SUNDAY 3RD AUGUST, 2014 – UWI TODAY
13
THE UWI HONORARY GRADUAND:
ADRIAN CAMPS-CAMPINS
Among our eight honorees this year is
Adrian Camps-Campin
s, 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. Augustine campus
Graduation ceremony for the Faculty of Humanities and Education in October 2014. He shared some thoughts
on the local landscape with editor,
Vaneisa Baksh
.
Postcards of Legacy
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 Baleine
bay 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.
