|
|
Game of Checkers
Checkers Artist Yordan Dabady
Yordan Dabady
1962-present
Port-au-Prince, Haiti
- At the age of 11, Yordan Dabady began professional
studies in ceramics and art under the tutelage
of Fritzner Mervil and Diedonne Cedor at
the Salesian Brothers School and then two
years later, in 1975, Dabady was granted
a diploma in painting, which certified
that he had the acquired the ability to
paint in any artistic medium.
- After his course of study, for the next
six years Yordan Dabady was employed at
the deVendegies workshop as a decorator,
but he eventually was promoted to the position
of chief decorator.
- However, the owner and Yordan were involved
in a disagreement, so the young decorator
left the workshop and begin his career
as a real artist.
- The first paintings of his career phase
were created in a “gingerbread” style
of pastel colors in lighter and darker
shades surrounding the main colors of his
motif and these were motifs that were presented
to the more popular local galleries: Monnin,
Marassa, Nader, Touche d’Arte and
Galata and from 1990 until 2005, Yordan
Dabady exhibited his work in many galleries
throughout Haiti.
- His artistic style has developed into
a somewhat abstracted form of Naïve
art and his thematic renditions are rather
childlike yet appealing depictions of a
variety of subject matter displaying daily
urban life in Haiti, portraits, landscapes,
the history of the island and the ancient
religion for many, Voodoo; his genre scenes
have included the depiction of children
playing in the park, the local barber shop,
making a simple meal on the side of the
street, the marketplace and church.
- Dabady’s imagery often represent
the figures wearing mismatched shoes,
socks and clothing as a statement of the
poverty in Haiti and people are forced
to wear whatever is available.
- The Checkers artist painting depicts
two boys in the middle of a checkers game
with an older woman standing behind the
checkerboard looking intently at the moves,
whereas an older man stands behind the
woman and checker players taking in the game.
- The artist checkers theme is portrayed
in a domestic scene that represents a daily
leisurely activity amongst Haitians and
Dabady has depicted the checkers game in
a relaxed and pleasant mood; the local
people are portrayed within the composition
in a contrast of soft, muted tones blended
with bold colors of the clothing; the figures
are created in cartoon like shapes yet
their postures and simple expressions still
convey a realistic scene and serene atmosphere
and time of fun surrounding the checkerboard
and moves of the two opponents.
Yordan Dababy’s genre scenes of Haiti
in their simplicity of style and bold, yet
subtle palette, these motifs represent the
culture of an impoverished island in the same
way that the game of checkers depicted
life from the artist’s honest perspective;
his statement in this pervasive theme is clear
as much in these depictions as in the two boys
playing a quiet game of checkers on the front stoop.
|
|
