La Rotation Artistique

1. La Rotation Artistique Of Tiga Dominique Hudicourt August 2007 - EECERA

2. introduction Jean Claude Garoute (Tiga) was a friend and a teacher. From 1993 to 2004 I shared many artistic moments and philosophical conversations with him

3. The life and work of Tiga (1935-2006) He is a Haitian born artist He defined himself as being an “animateur” A researcher an artist He started teaching art to children in 1958

4. Growing up Tiga’s relationship with nature and art started at a young age His very first creative interest was with the practice of potteryat the age of 10. He soon also showed interest in drawing and painting As well as theater, music and poetry. In his twenties he became the director of the national center for ceramic.

5. The artist He is mostly known for his “Soleil Brulé” works, in which, by discoloring ink washes, he brings out some effects of light shining through.

6. The Saint Soleil artistic movement He is also known as the initiator of the “Saint Soleil” artistic movement in Haiti. His actions in the 70s provoked an artistic movement from the peasant community of Soisson-la-Montagne

7. André Malraux described the “Saint Soleil” movement in his book “L’intemporel” (The Timeless)as “The most striking and the only controllable experiment in magic painting in our century." (1974)

8. Tiga’s philosophyin art education A person needs to do art to find his or her self-balance and gain psychological well-being. “Art is a bio-physiological emanation of the human being”. When a person is creating, time stops, he is leaving a minute of eternity: “La minute d’éternité”

9. 140 million years Are embedded in a child’s cells. The 0 to 4 years old child is re-living this ancient history

10. Tiga’s art education theory • the artistic experiment should be a creative experience • the child (or adult) should feel free to choose from different media • Children are naturally driven to do art. Adults do not need to show them how to

11. “Art – Artisanat – Technicité- Science” • Children at different ages will work their way from art to craft and later to techniques and a scientific approach. • A 4 year old is mostly preoccupied by being creative. • Tiga describes the “Rotation Artistique”as being a moment of artistique preschooling (Leprescolaire de l’art)

12. La Rotation Artistique • The environment is set up prior to the arrival of the children: • Different kinds of art media are set up on tables around the working space called “The artistic laboratory”: Colors, ink, clay…

13. “C’est bien, c’est bon, c’est beau” It is right! It is good! It is beautiful! Children can choose to work with any of the material. Children could do as many pieces of artwork they please in the order they choose.

14. The basic media for the “Rotation Artistique” are: • colors in the form of liquid tempera aligned in a specific order. • paint brushes and stock paper of different sizes • clay • black ink with twigs and swabs • at least one drum • few chalky stones and chisels. Pencils and crayons are not allowed since they will remind children of school and academic activities.

15. Other creative or sensorial activities • Guessing smells • Guessing taste • Beating different rhythms on the drum • Singing along and story telling • Inventing words: “words that are not in the dictionary”

16. La sculpture vivante (The living sculpture): a pair of children does this activity. A child is the sculptor Then matter comes alive

17. A therapeutic artistic activity Tiga says: “Art reconciles the human being with himself” : “Whether children are privileged or deprived, the artistic rotation applies as the key to the child equilibrium and cultural blooming”

18. Tiga vs Vygosky • Interaction with the environment and the animator will bring the child to construct his personal culture • Children are working side by side at the Rotation Artistique and are influenced by each other’s work • We do find Vygostky’s main idea of scaffolding and building oneself and one’s culture through art

19. Tiga and Lowenfelds Artistic Stages. • , Tiga places milestones at ages 4, 8, 12 and 16 years old. • Four years old being the age of “Cérébralisation” when signs appear in children’s artwork. • “Cérébralisation” meaning the age of brain readiness for producing signs. We can here point to Lowenfeld’s pre-schematic stage of artistic development. • For Tiga, at eight years of age the child is preoccupied by putting reality in created images of his own. Lowenfeld identifies the schematic stage at that same age.

21. Conclusion • “La Rotation” meets actual trends in teaching young children thought, art, free choice and play • aArt and culture are a mean to reach psychological balance and provoke the blooming of creativity • The child creates from within and from an inherited history and ancestral cultures. • Tiga was ahead of his time.He never got close to bringing the “Rotation Artistique” into the schools and preschools of Haiti.