Visual Artists, Surrealist Communions: Lois Elaine Griffith and Jorge Soto Sánchez at the Nuyorican Poets Café
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Published:December 2024
Joseph Anthony Cáceres, 2024. "Visual Artists, Surrealist Communions: Lois Elaine Griffith and Jorge Soto Sánchez at the Nuyorican Poets Café", Nuyorican & Diasporican Visual Art: A Critical Anthology, Arlene Dávila, Yasmin Ramirez
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This chapter delves into the unexplored Surrealist connections between visual artists affiliated with the Nuyorican Poets Café during the late 1970s and early 1980s, challenging the conventional understanding of the Café’s legacy. By spotlighting the poetry and visual art of Lois Elaine Griffith, one of the last surviving founders of the Café, the chapter aims to highlight the cultural dialogues and exchanges that took place at the Café. This exploration also focuses on Griffith’s collaborations with Nuyorican visual artist Jorge Soto Sánchez and their works that engaged with shared cultural legacies, such as Yoruba, to create an anti-colonial aesthetic. The impetus for this study came from the Nuyorican Poets Café Founders Archive Project, initiated after the passing of Miguel Algarín, a Café founder. The narrative weaves together personal interactions, memories, and artworks stored in Griffith’s archive, shedding light on the surrealist nature of the artists’ work.
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