WOMEN'S WORK | VISIONARY |STEPHANIE KEITH|23 
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Stephanie Keith | Vodou Brooklyn Book Cover
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I first formally encountered Stephanie Keith’s work in an exhibition that we were both in called “Wearing Spirit: Aesthetically Personifying the Feminine in Africa" at The Caribbean Cultural Center in midtown Manhattan.  There were two aspects that intrigued me about the piece that she submitted, the first being the sheer visceral power of the image - her ability to capture what I then saw and continue to see as integral part of spirituality – immersion: a releasing of fear and expansion of vision.

Second, I loved the educational aspect – this image of what a ceremony could look like was fresh to me and awakened the fact that it does not serve us statically interpret culture and traditions since they are always shifting and responding to the needs of the people – this opportunity to be reborn.

- Noelle Lorraine Williams | VISIONARY | A Project of REBORN

 VISIONARY presents Stephanie Keith.

This interview was conducted by email January 2011. 
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CURRENT EVENT

AMAZON | http://www.amazon.com/Vodou-Brooklyn-Ceremonies-Mambo-Carmel/dp/1584326700

Book | Vodou Brooklyn by Stephanie Keith | Purchase through Amazon or Caribbean Studies Press

CARIBBEAN STUDIES PRESS | http://www.caribbeanstudiespress.com/catalog.php 

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WOMEN'S WORK  | Stephanie Kelly
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| Stephanie Kelly is not afraid of the power of our cultural truths.

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how we live / is important business
latin night only monday
is contagious / dangerous
let us be ourselves / every day
-Ntozake Shange 

NOELLE LORRAINE WILLIAMS | Your work is provocative - diverse in matter it makes strong statements in documenting what I would call an “extra-ordinary“practice with individuals and communities from the vodou rituals in Brooklyn, to the “television soap operas during the Muslim Ramadan” – these are moments that provide some type of respite for individuals from the trials of being human.    

STEPHANIE KEITH | Yes, thank you for pointing that out. I am interested in religion and religion is one of the biggest ways for anyone to experience an extra-ordinary experience. There are drugs, politics, patriotism, music as ecstatic experiences but religion cuts across all these lines and is informed by all of them.

NOELLE LORRAINE WILLIAMS |  How do your studies in anthropology inform your photography practice in radical ways?

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"Vodou‘s intrinsic nature relies on extra-ordinary experiences in terms of Spiritual possession.  Spiritual possession exists in many religions, but in Vodou it offers people a chance to directly interact with their gods. Many of the Vodou Spirits are painted right out of Haitian history in the form of both Male and Female liberators of the Haitian War for Independence. What an extraordinary experience to embody the liberator of Haiti. I love this Spirit, his name is Ogou."
 - Stephanie Keith 

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STEPHANIE KEITH | When I studied Anthropology at Stanford, Clifford Geertz was taught in every class. He forced Anthropologists to engage more fully with their subjects. Geertz’s process of getting to know a community echo that of a Photojournalist. Anthropologists and Photojournalists are often criticized for going in, getting something from the community and then leaving. Ideally, Anthropology states that to be true to your subjects you must fully engage and stay committed. That’s how I feel about the Vodou community. I am entwined in their lives hopefully, forever. It is a real and lasting relationship with the people of this community. And, the community gets something out of being involved with my project. Vodou as a religion has been maligned as we all know. The Haitian Americans have been given a forum to celebrate their culture through the book and also at a recent event in Brooklyn at Five Myles gallery where we brought a whole new audience to Vodou and did Vodou in the Gallery! Almost everyone in the book was at the Event and doing their thing, it was great.

Vodou‘s intrinsic nature relies on extra-ordinary experiences in terms of Spiritual possession.  Spiritual possession exists in many religions, but in Vodou it offers people a chance to directly interact with their gods. Many of the Vodou Spirits are painted right out of Haitian history in the form of both Male and Female liberators of the Haitian War for Independence. What an extraordinary experience to embody the liberator of Haiti. I love this Spirit, his name is Ogou.

NOELLE LORRAINE WILLIAMS | In your series Vodou Brooklyn, which is now in book form what compelled you to document this community?  What do you feel the power of the image conveys?

STEPHANIE KEITH |Initially, I was compelled by the unknown factor of Vodou. After I had been to a few ceremonies, I was compelled by seeing the community again, and seeing the next installment of what would happen with the Haitian Spirits and with whom. Vodou ceremonies can be very intense in the amount of energy they generate, but I loved that energy.

NOELLE LORRAINE WILLIAMS | What is the most urgent aspect about the work that you do? 

STEPHANIE KEITH | Changing people’s perceptions of a the Vodou religion and engaging a the Haitian American community.

NOELLE LORRAINE WILLIAMS | What are your initial and ongoing fears in working with different communities?  What are theirs?

STEPHANIE KEITH | My ongoing fear is that I will get yelled at by someone in the community because they don’t understand my vision. That has happened to me on several occasions, on this, and other projects. Their biggest fear is that I will show them in a negative light. Whenever I can find that balance of people who understand disseminating information is power, then we have a good match.

NOELLE LORRAINE WILLIAMS |  Where is your book distributed?  What is your vision of its impact upon distribution?

STEPHANIE KEITH | My book is distributed on Amazon.com and the Caribbean Studies Press Web Site. I sincerely hope that my book and work opens a dialogue about Vodou that improves its understanding worldwide. Now that the age of cultural conquest in largely over, I see more people returning to more indigenous forms of religion, religions informed by ancient roots and collective history.
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LINKS 
________________________________________________________________________________  Stephanie Keith
Stephaniekeith@earthlink.net

Links
http://www.stephaniekeith.com/
http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/33/51/24_vodou_2010_12_17_bk.html

08/16/2010, CSP, 138pp, Full color photographs by Stephanie Keith, Paperback ISBN 978-1-58432-670-0