The Weight of an Island: Collecting Cuban Art.
Bernard Chauveau.| N° d'inventaire | 26094 |
| Format | 21 x 29 |
| Détails | 200 p., illustrated, publisher's hardcover. |
| Publication | Paris, 2022 |
| Etat | Nine |
| ISBN | 9782363063243 |
Knowledge of other cultures is marked in France by its colonial past, its relations with its economic and political partners, as well as with the Great Powers. Latin America is therefore rarely discussed, and Cuba, in this absence of collective imagination, is often reduced to a few general traits that can replace clichés made of salsa, communist revolution, and rum. Only a few students who studied Spanish will have heard of Nicolas Guillén or Alejo Carpentier during their schooling, but probably none of Perez Monzon, Consuelo Castañeda, Antonia Eiriz, or the groups Onze or Pure.
Yet, Cuba is undoubtedly one of the three great cultural centers of Spanish-speaking America, alongside Argentina and Mexico. Twelve times less populated than Mexico and 25 times smaller than Argentina, the island has nevertheless produced an unsuspected number of truly fascinating musicians, dancers, writers, and visual artists whose influences have had a universal reach that easily rivals those of the Amerindian and Southern Cone centers.
The Castro revolution of 1959, which succeeded the Batista dictatorship, established a divisive regime that led to a situation similar to those still present in Korea and China: partition. In the United States alone, nearly 10% of the Cuban population is an emigrant, mainly in Florida, not to mention other Latin American countries, particularly Mexico. As a result, Cuban artistic creation, when it claims to be such, must also take into account this very large diaspora. Cuban art is therefore not exclusively the product of an island, but is that which comes from this island and unites artists.
François Vallée, a lover of Cuban art for decades, has collected more than 400 pieces. His collection is marked by personal choices, sometimes unusual collecting hazards, encounters, and exchanges, and is not comparable to a museum collection selected by specialists who prioritize reason over passion.
Knowledge of other cultures is marked in France by its colonial past, its relations with its economic and political partners, as well as with the Great Powers. Latin America is therefore rarely discussed, and Cuba, in this absence of collective imagination, is often reduced to a few general traits that can replace clichés made of salsa, communist revolution, and rum. Only a few students who studied Spanish will have heard of Nicolas Guillén or Alejo Carpentier during their schooling, but probably none of Perez Monzon, Consuelo Castañeda, Antonia Eiriz, or the groups Onze or Pure.
Yet, Cuba is undoubtedly one of the three great cultural centers of Spanish-speaking America, alongside Argentina and Mexico. Twelve times less populated than Mexico and 25 times smaller than Argentina, the island has nevertheless produced an unsuspected number of truly fascinating musicians, dancers, writers, and visual artists whose influences have had a universal reach that easily rivals those of the Amerindian and Southern Cone centers.
The Castro revolution of 1959, which succeeded the Batista dictatorship, established a divisive regime that led to a situation similar to those still present in Korea and China: partition. In the United States alone, nearly 10% of the Cuban population is an emigrant, mainly in Florida, not to mention other Latin American countries, particularly Mexico. As a result, Cuban artistic creation, when it claims to be such, must also take into account this very large diaspora. Cuban art is therefore not exclusively the product of an island, but is that which comes from this island and unites artists.
François Vallée, a lover of Cuban art for decades, has collected more than 400 pieces. His collection is marked by personal choices, sometimes unusual collecting hazards, encounters, and exchanges, and is not comparable to a museum collection selected by specialists who prioritize reason over passion.