Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes - Arte Cubano
Omar our tour guide enthusiastically educated us about Cuban art, even though he admitted his passion is antiquities. We started in the courtyard.
I was such a slowpoke, hanging with Stephanie and another woman who recently had surgery.
We saw a picture of Cuban Cubism (say that three times fast) which was an example of Picasso's influence on Cuban art. We learned about Alfredo Lozano who was influenced by Matisse, then went to NYC and became an abstract artist, then Cubanized abstract art.
Omar showed us works by Mirta Cerra, or Mme. Perfection as he calls her.
Rene Portocarrero uses different shades of color in her paintings. He was most impressed by this artist because he never had professional training.
We quickly saw art from the "Adorable 1960s" -- art influenced by music and how the artists portrayed the Revolution without crossing lines that would land them in prison. Some had to hold exhibits in their homes because they were banned from museums and galleries. Instead of having a Soviet influence, many of these artists had Polish influence.
Later we saw work by the Andy Warhol of Cuba -- Raul Martinez, who painted green faces of the revolution. "Even the cat was there" is a Cuban expression meaning everyone was there. Even the cat was in his painting.
The Beatles were banned at this time. recently a statue of John Lennon was erected, but his story is for another post.
Zaida Del Rio is a famous artist who posed for a painting by Flavio Garciandia called "All I Need is Love," it was scandalous at the time.
In the cafe is this 5 foot sculpture made from coffee pots called Cathedral.
As we left the museum I saw a little girl playing a game on her mother's cell phone. It was a jarring reminder of the time capsule we had entered. I enjoyed the pace of being unplugged and others around me also being unplugged. Overall I saw less cars and had less trouble crossing the streets. We saw people just hanging out on the Malecon talking to each other and picnicking.
It was a jarring contrast to those huddled around wifi signals (which you have to pay for).
All pictures can be found HERE
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