Exhibition of prints exposes difficulties, talents of Cuban artists
Published: Friday, November 20, 2009
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution and Fidel
Castro's rise to power, a period of drastic cultural and political
change in the island nation's history. Marking this occasion, The Boston
Printmakers, an artists' association at Emmanuel College, are presenting
an exhibition titled "Making Connections: Contemporary Cuban
Printmakers." Since early October and continuing through Sunday at The
Laconia Gallery in Boston, the exhibition showcases prints by over 90
contemporary Cuban artists.
Though a few of the featured artists live in the United States, most of
them still reside in Cuba. Cuban artists lack the exposure of many other
artists because they cannot ship their pieces into the United States due
to the business, travel, and financial restrictions that result from the
embargo enacted during the Kennedy era. Many of the pieces on display
could only enter the country accompanied by someone returning from Cuba.
"They're wonderful artists," explains one of the exhibition's curators,
Marjorie Javan. "It's a tiny little island and the amount of artistic
energy is unbelievable." Though nearly all of the artists have had
formal training (according to Javan, "Maybe a handful are self-taught")
many have to contend with a severe lack of artistic supplies and,
therefore, must improvise. Once Cuba lost the financial support of the
Soviet Union, according to Javan, some artists were forced to use
kitchen linoleum for the lack of printing material more suited to
artistic purposes. These multifaceted artists display talents in a wide
array of media including etchings, woodcuts, and lithographs. "They all
seem to do a little bit of everything," Javan notes.
Pieces in the exhibit offer perspectives on pain, escape, truth, or
humor. One print, Sandra Ramos' "The Damned Circumstances of Water
Everywhere," depicts a near-naked woman lounging in a shape identical to
the island nation. The piece depicts the close connection between the
artists and their homeland as well as, the title implies, the isolation
that some of the country's artists might feel. Another of the
exhibition's pieces, Belkis Ayon's "Resurrection," shows a head with
only two piercing eyes and an "X" covering the mouth, reflecting the
stifled and stifling environment in which many of these artists live.
Javan believes that the exhibition has been very successful, noting in
particular how college students have reacted to the pieces: "Some
[Boston University] students who came to the show said, 'You know, that
show really taught us something.'" She speculates that the potency of
the exhibit stems from its directness. "It inspires as to what else you
can do with printmaking," she says. The exhibition's exploration of the
nature of life in Cuba today also helps lend it educational value.
The exhibition has an important ability to inform the Boston area about
lesser-known artists who have little opportunity or ability to publicize
themselves. Additionally, Javan says, "Something like this isn't going
to come around for a while," again citing restrictions on Cuban artists'
mobility and ability to introduce their artwork into America. "Making
Connections: Contemporary Cuban Printmakers" offers an opportunity to
engage with a culture that rarely gets publicized in America from a new
perspective. "We're bringing exposure to these wonderful artists. Boston
is an international community," Javan says. "It's important for the art
community to see what goes on outside their borders."
Beyond the Embargo: Cuban Art | The Harvard Crimson (20 November 2009)
http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2009/11/20/artists-javan-cuban-boston/
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