As a description of Cuban art from 1981 to 1991, this volume accomplishes its purpose. Luis Camnitzer begins with “Volumen I,” an exhibition that opened on January 14, 1981, and that represents the emergence of the new Cuban art. In successive chapters he discusses, chronologically and thematically, “Cuban Influences on the 1980s Generation,” “Art Within the Revolution,” “Art Education in Cuba, “The Generations Following ‘Volumen I,’” “Individuals,” and “Cuban Art and Postmodernism.” In addition, he devotes postscripts to the discussion of current issues facing Cuban artists.
The book can also serve as a reference work. Its 205 black-and-white illustrations and descriptions of the works over the last 20 years emphasize the diversity of style and subject matter. Camnitzer divides the works into four categories: kitsch, shaped by colonialism and class differences; Afro-Cubanism, focusing on African heritage and racial intermixing; individualists, reflecting international trends; and nationalists, emphasizing national identity and the Revolution. Yet these categories are of limited use, because Camnitzer does not follow them consistently. Some artists’ works are hybrids; others fit none of the categories.
The works included here indicate the dominance of men; for example, the “Volumen I” exhibition contained the works of 11 male artists and no women. Although from 1982 on the Institute Superior de Arte (ISA) averaged 25 percent female students and in 1984 the Academia de San Alejandro had 28 percent, few of those women have obtained professional status.
Although the Cuban government views art as a means of production, it has attempted to expand an understanding of art throughout the entire population as part of its literacy campaigns. Unlike the United States and Europe, which view art as political when it expresses opposition to state and society, the Cuban government views art as political when it is integrated into the revolutionary system and serves popular education. Thus, art education plays a significant role in Cuban society as part of an effort to develop national identity. Camnitzer compares the Cuban perspective on curriculum, instructors, and integration of the arts with others in Latin America.
The author places the so-called New Art in a historical context. He affirms that the Cuban socialist revolution is unique. Self- and administrative censorship are limited; Cuban artists have neither adhered to a party line nor felt the need to rebel by duplicating Western art or rejecting prerevolutionary traditions. This is perhaps because despite the Revolution, Cuban art remains in the Western tradition. The most respected Cuban modernists studied in Europe and the United States, and Cuban artists have continued to travel abroad. To be sure, Cuban artists see themselves as creating distinctive art and as contributing to constructive development in their society.
