Cuban Artistic Expression, Walking the Line Between Censorship and Ambiguity
Censorship and crackdowns are extremely culturally relevant to any society, as they dictate how the members of a culture can interact and discuss with each other. In Cuba, this is no different. Throughout almost all of the island's history, speech against the government and controversial ideas have been highly regulated and censored from Spain, and the work of Jose Marti, Alberto Korda, and those surviving under the Batista Regime, and in the modern day with Los Carpinteros.
Expressive art has played a role in every revolution Cuba has encountered, but in the modern day with the most recent revolution being generations in the past, this trend seems to have evolved. It is no secret that the Cuban government in the present day regulates speech, so artists had to change with the times.
This is where I find my favorite group of artists in the module, Los Carpinteros. They are somehow able to walk a fine line, where their artwork is ambiguous enough to avoid the scrutiny of the censors, but retains enough meaning for critics and laypeople alike to see the meaning in the art and understand how it is social commentary. I personally find this quite extraordinary and amusing. They use art as a concept, of one interpretation, to cater the meaning of the work to separate audiences. In the rigid gaze of the government, it means nothing more than its superficiality, however in the eyes of those in tune with the political issues of the day it is easily interpreted.
A great example of this is the Fallen Lighthouse mentioned in the PBS video on Los Carpinteros. The lighthouse is one of the most famous Cuban landmarks, widely regarded as a national symbol. To see it fallen on its side shows it as suffering and defeated. This can be interpreted as an allegory to the state of Cuba and its affairs, a people nearly defeated and suffering from generations and centuries of hardship. Some of the surrounding concrete is broken, but not in the sense that one would expect from the material. Instead, the break mimics shattered glass. I personally interpret this as the hard and tough exterior that the Cuban government presents, but in reality, is fragile and prone to shattering like glass. The beauty of the piece to me is that there is a nuance of Cuban life and history one needs to understand to know why the artwork is so clever, however, the piece is not so on the nose that the government feels insecure enough and confident enough that it breaks the rules that it is censored.
This whole concept though feels ironic to me, as the government wants to endorse artistic expression to spread the positives of socialism but censors that same artwork when led astray gets censored. How can one truly express oneself if one cannot freely speak their own mind?
How do you think that this method of artistic expression has developed or influenced Cuban politics?
What other ways of self-expression under censorship exist?
I like that you talked about "Los Carpinteros" because I thought their work was very cool and unique. You don't often see art in that kind of style where they use different materials to create their models. I also liked that you delved into the lighthouse and what it represents for Cuba. I also thought that you analyzed the metaphors well and put lots of thought into interpreting them. I think that some other methods of self-expression that exist under censorship can include music and literature. Both of which I think are effective ways of expressing different ideas and definitely expressing ideas against dictatorships and the total control that the government has.
ReplyDeleteThe cool thing about the broken Lighthouse that you mentioned is that I was contracted at one point to create a copy of the broken concrete at my water jetting job. when it comes to Expressions under censorship besides art one of the most prevalent things is architecture. unless the government cracks down on the look of homes, people can make their houses in whatever way they want. this means that if they want to make their house into a middle finger that can only be seen from above they can do that at their own risk. people can also reference artists who have been exiled by doing things in the house in certain ways. I'm not an interior decorator so I don't know exactly how you could do something that's not blatant. overall I believe that if you're doing any non-public form of self-expression, it's either going to be minimal in size or it's going to be done with the idea that the person does not care about the repercussions. a good example could be a bunch of designs being drawn around a country to signify Rebellion like in a video game.
ReplyDeleteI think your question about the irony in the Cuban governments stance on free speech is a fascinating one and provoked deep thought. Interestingly, it seems as if this harsh anti-free speech policy has inspired a deeper level of creativity and cleverness in cuban artists so the message within the art is not as "on the nose" as you put it. It is as if the harsher the restrictions in place, the more nuanced and layered the commentary on the restricting government is within art installments. While this is out of necessity, I wonder if artists such as Los Carpinteros relish the opportunity the challenges presents them with. What it truly goes to show is self expression is possible, even in the presence of extreme censorship. It simply forces artists to push creative limits, demonstrating how powerful self expression can be.
ReplyDeleteHi Finn,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing. I enjoyed reading your blog post– clearly a lot of thought and intention behind the art and musicians you chose to highlight. In response to your first question, I think due to the government being heavily involved in the economical support of artists, there is a reflection of national pride in much of the art and music that is created. When the national identity is synonymous with the art and music created, the art in many ways reflects the propaganda of the regime. If artists are to reflect in their work criticism of the government, people may be quick to say "why bit the hand that feeds you?" It is difficult to say whether the art influences Cuban politics, but I think art can most definitely reflect the current political climate.
^ I wrote most of this reply pre- Cuba, but I wanted to include an observation post-trip
Jason, Fiona, Kait, and I were roaming around La Habana Vieja when we noticed an interesting piece of graffiti. It read "que es 'eso' un hombre o una mujer" with a pair of testicles drawn next to it. Jason interpreted the scene as a transphobic question "what's that a man or a woman?" I was asking Norkys about the representation of women in the Cuban government, and she stated that recently a transperson was elected into government which stirred lots of conversation. It seemed the the piece on the street reflected some of the criticism and transphobia towards the government official.