KAFOU: HAITI, ART AND VODOU (First edition - first impression - illustrated - scarce)

First impression of the true first edition. A large-format hardcover book, fully illustrated in colour. Complete with a contemporary Guardian review newspaper clipping and the original purchase receipt. ***Near fine in blue cloth-covered boards with white titles to the spine and front board. The boards are clean and unmarked. No bumps or creases. Corners sharp. No reading lean to the binding. Spine tight. Page block edges white and clean. Internally also near fine with no previous ownership inscriptions. Illustrated endpapers. Interior pages clean. No creases or tears. ***In a near fine textured illustrated dustwrapper, which is unpriced. Edges of dustwrapper just slightly rubbed and creased. No serious creases and no chips or tears. No fading. Dustwrapper clean and bright. ***275mm x 210mm. 248 pages of photographs and text, including a section of Writer Biographies, Artist Biographies and Acknowledgements at the back of the book. ***Contents: Foreword - Alex Farquharson, Kafou - At the Crossroads - Alex Farquharson, Kreyon Pep La Pa Gen Gom (The People's Pencil has no Eraser) - Leah Gordon, The Call of the Gods, The Making of History - Colin Dayan, Haitian Art and the Vodou Imaginary - Katherine Smith, Beyond Immobilised Identities: Haitian art and internationalism in the mid-twentieth century - Wendy Asquith, Refusal of the Shadow: Surrealism and the Carribean - Michael Richardson, Haiti timeline, Characteristics of the Spirits (Iwa), Artists and Texts, Film Stills, Installation Views. ***'"Kafou: Haiti, Art and Vodou" is a beautifully illustrated introduction to the work of thirty-five significant Haitian artists. These images are accompanied by an anthology of new and republished texts by wide-ranging authors - including Dawn Ades, Truman Capote, Maya Deren, Edouard Duval-Carrie, Alejo Carpentier, Laurent Dubois, Edouard Glissant, Dany Laferriere, Jorgen Leth, Kobena Mercer, Marcus Rediker and Ian Thomson. The front section consists of new essays by Colin (aka Joan) Dayan, Wendy Asquith, Katherine Smith, Gordon and Farquharson'. (Quote taken from the back panel of the dustwrapper) ***An extremely well-produced illustrated volume, tracing the extraordinary history of Haiti's popular art over seven decades, from pioneers including Hector Hyppolite, Philome Obin, Wilson Bigaud and Georges Liautaud - promoted in the 1940s and 50s by Andre Breton and the Surrealists - to contemporary figures: Myrlande Constant, Edouard Duval-Carrie, Frantz Zephirin, The Atis Rezistans group, etc. Haitian voodoo has been a constant source of inspiration and imagery for Haiti's popular art, and that art is often at its most visionary and inventive when reflecting its influence. The book documents a major exhibition presented at Nottingham Contemporary in 2012 curated by Alex Farquharson and Leah Gordon. 'Kafou' means crossroads in Haitian Creole, a key concept in voodoo. Contains texts by Dawn Ades, Truman Capote, Maya Deren, Edouard Duval-Carrie, Alejo Carpentier, Laurent Dubois, Edouard Glissant, Dany Laferriere, Jorgen Leth, Kobena Mercer, Marcus Rediker and Ian Thomson, and essays by Colin (aka Joan) Dayan, Wendy Asquith, Katherine Smith, Gordon and Farquharson. ***A first impression of the true first edition, in beautiful condition - a fascinating study of Haitian art inspired by the cult of Vodou (Voodoo) on the island of Haiti. A beautiful collector's copy of a scarce book, published to accompany the exhibition held at the Nottingham Contemporary 20 Oct 2012 - 6 Jan 2013. ***For all our books, postage is charged at cost, allowing for packaging: any shipping rates indicated on ABE are an average only: we will reduce the P & P charge where appropriate - please contact us for postal rates for heavier books and sets etc. ***As this is a large format portfolio book - please contact us for postal rates before purchasing if you live outside the UK! Many thanks.…