Submitted to HaitiXchange by
Jacqualine Labrom of Voyages Lumiere

Did you know there has been a thriving “fer decoupé” (metal sculpture) industry in Haiti for 55 years? This unique village is situated in the artistic village of Noailles, in Croix des Bouquets.

The whole thing was started by George Liataud who was a mechanic at the Hasco factory in the late 1940’s. He worked for Hasco on the railway lines and you will still find traces of this line inside the village.

But he was also making beautiful iron crosses for graves and tombs in the local cemeteries.  When DeWitt Peters the American art lover, came down to Haiti, he went to the local festival (Fête Patronal) of CDB and because he was interested in religion, (the Haitians called him a “seeker”) he saw these beautiful crosses and asked to meet the artist. Once having met George Liataud, DeWitt Peters introduced him the Musée d’Art in PauP around 1953.  George then decided to start working on his own, creating these wonderful crosses to sell. He drew upon the inspiration of Vodou, but DeWitt Peters persuaded him to also include the more Christian form of the cross in his work so as to have a bigger market in the United States.

The crosses incorporated other designs as well, such as birds, flowers and hearts. George Liataud presented his work at an exhibition in the US in 1955 and also in Sao Paolo, Brazil. 

George was very secretive at first and wouldn’t employ any apprentices on a regular basis, but as his workload increased and the orders came in he had to employ other people as apprentices, and so the second generation of sculptors started with the Louisjuste brothers: Seresier, Joseph and Janvier, as well as Mira Brierre.  These latter sculptors decided to set up their work in the little village of Noailles, within the CDB area and ever since then this creative & unique form of art has stayed exclusively in the village, producing generation after generation of artists.

At the time of George Liataud, Serge Jolimeau (or Sergo as the locals affectionately call him) & Gabriel Bien-Aimé were just schoolboys and started working with the artists to earn some pocket money. These days Sergo is considered the father of the village and is known with the honorific title of Maitre.

Now with the 5th generation there are about 62 artists in all, living and working in the village. One of them eloquently explained that all kinds of religion inspires them – Protestant, Catholic and Vodou. Plus they draw a lot of their inspiration from Mother Nature.

Serge Jolimeau has produced many apprentices, as has Gabriel Bien-Aimé and others. The young work side by side with their older teachers.

As soon as you arrive at the village you hear the clang clang of the artists banging out the shapes on the metal – used drums and some say, old cars. They use the most basic tools – there is no welding done with this art.

The visitor goes from one workshop to another, each with their own designs, although the popular tree of life shows up in various workshops. Normally each workshop has its own unique design and they have been encouraged to keep it this way.  One will draw on the vodou spirits and feature Sirenes (Mermaids), another will create the most original vodou masks, perhaps using spoons or forks as earrings. Another will have Noah’s arks, another will do painted lizards – popular with the tourists. And so on. The list is endless. The fun is to bargain for your favorite design and you could spend hours looking at all the different works of art created here.  You can also find embroidered vodou flags from an expert, painted crosses and different Christian items.

So if you’re going to Haiti, go and visit the special village of Noailles in Croix des Bouquets. And if you haven’t planned a trip to Haiti you should. Apart from CDB there are many many beautiful places to visit in Haiti. Despite what you read in the press – Haiti loves receiving visitors and it is safe.
When you go to see the metal work village, tell them Mme Jacqualine sent you, and they will give you a warm welcome and a good price!!!

Haiti is still the Pearl of the Antilles and is waiting for you to discover her and her artists!!

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Los viajes para el turista iluminado
Voyages pour le touriste éclairé

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