Name Pierre Desir | ||
 | ||
Residence Westerlo, New York, United States
San Diego, California, US Alma mater Queens University
University of California: Los Angeles Occupation Filmmaker
Professor
Artist | ||
Pierre desir lindenwood highlights
Pierre Hermann L. Desir Jr. is an American filmmaker, artist, and professor, currently working as a Lecturer at the University of California, San Diego. After he attended Davies College in London and traveled through Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, Desir realized his passion for art and teaching. In art, he started with painting, moved to sculpting, and after a brief period of dabbling in journalism, he transitioned into film, receiving his MFA in Motion Picture Production at University of California, Los Angeles. He then moved back to sculpting while filming his process. In teaching, he started with arts and crafts as well as sculpting and moved into higher education after attending UCLA. One of his biggest challenges as a Haitian American filmmaker is the reception of his work due to the fact that it is highly experimental.
Contents
- Pierre desir lindenwood highlights
- Lutv pierre desir highlights
- Early life
- Education
- Artistic career
- Influences
- LA Rebellion
- Current life
- Education career
- Awards
- Exhibitions
- References
Lutv pierre desir highlights
Early life
Pierre Desir’s parents were married in the 1940s. Desir was born to Pierre Hermann Desir Sr. who is Haitian and Nicolina Melchionna, who is Italian. Desir was born in Jersey City hospital where his mother worked, though his family was living in Harlem at the time. Very soon after his family moved to Jamaica, Queens, Long Island where Pierre spent his childhood. He was considered illegal in some states in the Union because of his racial heritage. His father, worked at the Haitian Delegation of the UN there in Parkway Village. It was because he lived there that he was able to make friends from all over the world, which was very different than the rest of the country, which was segregated. When he was 10 years old, his parents wanted to move to the country, so they bought a farm in upstate NY.
Education
Desir attended Jamaica High School in Jamaica, NY. When 18, he left to go to school at Davies College in London, receiving a C.Ed. European Literature and History, in 1987.. After travelling through Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, he came back to the US, and worked various entry level positions and taught arts & crafts as well as ceramics to the mentally disturbed in Astoria, Queens,and taking classes in painting, ceramics, and sculpting at the School of Visual Arts, New York. He then went to Queens College, where he received a BA in African Studies in 19979. He then received his Masters in African History at UCLAInstead of studying for a PhD l he switched over to the MFA program and received his MFA in Film at UCLA in 1992.
Artistic career
Desir always has been artistic, and his mom and sister have always been supportive of him. His brother is supportive but critical, and his dad was disappointed in his choice to pursue art instead of Journalism, but still proud of him. In art, he started in painting, moved to sculpting, realized that he wanted his sculptures to move, moved onto film, and now he works mostly filming his process of making sculptures. Desir has struggled as a filmmaker financially, His film work is very experimental, even more so in his later work. Because of the strong experimental aspect his work is not well received, and it is often very hard for him to get it into festivals. It usually takes him years to complete his works.
Influences
He is a very pedantic person, but tries not to make his work pedantic. When he tried putting a political message into his work, he didn’t enjoy his work. He is inspired by Felonious Monk, who had a hard time being accepted as a jazz musician. He resents that as an African American, society expects him to deal with struggle in his work and it is liberating to him to refrain from engaging in the debate. He would like the public to appreciate his work, but it is not his goal to please the public. He was raised Catholic, but now he most closely relates to Buddhism, and closely puts weight in the idea of reincarnation. He also connects strongly with Vudun the West African origin of Voodoo and Native American mythology and tradition. His biggest influences in his work, in terms of style are Thelonious Monk, Akira Kurosawa, Orson Welles, Pablo Picasso, and Vincent van Gogh. He also appreciates and adapts the techniques of Keith Jarrett.
L.A. Rebellion
He was on the outskirts of the L.A. Rebellion, with most of the big players having left before he got to UCLA. The LA Rebellion emerged at the time of a political awakening, when African Americans, Latinos, and others realized that the American Dream was not true. There were exaggerated demands on the system, and the system pushing back. He was drawn into the movement during his time at UCLA because of his interest in film. He helped others with their work too, helping shoot and work on their films. In that way he was one of the unsung heroes of the rebellion, with his work challenging to digest, he has been able to gain recognition through the work of his colleagues.
Current life
He splits his time between San Diego where he currently a professor in the Communication department, and his family farm in New York that he inherited. It is on that farm that he does most of his work and where he has his workshop.
Education career
He was inspired to become a professor by teaching mentally disturbed individuals in Astoria, Queens. In 2008, he and another black professor were denied tenure at Emerson College while all of the white candidates were granted tenure, this sparked an investigation by the NAACP because they believed that the denial was a product of racial discrimination.