Adiós Utopia
A superb survey at the Walker
Cuba has become a place of increasing interest, especially within the art world. With somewhat relaxed dynamics between the United States and the tropical nation, institutions are finally giving credit to the incredible work that was produced by Cubans since the revolutionary period of the 1950s.
Adiós Utopia: Dreams and Deceptions in Cuban Art Since 1950 at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis is the greatest survey to date, with over 100 works of art and design. Making its first stop at the MFA in Houston in 2017, this exhibition is a revelation to the average viewer who knows little about the artistic output of Cuba. This show is also a dialogue with Cuban politics and ambitions. As the title of the exhibition might suggest, saying farewell to an imagined ideal means reckoning with realities of the world that may be wildly exciting or nightmarish.
Of course, propaganda in favor of the revolution is on display. Much like Soviet or Chinese designs of earlier decades, trite patriotic slogans are contrasted by surprisingly modern and elegant visual components. A poster designed by Antonio Pérez González shows the now iconic image of Che Guevara replicated in multiple silkscreened duotones, much like a Warhol portrait. The Pop movement, which focused so deliberately on capitalism and consumerism, certainly isn’t in line with Castro’s vision, but this shows style transcending ideologies. Arresting visual design can be applied to mostly anything, and as a result, the viewer could be seduced, enraged, or motivated.
Despite the wave of revolutionary fervor by some artists and designers, the isolation and extreme control that came with Fidel Castro also resulted in fear and frustration. Protest was not an option under these circumstances, and this exhibition shows very sly examples of concern and dissent. One example worth citing is Flavio Garciandía. The artist is regarded as a major force in the Cuban art world, and with his contemporaries, he helped leverage more freedom for artists with the creation of the Havana Biennial in 1984. Cuba was teeming with artists in the 1970s and 1980s who were very aware of what was happening in the art world at large. Many were also disillusioned with both Cuba and the West. In the exhibition, Garciandía has a painting featured, titled She is in Another Day from 1975. A beautiful woman is shown laying in sun-soaked grass and looking towards the sky with a soft smile and thoughtful eyes. The artist invokes cinematic tropes, with a foreground out of focus, a sentimental title, and dimensions that fit a screen-like ratio. This all signals towards hope, openness, and lightness. The cinematic cues seem very indebted to Hollywood. Although I do not want to dissect this painting to pieces, it does seem that movies (and creative expression at large) represented something truly radical for Cubans who wanted release from Castro’s regulations.
There is too much work to cover in a single review, but what you need to know is that you must see this exhibition. This show covers the work of artists who have long been ignored and should be in the canon of art history. Along with the immense cultural and historical significance, Adiós Utopia is curated and hung with such elegance by Walker staff and Cuban independent curators Gerardo Mosquera, René Francisco Rodríguez, and Elsa Vega. With all of this in mind, you have until March 18 to witness a seminal moment for Cuban postwar and contemporary artists.
