Latino Arts Inc. Shines Light on ‘Cuban Artists’ Books and Prints’

The Ediciones Vigia, a small, independent press operating in Matanzas, Cuba,encourages and supports artists to produce handmade books despite limitedresources and harsh conditions. This impressive artists’ collective, founded bypoet Alfredo Zaldivar and designer/illustrator Rolando Estevez in 1985, becamea symbol for the light that could still illuminate Cuban culture duringpolitical and economic upheaval. A stylized kerosene lantern adorns many of theorganization’s publications and signifies its mission to ignite creativity evenwhen threatened by extreme circumstances. Latino Arts Inc. presents theacclaimed work from the Vigia Press in the recently opened exhibition “CubanArtists’ Books and Prints: 1985-2008.”

The idea for the traveling exhibition began when Wake Forest University’s Linda S.Howe organized the “Cuban Book Project.” More than 120 pieces from the VigiaPress opened at Grolier Club of Manhattan in May2009, followed by a symposium at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. The exhibition documents anemigration of Cuban culture that reflects the social, economic and politicalchaos continually affecting the island since the 1980s and honors the Cubanrevolution’s 50th anniversary.

Thirteen artists educated at celebrated art academies contribute artworkthat incorporates text in accordion, hand-bound or matchbox books, along withmagazines, scrolls and print on objects. Eight glass cases staggered throughoutthe gallery hold the numerous books for viewing. One wishes that all the bookscould be touched, opened and studied, but close observation of the booksevenif just a coverreveals volumes about Cuban society and reflects variousaesthetic influences.

The art mounted on the gallery walls deserves equal attention. CarlosEstevez displays Desnudar el Alma(Stripping Bare the Soul) in wood, clothand ink. His 2-foot-tall doll, with carved wood head, feet and hands, uses itssoft, stuffed body as a book. Hanging behind this bald figure with glass eyesare four pieces of meticulously sewn clothing: pantaloons, bustier, nightdressand formal gown. Each garment patterned with written words and pictures detailsfeminine Cuban destinies and dreams.

Danilo Moreno prints a muslin dress using copper blocks, Ibrahim Mirandasuperimposes mystical images over Cuban maps and Carilda Oliver Labra layersbrown paper in a foldout book that hangs like a poster on the wall. And theserepresent only a few of the haunting and fascinating images and objectsfeatured throughout the Latino Arts Gallery.

The artwork transcends its foreign text as these handmade books invokethe fragile Cuban existence. The humbly lit lantern representing the VigiaPress and its significant exhibition reminds all cultures that artisticexpression and individual creativity can too easily be extinguished. (Theexhibit continues through Feb. 5, 2010, and sponsors a discussion aboutEdiciones Vigia on Feb. 4 at UW-Milwaukee’s Golda Meir Library.)