Brunnier Art Museum opens Arte Cubano August 25, 2021
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AMES IOWA – August 19, 2021 – Arte Cubano highlights a universally agreed-upon characteristic of the island’s art: an incredible diversity. Cuban art is so rich in large part because of its diverse cultural blend of African, European, and Latin/Caribbean influences. Add to these traditional roots the revolution of 1959, and Cuban art occupies a unique aesthetic place in the contemporary art world. Arte Cubano opens August 25 at Brunnier Art Museum, Scheman Building, Second Floor, 1805 Center Drive, Ames, Iowa.
About the Exhibition
Building on changing relationships between the governments of the United States and Cuba, this timely exhibition reflects more than twenty-five Cuban artists’ ruminations on the quotidian, social, and political realities of the island and the contemporary world. The island geography and political intensity of Cuba inform the art in a way that is immediately identifiable, often concealing coded, even subversive, ideas while simultaneously celebrating the richness of Cuba’s cultural identity. Peeling away the layers of Cuban art often reveals a story of struggle caused by economic and political consequences, and the social upheaval that a true revolution produces.
"Arte Cubano is a wonderful opportunity for University Museums to explore the art and culture of Cuba, which is not presently found within the permanent collection," said Adrienne Gennett, Curator at University Museums. "The exhibition will allow for deep connections with students, faculty, and curricula across Iowa State. Arte Cubano affirms the importance of Cuban art as a voice for the people of Cuba in their continued search for stability."
The exhibition’s artists include Lidzie Alvisa, José Bedia, Los Carpinteros, Yoan Capote, Enrique Celaya, Roberto Fabelo, Diana Fonseca, Pedro Pablo Oliva, Kcho, Sandra Ramos, Esterio Segura, and more. Spanning several generations, these contemporary Cuban artists come from an unusual place: a country often isolated because of its socialist revolution. All of the artists in this collection grew up in socialist Cuba, and many graduated from the prestigious Instituto Superior de Arte—built at the beginning of the revolution, Havana’s equally excellent San Alejandro Art Academy, or the Escuela Nacional de Arte. Others graduated from local art schools. Despite their disparate backgrounds, aesthetic sensibilities, subject matter, materials, and styles, there is something uniquely Cuban about the art in this collection.
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The intensity and depth of meaning, with the specific physical and political context, make Cuban art immediately identifiable and powerful, and an important voice in the art world today. Most of all, the art is connected to Cuba itself. Both the island and the art are an unusual mix of the traditional and the modern, of the ordinary and the special, of simplicity and incredible complexity. The same can be said for the politics, the literature, the architecture, and the people. It confounds and entrances, it is rejecting and embracing.
Mid-America Arts Alliance/ExhibitsUSA co-organized Arte Cubano with the Center for Cuban Studies (NYC) to synthesize two extraordinary private collections generously made available for the project. This exhibition could not have been made possible without their collecting vision and loan generosity. The Center for Cuban Studies opened in 1972 and was organized by a group of scholars, writers, artists, and other professionals, in response to the effects of US policy toward Cuba.
The exhibition is hosted by University Museums with generous support from Jim and Marcia Borel, Barbara and Roger Bruene, Jane Cox, Renate and H. Dieter Dellmann, Betty and Dennis Keeney, Sue and Larry Koehrsen, Jerry and Karen Kolschowsky, Sarah Nusser and Michael King, and University Museums membership. Significant support for the exhibition was also awarded by the J. W. Fisher Endowed Arts Outreach Fund.
The Brunnier Art Museum is open Wednesday – Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.; Saturday & Sunday, 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.; closed to the public Monday & Tuesday, but Iowa State University curriculum tours may be scheduled these days with a two-week notice. Closed University Holidays. Admission is free. There is a suggested donation of $8.
Header Image & Below: El beso (The Kiss), 1999 by Yoan Capote. Bronze, cotton, perfume. Courtesy of Karen and Robert Duncan Collection
Second Image: Memorias (Memories), 2008 by Roberto Fabelo. Oil on canvas. Courtesy of Kathryn and Marc LeBaron Private Collection
Third Image: Pasa Tiempo (Pastime), 2008 by Diana Fonseca. Lambda print. Courtesy of Karen and Robert Duncan Collection
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Exhibition Programs
Sunday Tours with the University Museums
All Sunday Tours start at 2:00 p.m., are 30 minutes long, and are led by a curator, docent, or educator.
Sunday, August 29
Sunday, October 10 Bilingual Tour in Spanish and English
Sunday, October 24 Bilingual Tour in Spanish and English
Sunday, October 31
Gallery Walk of Arte Cubano, with Anne Pagel, Curator, Robert and Karen Duncan Collection
Sunday, September 12, 2:00—3:00 p.m.
Gain a unique perspective from Anne Pagel, the curator of the private lender’s collection, as she discusses the artists included in Arte Cubano.
Buena Vista Social Club Film Screening
Thursday, September 16, 7:00—9:00 p.m.
Experience the sounds of Cuba alongside the art of Cuba with an evening screening of the acclaimed documentary Buena Vista Social Club (1999)
Film Description: Traveling from the streets of Havana to the stage of Carnegie Hall, this documentary captures a forgotten generation of Cuba’s brightest musical talents as they encounter world fame. They play a jazz-inflected mix of cha-cha, mambo, bolero, and other traditional Latin American styles, and record an album that wins a Grammy, making them an international phenomenon.
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The Right to Have Rights: Cuban Artists Confront the State, with Coco Fusco, nationally recognized interdisciplinary artist and writer
Fusco will discuss the recent efforts of "artivists" in Cuba to advocate for expanded expressive freedoms and civil rights. She will focus primarily on the activities of 27N and the San Isidro Movement.
Lecture by Dr. Odette Casamayor-Cisneros
Friday, October 15, 4:00 p.m.
Cuban-born writer and scholar Dr. Odette Casamayor-Cisneros is Associate Professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
Image: Ser cultos para ser libres (Be Cultured to be Free), 2005 by Sandra Ramos. Calcography. Courtesy of Kathryn and Marc LeBaron Private Collection.
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About ExhibitsUSA
This exhibition is toured by ExhibitsUSA, a national program of Mid-America Arts Alliance. ExhibitsUSA sends more than twenty-five exhibitions on tour to over 100 small- and mid-sized communities every year. These exhibitions create access to an array of arts and humanities experiences, nurture the understanding of diverse cultures and art forms, and encourage the expanding depth and breadth of cultural life in local communities. For more about ExhibitsUSA, email MoreArt@maaa.org or visit www.eusa.org. |
About Mid-America Arts Alliance
Mid-America Arts Alliance (M-AAA) strengthens and supports artists, cultural organizations, and communities throughout our region and beyond. We achieve this primarily through our national traveling exhibition programs, innovative leadership development, and strategic grant making. We are especially committed to enriching the cultural life of historically underserved communities by providing high-quality, meaningful, and accessible arts and culture programs and services. We believe in more art for more people. Additional information about M-AAA is available at www.maaa.org.
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About University Museums
University Museums is a distinctive organization that encompasses two art museums, a National Historic Landmark historic home museum, a sculpture garden, and one of the largest campus public art collections in the nation. University Museums brings world-class exhibitions with educational programming to Iowa State University actively acquires works of art to add to the more than 30,000 permanent collection objects, conserves and preserves collections, conducts and publishes curatorial scholarship, and fosters student engagement.
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Media Information
To schedule interviews, photograph events, or request high-resolution images, please contact Alisha Abner at 515.294.3342 or aabner@iastate.edu.
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