final Flashcards
one paint/photo/poster thesis
Raul Martinez’s painting July 26 (1964) appropriates the traditionally capitalistic pop art style to communicate pro-revolutionary sentiments, while Helena Serrano’s poster Day of the Heroic Guerrilla, October 8 (1968) takes advantage of the easily accessible and distributable nature of the poster to disseminate revolutionary internationalist ideals, and Alberto Korda’s photo The Lamppost Quixote (1959) uses the reputation of photography as being true-to-life in order to illustrate the mass support which the Revolucion enjoyed in its euphoric early days.
who marti is and thesis
J*ose Marti: Martyred in the first year (1895) of the Cuban War of Independence, known as the father of Cuban nationalism for his work to unite the masses and and lead the fight for independence.
In “Our America,” he advocates for unified and peaceful (Latin) America that respects national, indigenous, cultural traditions– in line with the revolution’s Cuban nationalist yet internationalist ideals.
*THESIS: While Raul Martinez’ 15 Repetitions of Marti and Juan Francisco Elso’s Our America are pro-revolutionary works meant to (respectfully) disseminate revolutionary ideals and encourage revolutionary action, Jose A Figueroa’s Carlos III Avenue conceals a more critical sentiment through his use of the Revolucion-sanctioned image of Marti.
volume 1 gen intro and thesis
INTRO: Following what are most commonly described as the “Grey Years” in Cuban art history, Volume One exhibition marked the beginning of a renaissance in Cuban Art. Volume One generation artists were truly innovative in their exploration of vernacular and Afro-Cuban forms in their multi-media works and installations.
THESIS: While Flavio Garciandia’s 1982 Catalogue of Improper Forms series and Juan Francisco Elso’s (1982) Soil, Maize, Life elevate the vernacular form to question the previous devaluation of their respective kitsche and Mesoamerican subject matters and reassign value to them, in (1994) Flight of Iron, Jose Bedia explores Afro-Cuban forms to comment on how his reluctant exile from Cuba tested –but ultimately served as a testament to– his Afro-Cuban faith.
self portraits thesis
THESIS: In Dialectical Self-Portrait by Tonel, Everything Separated by Water by Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons, and The Unfortunate Circumstance of Being Surrounded by Water by Sandra Ramos, the artists all use the association of their own bodies with personal subject matter to leverage critiques of Cuban dependency on the USSR, the identity crisis brought by reluctant exile, and sex tourism in the years leading up to and during the Special Period.
referential art thesis
INTRO: Cleverly reference famous artworks by Cuban predecessors to conceal critiques of conditions in Cuba.
THESIS: Whereas Los Carpinteros’ Havana Country Club is a scathing criticism of the destitution in Cuba during the Special Period, Pedro Alvarez’s Cinderella’s Maid and Elio Rodriguez’s The Jungle question whether anti-blackness on the island has truly been eradicated, as the Revolucion claims.