Overview of Week Four
Overview:
Revolutionary Cuban Art
This section of the class will examine the development of a revolutionary cultural movement in Cuba that produced several generations of painters and artists who forged new paths in Latin American art. The Cuban artists proposed a new Latin American aesthetic that would incorporate elements of their ideology and the elements of the folk cultures that had been marginalizes previously. Cuba became a center for Latin American art in the 1960's as many artists in other countries found themselves shut out through government censorship and repression. Painters, poets and musicians found an outlet in Cuba to display and discuss their works.
The Revolution also imposed a new set of rules about political discussion and free speech and the media were highly censored, making public statement of criticism and protest difficult. The hostility of the United States and the pressure of the Cold War, justified this censorship in the minds of the Cuban government, to not give their enemies the space to foment rebellion and promote dissent. These restrictions pushed artists to become a voice for many of the complaints and the individual angst that Cubans feel. Many observers are astonished at the critical view that Cuban artists have taken, poking fun at government institutions and the rhetoric of the bureaucratic apparatus. Films, paintings, songs, poems, plays, dance pieces etc. have been a source of critique going back to the early years of the Revolution.
The generation of the 80's was the first group of artists, born in the Revolution and trained in the country's art schools. Much of their work in art, film and theater especially have been highly critical of many of aspects of the Revolution as they have embodied the slogan, "we will be like Che", that is recited by Cuban school children. Like Ernesto "Che" Guevara, many of the Cuban painters see their role to visualize and voice the struggles of individuals against and institutional mentality and to point out the contradictions in Cuban society. Their work, although sometimes marginalized or not given official recognition in Cuba, has achieved a degree critical acclaim as they have developed a unique sense of cultural identity that allows them to express their ideas in a fresh and convincing manner.
As Cubans board rafts for the United States, pushed by political or economic reasons, painters such as Mendive document heir voyage and the spiritual and historical context that pushed them out to sea. In this way the painters allow Cubans a means to reflect on their existence and the complex rules and ideas that bind them to the Revolution.
Cuban artists have become renown for their technical ability but also the complexity of their analysis and power to convey complex messages in simple images. They live in a charged ideological climate, where everything that is produced in subject to political analysis.
Historical Background
The Cuban Revolution of 1959 opened a new chapter in Latin American history. When Fidel Castro led a group of bearded revolutionaries into the Cuban capital, Havana, marked the beginning of a Revolution that would challenge the hegemony of the United States a in the continent and create the first socialist republic in the Americas. This monumental act caused tremors similar to the effect of the Haitian revolution on the early 19th century , altering the power base of the island that sent the country
Cuba was late in achieving its independence from Spain, in 1902. Cuba was also one of the last countries in the Americas to abolish the slave trade in 1887. Cuba's strategic location made it crossroads between Europe and the Americas. The mix of cultures in Cuba evolved from the mix of peoples that came through the island and the waves of immigrants, slaves and indentured servants that labored in the cane fields, docks and mines.
The island's mix of cultures also produced syncretic blends of African religions that blended with catholicism to create new forms of hybrid spirituality. Santeria or Regla de Ocha, Palo Monte, Abakua and other syncretic blends flourished throughout the island, that maintained many aspects of the African languages, religions, music and dance. The Spanish authorities and the Church allowed the pretenses of "cabildos" or fraternal lodges based on African cultural identification that organized events and social activities . Many freed blacks and slaves were able to maintain important forms of their African heritage through these associations.
Cuban artists in 20th century began to express the strong African presence in Cuba and the forms of spirituality that influenced the way many Cubans viewed the world through African mythology. Painter Wilfredo Lam, poet Nicolas Guillen and a myriad of musicians, dancers and visuals artists celebrated the African presence and spirituality that permeated many aspects of everyday life. Lam's art illustrated the importance of mythology and African icons and symbols in Cuban life. His surreal images explored the word of the supernatural that forms the world view of many Cubans and explains many of the cultural manifestations that have emerged on the island.
Beginning in the 1920's after prohibition outlawed alcohol in the U.S. Cuba became a premier vacation spot for American tourists, thirsty to party. Havana's long standing nightlife expanded as bars, casinos and hotels developed to meet the demand. This brought Cuban artists to Havana to dance and play music in these new venues and brought vitality to Cuban culture as the Cubans had to perform for foreign audiences and create new means of expression that would please them. Cuban bands began to include elements of jazz and American pop music in the music and dance routines and many famous artists from abroad came to the island to perform.
This development also had a dark side as the nightlife also included prostitution, gambling and drugs and by the 1950's U.S. based gangsters had taken control of much of Havana's tourist industry. When Fulgencio Batista staged a coup d'etat in 1952, U.S. interests and the mafiosos such as Meyer Lansky and Lucky Luciano gained strong influence in the government and control over the tourist industry. This event provoked widespread protest and led a young attorney, Fidel Castro to lead a rebellion against the regime. He and a group of students staged a failed attack on the military barracks in Santiago de Cuba which ended in many being killed and imprisoned. After many protests the revolutionaries were freed and exiled to Mexico.
In Mexico, the Cuban revolutionaries found kindred spirits and the remnants of several revolutionary movements from around the world. As Fidel Castro plotted a return to Cuba, he found advice and support from the veterans of the Mexican Revolution, sympathetic artists and intellectuals as well as exiles from Sandino's army from Nicaragua, veterans of the Spanish Civil War and many failed revolutions form all over Latin America. In Mexico, Castro met Ernesto "Che" Guevara, a young Argentine medical student who had traveled across the continent and was looking for a means to change the injustice and exploitation he witnessed. "Che", as he was nicknamed, proposed that Latin America revolutionaries needed to join to create a continental movement that would promote armed uprisings in many countries and challenge the hegemony of the United States and the repressive regimes that dominated the area. Castro was able to gather a group of 82 Cuban exiles and sympathizers such as Che Guevara, to return to Cuba to wage a guerrilla war against the Batista regime.
After the 1959 Revolution may wealthy Cubans worried that the overthrow of the US baked government would lead to massacre of the wealthy and a race war remnants of the 1804 rebellion in neighboring Haiti, that brought friend planters to Cuba fleeing a slave revolt and revolution. The Revolution provoked radical changes in Cuba's culture as the gap between the classes that had divided Cuba dispersed and the workers and peasants began to take a dominant role in society. The universal access to education, health care and work opportunities created a new dynamic in Cuban society that tumbled the longstanding social institutions. The establishment of a new Ministry of Culture also turned over the Eurocentric centric paradigms of the Cuban elite, instead promoting folklore, working class culture and pushing to the forefront.
The US blockade of Cuba and the cold war mentality of the 1960's closed Cuba off to the cultural products of the West. The economic sanctions virtually sealed the island as the Cuban government stopped the import of Western cultural products and blocked films, music and art from the West from entering the island. On the other hand Cuban music that enjoyed great popularity in the US was blocked from the US and a virtual cultural wall, emerged in the Florida Straits.
Although a few Cubans that were able to travel in the West had access to Western culture and a few records, magazines and books were smuggled in, most Cubans were oblivious to the cultural revolution taking place in the US and Europe in the 1960's. The Beatles, Beach Boys, Rolling Stones, long hair and Woodstock never reached the Cuban public except for those who listen to short wave broadcasts or stray signals from Florida radio stations.
The Revolution put many professional artists on salary to pursue their craft and to create a national patrimony that would help people identify and celebrate Cuba's culture. This policy was employed to create a society where culture would no longer be a commodity to be bought and sold but a part of the social salary of each worker, giving Cubans access to cultural expressions that would reflect their own interests and aesthetics. The process of choosing which art was revolutionary and which was not led to many discussions about what kind of artistic expressions were bourgeoisie and which represented the interest of the proletariat. There were many shifts in this policy and during a period in the late 1960's and early 1970's many poets, painters and other artists were marginalized because their work did not to conform to the cultural policies of the moment.
Che Guevara's proposed that the violent overthrow of the government was not enough to create a revolution but that the revolution would be fulfilled when the conditions that created the inequalities in society were uprooted and that individuals themselves assimilated the values of a socialist society. He described a New Society, where money would not be the primary means of exchange and that workers would produce, not motivated by their material needs but instead inspired to contribute to the collective. In the arts this concept was applied to cultural workers who were encouraged to produce works that would contribute to the development of a "people's culture".
The Cuban government contribute heavily to the foundation of a National Arts school as well as many regional schools, a policy uncommon in poor developing countries. This policy laid the foundation for an arts renaissance that blossomed in the 1970s as the art schools began to graduate new generations of artists, born and raised in the revolution.
Manuel Mendive became an important influence for modern Cuban artists. His work was inspired by the African traditions in Cuban culture and referenced the mythology and popular traditions that had been hidden in underground ceremonies and celebrations or stereotyped in cabaret shows. Mendive's work brought to the foreground the African mythology that influences the way that many Cubans view the world and the source of a rich culture that maintained and resisted attempts to eradicate it. The deities of Palo Monte and Regla de Ocha are vividly depicted in Mendive's work as a part of the flora and fauna of Cuba and as a constant spiritual presence in the actions of humans.
The Cuban poster art Links to an external site.that began in the 1960's is an example of public art that borrows from the Soviet and Polish art traditions but was also influenced by pop art and the commercial art of Western Europe and the US. This art form which avoided social commentary in the US became a powerful tool to give a modern edgy look to revolutionary posters in Cuba.
The Cuban Revolution gave rise to many innovative cultural movements, especially the film institute ICAIC. Cuba's film industry has produced some of the most important Latin American films and served as one of the Latin American film festival held annually in Cuba was one of the few outlets for Latin American film until recently. Many films made by directors in exile or films about controversial political topics have been shown in this festival.
In literature, music and dance many of the traditional cultural forms have been preserved and serve as a base for generations to use a base for their new creations. The political system in Cuba which does not allow for a freedom of free expression or a media that can easily accessed by citizens had made art an important form of criticism and political expression. Some of these critiques are within the context of "revolutionary critique", using the fundamental principles of the Revolution to criticize and comment on the way Cuban society has evolved.
This section will open up a discussion about the legacy of revolutionary art in Latin America.
Participate in the forum for this week's discussion. Questions to consider.
How did the Cuban Revolution produce new artistic trends?
Compare Raul Martinez's version of pop art to the style used by Andy Warhol and other U.S., based painters.
Describe some of the ways that Cubans used their art to represent their cultural identity.
How did the creation of new cultural institutions influence Cuban art and culture?