There were ghosts in the air at Sotheby’s auction house in New York City last night, as guests gathered for the Tools for Thought benefit to rebuild Haiti. ”Can you feel the spirits?” asked the artist Pierre Francillon, gesturing out to the fifth floor crowded with supporters, all bidding on pieces donated to support the cause. “The signs are written into the artwork,” Francillion continued. ”Voodoo symbols that bring power to the people.” It was an emotional evening, especially for artists like Francillion, who was born in America, but began living in Haiti at age 2. “Its fantastic to see people brought together by art for a good cause.”
Lesny Felix, another artist of Haitian descent who donated work to last night’s event, saw a certain raw irony in all this. “Before the earthquake people knew Haiti, they were aware of it, but they didn’t go there,” said Felix. His piece Democracy, was inspired by a magazine feature that ranked all the best vacation destinations in the Caribbean, but conspicuously avoided Haiti. “People were traveling to 
the Dominican Republic, on the same island as Haiti, but we were invisible to them.” Rocker Patti Smith entered the room and a small cheer went up from the crowd. Felix smiled. “An artist is someone who brings people to them with the power of the truth,” he said. “Tonight we’re focusing that strength on Haiti.”
Artists like Michael Stipe (whose Cast Bronze Holga Replica is pictured, above), Jeff Koons, Marilyn Minter and Terrence Koh contributed artwork to the auction; and Stephen Sebring’s Flag (which depicts frequent subject Patti Smith as a poet and activist wrapped in a flag, at left) was on full display. The evening raised $150,000 for Partner in Health‘s ongoing relief efforts in Haiti.
Smith, wearing a wry smile, opened with little introduction. Tapping her cowboy boot to keep time she sang, “We shall live again!” The crowd pulled in tightly around her. Finishing her first number, Smith put down her acoustic guitar and, almost daintily, spit on the ground. “We’ve got to use our voice tonight, we’ve got to use our coin,” she implored the audience.
Her band started up a new number and Smith came out from behind her microphone directly into the crowd. She waved her hands like a preacher at a revival meeting. “We dedicate this to our brothers and sisters in Haiti, and in Chile, who are trying to rebuild their worlds.” The crowd was singing along now, some people fighting back tears, others crying and smiling at the same time. “People have the power,” Smith sang. On another night that might have just been a lyric, but last night it was a call to arms, and it rang true.
Watch the slideshow from the event below:
Photos by Michael Trainer for Tonic; “Flag” courtesy of Steven Sebring.
