November 2, 2005
Excerpt from: Ninety Miles Away and East of Eden.
Margarita J. Aguilar- Curator at El Museo del Barrio New York.
The urban landscape does not go unnoticed in the exhibition and several artists set their work in the city or towns marred by the ravages of time or decay; the ugliness of an impoverished reality; and a sadness or nostalgia for a past. Maria Lau, Manuel Llaneras, Abelardo Morell, Roy Llera, Elena Borstein, Mari Seder, Craig Barber, Sue Gersten, Hazel Hankin, Tony Mendoza, and Rebecca Norris Webb all describe the city or life in the city in their work. Lau’s double exposure Capitolio. Llera’s La Habana, Morell’s La Giraldilla de la Habana/ In room with a broken wall, and Llanera’s Untitled, evoke places and people not seen; broken dreams and promises; allude to poignant memories; and the persistence of the past with the presence of signs once denoting status or wealth.
… For them, Cuba remains an enigma, which some have sought to explore, comprehend on some level, but most have preferred to document and act as eyewitness presenting many views of the so-called paradise nation in their personal search or work. Their images are testaments of time, of extraordinary aesthetic choices and, although individually composed and informed, are nevertheless utterly influenced by a place and people that for the time being, must remain exotic, alluring, and in the end, partially unknown. Understandably so, this exhibition presents snippets of a larger story- part of the picture- the never-ending story of Cuba. It must be noted that all the artists went to Cuba on their own personal assignments or volition; each developed a modus operandi that suited artistic preferences and expressed personal commitment to a particular body of work to be undertaken. During their stays, they became anthropologists, historians, sociologists, ethnographers, and perhaps, even santeros; their images transcend stereotypes and preconceived notions about what and who they would eventually photograph. In doing so, they chipped away at the construction or edifice of exoticism-and laid bare some fundamental truths still to be found in the complex island called Cuba.
November 2, 2005
Excerpt from: Ninety Miles Away and East of Eden.
Margarita J. Aguilar- Curator at El Museo del Barrio New York.
The urban landscape does not go unnoticed in the exhibition and several artists set their work in the city or towns marred by the ravages of time or decay; the ugliness of an impoverished reality; and a sadness or nostalgia for a past. Maria Lau, Manuel Llaneras, Abelardo Morell, Roy Llera, Elena Borstein, Mari Seder, Craig Barber, Sue Gersten, Hazel Hankin, Tony Mendoza, and Rebecca Norris Webb all describe the city or life in the city in their work. Lau’s double exposure Capitolio. Llera’s La Habana, Morell’s La Giraldilla de la Habana/ In room with a broken wall, and Llanera’s Untitled, evoke places and people not seen; broken dreams and promises; allude to poignant memories; and the persistence of the past with the presence of signs once denoting status or wealth.
… For them, Cuba remains an enigma, which some have sought to explore, comprehend on some level, but most have preferred to document and act as eyewitness presenting many views of the so-called paradise nation in their personal search or work. Their images are testaments of time, of extraordinary aesthetic choices and, although individually composed and informed, are nevertheless utterly influenced by a place and people that for the time being, must remain exotic, alluring, and in the end, partially unknown. Understandably so, this exhibition presents snippets of a larger story- part of the picture- the never-ending story of Cuba. It must be noted that all the artists went to Cuba on their own personal assignments or volition; each developed a modus operandi that suited artistic preferences and expressed personal commitment to a particular body of work to be undertaken. During their stays, they became anthropologists, historians, sociologists, ethnographers, and perhaps, even santeros; their images transcend stereotypes and preconceived notions about what and who they would eventually photograph. In doing so, they chipped away at the construction or edifice of exoticism-and laid bare some fundamental truths still to be found in the complex island called Cuba.