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writing about cuban art
Post #254 • April 8, 2004, 10:14 AM • 3 Comments
Your know who's writing the hardest-hitting essays these days about Cuban art and its political overlay? Jerome du Bois of The Tears of Things. Is it strange that credit for this goes to a guy living in Phoenix? Uh-huh. Should Miami be embarassed about it? Yep.
Over His Dead Body: Kathleen Vanesian, Neo-Colonialist
Toirac the Tame and the Tiempos nuevos Series
Cargosy: Two More Cubans
Two Cubans: In Order NOT To Forget
2.
April 8, 2004, 7:49 PM
Du Bois is correct in his Over My Dead Body commentary. The U.S. embargo to Cuba is not relevant. Particularly in the early 90's. The embargo does not cause much problems in Cuba. It is quite irrelevant. Cuba does commerce with the whole world and plenty with the U.S. (telecom, agriculture, travel, money transfers, donations), and until 1992, U.S. subsidiaries in other nations, like Cargill in Argentina, did plenty of business with Mr. Castro Ruz, that white bearded homophobe who promised a free press on his first radio address from the Sierra Mountains when he was a young rebel.
3.
April 9, 2004, 12:44 AM
Not that it HAS to be, but Miami is not very interested in Cuban art. It's like soooo local color. Miami wants something more exotic, like work from Winnipeg. The ultimate, of course, is anything blessed by the Church of Basel. There may be the odd local Cuban-American collector interested, but the big shots want more bang for their buck, even if it's hollow bang. Cuban art is too close to home and comes with too much political baggage. Miami's art world wants something trendier and easier to deal with...say, what about that Olafur Eliasson, eh?
1.
Jerome du Bois
April 8, 2004, 7:35 PM
Thank you, Franklin. And I'm glad you brought up the Miami question. I was probably going to have to eventually.
JdB