WHAT IS CUBAN ART?
Why isn’t Cuban Art just called contemporary art or abstract art or modern art?
What makes it different?
In other words, just what is Cuban art?
In earlier posts, I mentioned that to really understand Cuban art you have to know a lot about the country of Cuba. And I said that this is because contemporary Cuban artists focus their work on their own country more than other Latin American artists do.
What do others have to say?
Here are quotes from a variety of people involved in the Cuban Art World.
Cuban writer Alberto Barral: Cuban art today is a contemporary language with a salsa mix. It has much of the international language that speaks for a generation, but with a tropical vision all its own. It comes with all the complications and extensions that this inevitably means.
Luly Duke, founder and president of Fundacion Amistad: Besides the elegance, beauty and true artistry, Cuban art is a vehicle for Cuban artists to express their true communication and their feelings, perhaps creating a vehicle for furthering cultural exhange between the US and Cuba.
Carlos Estevez, Cuban artist: Cuban art has a history of focusing on different things and I think it has matured as a form of social conscience, progressive and very positive. Cuba is an island with much history and has given birth to great talent. This phenomenon has grown more complex with time and what started with certain nationalistic and folkloric elements became later a philosophy and way of thinking that expresses itself in the art.
Cuban art is what we Cubans make, no matter where we live. The fact that I was born and grew up in Cuba makes me see life and the world in a unique way. I can become part of a different society or culture very different from my own (and I think that enriches the artist’s imagination) but the essence, the axis, comes from our experience.
Cuban art has a history of focusing on different things and I think it has matured as a form of social conscience, progressive and very positive.
Gail Gerburd, Ph.D., art historian and curator: Spirituality, politics, and innovation mold the very fabric of Cuban art. Beneath this surface are the complex and interwoven traditions of Africa and Spain, China and the United States.
The warp and weft become not a specific style, but rather a unique state of mind. The art becomes the visual equivalent of a hot night, sandy shores, crumbling buildings, vibrant sounds, and intellectual discourse.
Howard Farber, collector: Collecting Cuban Contemporary art is the best kept secret by those in the know in the art market. This genre encompasses probably the finest examples of contemporary art created in the last forty years.
Alberto Magnan, gallery owner: Cuban art brings you closer to the inner thoughts and meaning of the people of Cuba. It is pure art — done for the sake of art and not for the art market. It is art that excites and takes our minds to another level.
Orlando Justo, collector: Cuban art is an enjoyable representation of Cuban roots and traditions of people’s questions and answers, happiness and worries, expressed with sharp humor, subtle irony and profound intellectual thinking. It is, in summary, a snapshot inside Cuban people’s minds and daily life.
Abelardo Mena, writer: Long live the anti-utopian, optimistic, and rebellious features of Cuban Art that will live forever young!
Ben Rodriguez-Cubenas, President and Founder, Cuban Artist Fund: For me, Cuban art is the history of its people and culture layered with international techniques and styles. This convergence of local and international forces has contributed to making Cuban art and artists a major center of artistic excellence and innovation for decades.
Alex Rosenberg, collector and appraiser: Cuban art is at a level of quality not usually associated with small nations. Cuba has invested greatly in all forms of culture, giving artists greater opportunity support, and reward than most other nations.
Marilyn Zeitlin, curator: . . . . a universally agreed-upon characteristic of Cuban art: it’s incredible diversity.
I’ve quoted the “experts.” But I’m more interested in hearing what you think. Let’s keep the discussion going in the comments section.
Also, you might want to check out the following posts to learn more about the country of Cuba — a strong influence on Cuban art.
