 Among our eight honorees this year is Adrian Camps-Campins, who has creatively documented national history through the medium of his collection of post cards. “Sugar coated history pills,” is how they were described by another historian, Olga Mavrogordato, remarkably apt for the range of charming reproductions of scenes from our colourful past. Mr Camps-Campins has paid special attention to architecture, recording aspects of the country’s heritage that are fast disappearing from the landscape. For his contribution to history, art and community spirit, Mr Camps-Campins will be conferred with the D.Litt at the St. Augustinecampus Graduation ceremony for the Faculty of Humanitiesand Education in October 2014. He shared some thoughts on the local landscape with editor, Vaneisa Baksh.
VB: Making cards talk, is indeed what you have done for the better part of your life, your paintings are documents of history in their own right, and your research has added even more value to your postcards of legacy. How early in your life did you find your love for history and your skill at painting?
AC: From an early age I was exposed to the artistic pursuits of my father,a keen watercolourist who indulged his hobby on the family's annual vacation down the islands; and Harry Bryden, the well-known artist who was married to my cousin, both of whom I tried to emulate. My father,Juan Marius Camps-Campins, was a medical doctor practising in Trinidad for nearly 60 years from 1927. His father had arrived on the island at twelve years old from Barcelona, Spain, and became a cocoa planter. The family lived in Columbus (Tamarind) Square in a building on the site now occupied by William H.Scott Ltd,which served the purpose of a dwelling and a cocoa store and warehouse. Situated immediately east of the Roman Catholic Cathedral, in those days the Square was a leafy retreat with tamarind trees along its length on both the northern and southern sides, providing a very pleasant ambience for people who lived nearby.
The early scenes that I produced included the proverbial cocoa house; Manzanilla Beach; the Maracas, St. Joseph River, and so on, and were for the most part mediocre, but nevertheless a good start.In the mid-sixties, I tried my hand at portraiture in oils done from photographs, and was surprised by the favourable results, to such an extent that I began getting commissions.
Towards the end of the decade I became interested in the history of Trinidad. Once, at Pointe Baleinebay on the western tip of Gasparee Island, I remember being fascinated by the fact that in
1498 no less a person than Christopher Columbus passed by with his three galleons on his way out of the Gulf of Paria through the Bocas del Dragon. I could not get this scene out of my head and was not satisfied until I made a design of the event which became the first printed card I produced.
With the Black Power disturbances of 1970 and the destruction by fire of many parts of the city, I was resolved to put on record these buildings, some miraculously having escaped destruction, and make the designs into cards. A few years later, I quit my job in insurance to devote myself full-time to this worthwhile pursuit.
VB: What gave you the confidence, at 31, to give up a senior position in the insurance industry to give everything to your art?
AC: The fact that what I was producing was slowly being recognised by the public, gave me the confidence to think of giving up a senior position in the insurance industry and devote myself full-time to art.
As it has turned out, I was like the proverbial voice in the wilderness crying out "save our heritage" – a plea often repeated these days but which, alas, falls for the most part on deaf ears.
Many beautiful structures are about to collapse or have partially collapsed, for example, Mille Fleurs and President’s House. But there is still some hope which is encouraged by the recent renovations of the George Brown and Boissiere houses on Queen's Park West. May these two well-executed jobs be an example that hopefully will be followed for so many other structures all over the country.
VB: Do you think enough is being done to preserve the architectural treasures that still exist in the country?
AC: The immediate response to this question is a resounding NO!
In many parts of Trinidad and Tobago historic buildings worthy of preservation have given way to the demolition gang. Should all of this bother us? Surely in every city, the old perpetually makes way for the new; styles and fashions change. Why hold on mindlessly to buildings which have outlived their purpose? The answer is because they are ours. Because these graceful old buildings speak of Trinidad and Tobago and of Port of Spain and of nowhere else in the world.Because they were made with love and care, as can easily be seen from the gingerbread fretwork, the steep roofs, the turrets and dormers, the crestings and finials, the broad eaves, the occasional vision of joyous eccentricity. Because they were made tall and airy to suit the climate which they do more effectively than the neon and air conditioning of the Miami-style towers of today. Because they have character and style and beauty in a commercial world short of all three.
Nobody wants some new cumbersome law to turn all buildings of a certain age into unusable museum pieces. But the City Council and the Town and Country Planning Division need the power to say: This is a beautiful and historic building and we are not going to have it knocked down or turned into some aesthetic monstrosity; it must be lived in or used for some sensitive civic and preferably income producing purpose – its character respected. And both these bodies must be forced by architects and people who still care about urban beauty to take an interest in the few historic buildings the capital city has left. That way, the next generation might still be able to see that Trinidad and Tobago once had a real architecture of its own.
VB: Which of your achievements do you value most?
AC: Over the years there have been a few "achievements" such as exhibitions; a Unicef card which went on sale internationally; two postage stamps with reproductions of my paintings, etc, but the achievement that I value the most is the fact that through my cards, I have made the public aware of the history of our country and its beautiful and unique architecture, with the hope that it should be respected and preserved.
Obviously I am not the only one who has worked with this goal in mind, but I am grateful to have had a fair measure of success in this direction.
VB: What does this honorary D.Litt mean to you?
AC: It is first and foremost a validation and recognition by others of the value of the work I have been doing for the last forty years and I consider it a great honour to have had this honorary doctorate conferred upon me.
It has always been a regret of mine not to have attended a university after leaving secondary school, but I did not quite know what I wanted to do. This way part of my wish has been fulfilled.
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