This exhibition showcases his treasured art possessions and offers a unique opportunity for museum visitors. Realistic and supernatural aspects of Haitian life, including Vodou, are visually documented in a way that celebrates the strength of the Haitian spirit.

Call 305-673-7530 for more details.