Cuba has become a foreign artist's haven for inspiration. Cuba is known for its beaches and weather just as much as its art. The revolution, led by Fidel Castro, unintentionally forced artists to be more creative than they would have otherwise. Fidel Castro believed in socialism which resulted in little to no freedom of speech. This prevented artists from making any clear political statements with their art and any non-socialism ideas were censored. This created a trend in a large portion of Cuban art. The trend was political statements or non-socialism ideas hidden in the art.
Although it was clear most Cubans were initially in support of the revolution because it was simply a better option for their situation at the time, they did not see the revolution in all positives. With Fidel in control over nearly everything, there were still serious issues. Many Cuban artists found art as a way to send messages they believed in whether it opposed Fidel or not. Other artists used creating as a way to escape their misfortune. All art was done with purpose. In some circumstances, artists created movements that brought communities together looking to promote positive changes. It is clear that the movements were supercharged by the political economy at the time socialism was the strongest.
Cuba and its history is what makes its art so special. There is truly no history like Cuba's and for that reason, its art is so authentic and organic. During the Afro-Cuban movement what started on paper touched city walls and infrastructure in an attempt to put visual art across the city during a time of censorship. This was a new form of art to most government officials but partly accepted.
Questions:
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think was the biggest inspiration for a Cuban artist? Politics? Personal Struggles?
Why do you think Cuban art is so different from American art?
What form of art appeared to have the most impact on positive change?
Hello Jake,
ReplyDeleteAs I wrote in my post something that truly resonated with me was the phrase "in struggle we create" an artist assistant in Cuba said these words. So I believe that it was their personal struggle. I also think that street art and music create positive change because it allowed them to express any feelings that they can't express in other ways.
I don't know a lot about American art and I'm learning about Cuban art and I would assume that Cuban art is more diverse and common themes would be struggle and revolutionaries but American art I am assuming is progress and evolution.