Independent Cuban Cinema

       I recently came across an interesting series of short films directed by Eduardo Del Llano, with notable actors Luis Alberto Garcia, and Nestor Jiménez. Taking into account the transformation of  Cuban Cinema as a weapon of social propaganda during the 1960s, or the foreign film makers who aim to portray Cuba for an exile audience, these films explore Cuban life and culture through a rather nonpartisan lens.  The creators seek an artistic, humorous reality that is genuine to the island.

        Luis Alberto Garcia plays different characters through these numerous short films, however he maintains the name of Nicanor, while  Nestor Jiménez appropriates the alias of Rodrigo. This particular clip below develops around an investigation of pain by  European Contemporary artists "Rodrigo", who aims to capture 100 photographs of Cuba's most renounced artists, however they must show evidence of  physical pain because "the agony of an artists is invisible to the eye". Rodrigo hires Nicanor, a working class man, as the torturer who is to inflict the injuries on       the 100 artist who desperately want to appear in Rodrigo's work. 

        This next clip provides a sarcastic, and     humorous critique on Cuba's freedom of speech, lack of individual privacy,  and resources. Enjoy!

       







      The following clip takes place in the Cuba of the 1970s: a time on which the first generation who became of age with the Revolution felt optimistic, and passionate about the ideals of socialism and their new
 government. I will continue to share material on this series on upcoming blogs. Enjoy!

Contemporary Art

        Contemporary Art is very similar to wine. There are numerous producers around the world, its quality and prices travels the extremes, and very few have developed a sophisticated enough taste  to enjoy it. Art has always been the avant-garde force of humanity, but has Contemporary Art progressed so rapidly that nor the artist or critics are able to explain it to the general public?

Untitled Installation, Habana Bienial 2012
The Royal Palm ( Cuba's national tree) hangs horizontally
in pieces, empty and loaded with soft lighting.

      One of the most common phrases expressed in Galleries today is "that is not art, I can do that". A phrase so rhetorical that the Frost Art Museum has dedicated an entire exhibit showcasing the paradox of 21st century art. Traditionally, art was admired by the an artists' ability to execute a design, which aesthetic and ideals combined to portray a message. Artists obeyed certain rules and mastered techniques. 

Untitled, Habana Biennial 2012
Heroes of Cuba wrapped and dismembered riding a carriola( rustic scooter)
between the gallery spaces of El Morro Castle. 

      Contemporary Art follows no rules, does not have a defined medium nor necessarily requires skill or direct contact with the artist, subjects are not defined, it does not need a title nor narrative,  and its patrons don't necessary understand what they are buying. The only characteristic left in today's art is the philosophical problem behind it. As a results, the definition of the art of our time in the global context on which it manifest is as vague as the works themselves.

      

Most Important works of Cuban Modern Art Part.2

           After the birth of the first Cuban Republic, Modern Art flourished in the artistic scene of Havana. The Vanguardia painters- previously discussed here- used Modern Art as the progressive wagon carrying the new ideals of the young republic. As in most beginnings, the art was primitive and raw; full of uncontrolled expression and unanswered questions. Following their footsteps, the 1940s generation looked to transform the raw and primitive into the exquisite and intricate.

Amelia Peláez, Hibiscus 1943

      The evolution of modern practices brought from Europe to the island reached its pinnacle with the work of the second generation. Amelia Peláez, one of the most celebrated artists of the 1940s, developed a system on which she represented the Cuban identity through form rather than content. Similar to Michelangelo preceding the Baroque in The Last Judgment, Peláez's work open the doors of barroquismo before any literature was written on the subject.

                           

   Tired of the previously exploited iconography- the guajiros, mulata, and the Cuban landscape- the 1940s generation used barroquismo  as an medium of recuperating an identity  based on the creole colonial Cuba. The architecture of the time housed a medley of different art forms, as well as the Cuban nature surrounding it.   

Interesting enough, Cuban colonial architecture had minimal elements of Baroque architecture itself, however, the eclectic mixture of styles, colors, and over ornamentation  of the Cuban  home composed a rich, unique style which, for lack of a better term, is refereed to as Baroque.

 Peláez's Still Life, 1958

 Peláez's Still Life (left) is a magnificent example of how artists translated the colonial aesthetic language into modern painting. The bold black lines resemble the arabesque qualities of colonial ironwork, the vibrant yellows, blues and reds are products of the harsh tropical sunlight, trespassing the color arrangements of stain-glass windows. In addition, the painter concerns herself with every space of the canvas, as if it is not sufficient for the abundance of   iconography. Peláez also includes flowers and fruit arrangements in many of her works. This iconography formed part of a long artistic tradition on which Cuban artists portrayed the land of plenty. Besides portraying abundance, these center pieces are often symbols of femininity, with fruits and flowers forming abstract expressions of female sexual organs.

Cundo Bermudez, The Balcony 1941.

      Another prominent artist of this decade was Cundo Bermudez. The Balcony painted in 1941(right) marked Cundo's career with respect to treatment of color and self portrait. This work provides a great example of Cundo's use of barroquismo, present in the architecture and color, as well as his Mexican muralist influences shown in the treatment of the figures. He paints a colorful Cuban home indicated by the stain glass windows, rocking chairs, and El Morro Castle in the background. The figures seem to be lost in their gaze, almost not aware of each other's presence. Cundo aimed to represent his sexual struggle by portraying himself on both the female and male figure. Cundo never abandon his self portraits, which evolved with him throughout the years.

Mario Carreño, Sugarcane Cutters, 1943

     

      If I was to honor an award  to a modern Cuban painter for his prolific production, I would have to nominate the next two artists. Mario Carreño, and René Portocarrero painted  using numerous styles and techniques, producing  series of works which riddle the most acute connoisseurs of Cuban Art. Undoubtedly, their most famous works were produced under the aesthetic domain of barroquismo. Carreño's Sugarcane Cutters (left)  painted in 1943, exhibits the technical skill of a classical painter, the Mexican Muralists treatment of figures, mixed with the Cuban light and color. The quality of this work is reminiscent of Baroque masters. With this work Carreño attempts to become the Rubens of Cuban Modern Art.The extreme foreshortening of the figures, the dramatic movements and the curvilinear nature of the work are all elements of 17th century painting.

René Portocarrero, Interior, 1943.

Rene Portocarrero, on the other hand, did not follow the classical order but his pictures bleed barroquismo like no other painter. The extreme profusion of the canvas, the contrasting innate colors, the mixture of architectural elements and home decor, and the distortion of the human body all collided to create the emotionally charged/dynamic style created by the artist. Portocarrero painted a series which he called Interiors, where he expressed the great accumulation and overlapping of the inside decor  the Cuban home. Portocarrero's canvases incorporate the residents with the interior making them one more elements of the Cuban barroquismo.

  

Wifredo Lam, La Jungla , 1943.

One of the major Cuban artists of this decade was Wifredo Lam. He was the son of a Chinese father and a partly Congolese mother. Lam traveled to Europe with the Vanguardia generation, however, he never associated himself with any Cuban painter or movement. In Paris, he became friends with Picasso and Andre Breton, who later invited him to join the Surrealist Movement. His work however, reached maturity with his return to the island in 1941. In 1943, he painted his most renowned work La jungla. Here Lam presents the African identity with a violent approach. Lam did not try to seduce the viewer with primitivism, instead he imposed the African deities with knives, scissors, a their respective masks. The year of 1943 was fruitful for Cuban painting, particularly in its color theory. Full flesh barroquismo invaded the zeitgeist of the time and made its way to Lam. La jungla presents a one of the most profuse and intense color palettes in Lam's career. The collision of the Cuban montes with the sugar cane fields, the African deities, the profusion of the canvas, and the tropical sunlight were all symptoms of the fervent  artistic current of early 20th century Cuba.

                                                                              

Most Important Works of Cuban Modern Painting Part.1

This blog was inspired by my visit to Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Havana this past week. After a Cuban Art class, and my thesis on the subject, I have gathered a list of the most notable works in the canon of Cuba's Modern Art.

The Vanguardia Generation

      Born  with the Cuban republic of 1902, the Vanguardia generation grew up with the responsibility of constructing a national identity. Their search for the new led them to rejected traditional artistic practices and adopt European modernism, which they later fused with local forms and color. Although not organized under a manifesto or leading figure, the Vanguardia artists shared a common interest and education in modernism, allowing them to developed unique styles and a particular image of the nation. The following are key works representing the time period.

Victor Manuel, Gitana Tropical, 1928

      After his return from Paris in 1927, Victor Manuel presented one of the first manifestations of modern painting in Cuba. His most notable work, today in the Museum of Bellas Artes, is Gitana Tropical ( seen above ) painted in 1928. Victor Manuel brings the Parisian School to Cuba. He draws influence from post-impressionism, that of Gauguin and Cezanne. This is evident in his contour line, solid color fields and primitivism. The model presents similarities to that of Gauguin's Tahiti women.  His figure is quite intriguing,  he painted the mixture of a taino women and a mulata whose gazes trespasses the viewer into a location behind him or her.

Eduardo Abela, Guajiros, 1928

                         

      Another notable work from the same year is Abela's Guajiros (1928). Besides the European modern practices, the Mexican muralist's provided Abela with plenty of techniques to paint the figures in this work. Here Abela works within the subject of  costumbrismo( the tradition and life of the guajiro ). This subject was also used a medium of identity for his art and Cuba of the country side.       

Pogolotti, Cuban Landscape , 1933.

       Following the socio/political turmoil of 1933 and the fall of Machado's government, artists turned to the subject of social protest. One of the most renowned was Pogolotti with his work Cuban Landscape of 1933. This work presents the viewer with different planes that connect to explain the Cuba of 1933. In that same year, strikes in the countryside became massive, and Machado sent the army to supervise the sugarcane plantations, this is shown in the foreground and middle-ground. On the left side, ships transport the sugar to the United States( shown by the tall metropolis in the background). On the upper register one finds the wealthy capitalists and their business contracts which control the island. Lastly, the American War Ships on the upper right aim their cannons at Cuba in fear of losing the islands economic wealth to social turmoil. An economic wealth which 60% was owned by Americans.

         Mainly a portrait painter, Jorge Arche presented a picture of Martí (1940) that would become iconic in the representation of the martyr.  Martí is presented  in a divine pose often used to depict Christ. The white shirt was also an attribute of Christ and adds a peaceful sentiment to the heroes' presence over the Cuban landscape. Unlike many of his modern contemporaries, Arche worked with detail and academic painting. His mastery of the brush is shown in the foreshorten right hand of Martí that grabs the edge of the canvas. Arches realism really cultivates the viewer and connects him or her with Martí.

       Synthesizing three different themes of Cuban Art( Criollismo, landscape and the Afro-Cubans), Carlos Enríquez presented one of the more dynamic and complex representation of Cuba in his painting El rapto de las mulatas, 1938. Filled with energy and color Enríquez paints the mist of a abduction scene where the victims seems to be seduced rather than force by their masculine perpetrators. Enríquez identified himself with the fierce bandits who seem to seduce the mulatto women with their aggressive behavior. The composition of the work refers to that of The Rape of the Daughter of Lucippus  by Rubens. Further, the state of ecstasy of the figure on the left could be associated with The Ecstasy of St. Teresa by Bernini. Enríquez sexuality, agitated landscape, and transparency accompanied him for the rest of his artistic career.

Humberto Cazada Part 2

During my previous blog I provided a time line of Calzada's work; however, the series hung in the walls of the Frost Museum presents us a new dimension of the painter's career.

 

                                            The Splendor in Desolation , 2011.

Awakened by the various revolutionary movements that shook the middle east in 2011, Calzada goes into unexplored ground. His architecture is reduced drastically to a point of minimal influence like in the painting above. Here is not about the Cuban architecture, its about the fire that burnt the streets of Egypt, Libya and the hope of such liberating ideas getting to Cuba.

Tower 2, 2011

 Communication towers were another predominant theme in this series. As the world evolves into the technological era, we cant help but to be absorbed into it. These towers were protagonists in the domino effect of revolutions in the middle east. The use of the internet and mobile phones permitted the spread of information through out the globe, and the revolutionary ideas of the fight for freedom were embraced by many. Calzada also presents this predominant structures as center pieces of his work, to reminds us that  this technology can be used to the benefit of the people, but also as a powerful weapon to oppress the public. 

                                         Untitled, 2011.

Perhaps the apex of this series in the painting above...the painter of architecture now introduces an erupting landscape stamped by the Cuban royal palm trees. No sings of civilization and his brushstroke is rather loose compared to his previous work. I consider this piece the most powerful image of this exhibition. Its volcanic nature provides the climax of the energetic pulsion created by The Fire Next Time.