Planet/Cuba

December 14, 2015
Price (The Object of the Atlantic: Concrete Aesthetics in Cuba, Brazil, and Spain 1868â1968), a professor in Princeton University's department of Spanish and Portuguese languages and cultures, delves into Cuban art, culture, economics, and politics in this fine overview. She astutely discusses the nuances of Cuban visual and literary culture, and describes the art from the island nation as inextricably tied to economy, ecology, and history. Organized around several themes, the comprehensive text describes a culture responding to "climate change, accelerating capitalism" and "pervasive surveillance," and includes musings on literature, film, installation, painting, photography, and poetry. Price describes Cuban culture and art as "both typical of global trends, and singular." Common themes include anxieties concerning rising seas and climate change, shown by Luis Enrique Camejo's eerie paintings of a flooded Havana; the unconquerable invasive weed marabu, often used as a symbol of the failure of state power; and the militarization of culture, as seen in Samuel Riera's magazines, which are printed on empty bags of military-grade cement. This meticulously detailed text is a productive exploration of globalized Cuban art and culture. B&w photos.