Pierrot Barra was a Haitian Vodou artist and priest president of a Bizango society, born in Port-au-Prince (Bel-Air), Haiti, between 1937 to 1942. He passed away in 1999. He was well-known for using diverse materials to create "Vodou Things," which functioned as charms or altars for the Vodou religion. Barra's work has been described as having an Antillean Aesthetic but also being postmodern. His art is not considered traditional (although it contains traditional Vodou elements, such as sequins), but it is easily recognizable by Vodou practitioners. Even within the ever-changing culture of Vodou and Vodou art, Barra's work has been called "revolutionary." The symbols of the Bizango spirits, a sect of the Vodou lwa (spirits) pantheon, are present in his art.
Barra worked from the Iron Market of Port-au-Prince with his wife Marie Cassaise, making "Vodou repositories from toys, fabric, glass, sequins, goats' horns, rosaries, costume jewelry, compact mirrors, Christmas ornaments, crucifixes, and other discarded materials." His Afro-Cuban dolls sold well, bought by locals to protect themselves. He often used discarded American toys and dolls as the basis of his works, embellishing them with "charms, glitter, sequins, beads, and crosses that were originally intended for altars." Rubber baby dolls are the most notable aspect of his works. His works have been featured in shows in Port-au-Prince, New York, Baltimore, New Orleans, Chicago, San Francisco, and Madrid. The book Vodou Things: The Art of Pierrot Barra and Marie Cassaise by Donald J. Cosentino is entirely dedicated to his art.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
1996 - Sacred Arts of Haitian Vodou, Center for the Fine Arts, Miami, Florida.
2012 - In Extremis: Death and Life in 21st-Century Haitian Art, Fowler Museum, Los Angeles, California),
2012 - Kafou: Haiti, Art & Vodou, Nottingham Contemporary, Nottingham, England
Waterloo Center for the Arts, Waterloo, Iowa
2014 - Haiti: Two Centuries of Art and Creativity, Grand Palais, Paris, France
