Black Art in America
by Shantay Robinson
Evidently influenced by his Haitian heritage, Stephen Arboite, intends to depict those things about the human anatomy that cannot be seen. Using a stain technique that includes ground coffee, metallic powders, and organic pigment, Arboite portrays the spiritual essence of his subjects. Whereas the spirit is largely manipulated in African spiritual practices, his artworks perform a sort of ritual that allows the aura to be seen up front and center. As the ability to see the inside or the acute periphery of human being that make up the spirit and the soul is quite challenging, Arboite imagines the dynamic energy that the spiritual essence free of embodiment might look like. Taken apart from the physical form, spiritual essence flies free from captivity, but Arboite captures this elusive thing and shapes it on canvas revealing the dynamism of human energy and making a statement that speaks for our genuine and inherent vitality.
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