Arts and Literature of Cuba

Freer Expression By the late 1980s, the artistic environment in Cuba was chang- ing again. As the island’s economy sputtered and then col- lapsed, the government withdrew financial support for artists. With the end of government sponsorship came greater artistic freedom—though making enough money to survive was obviously a concern. Fortunately for Cuban artists, the government’s aggressive promotion of international tourism during the 1990s—after decades of relative isolation—helped open up a market for the sale of artwork created on the island. In the years since, a vibrant and freewheeling art scene has developed in Cuba. As is the case elsewhere in the world, strug- gling artists vastly outnumber those who’ve made a mark. But in Cuba a moderately successful artist can make a lot more money than the average worker. Among the first to cash in on the new artistic environment were Los Carpinteros (“the Carpenters”), a cooperative found- ed in 1992 by three art school classmates: Dagoberto Rodríguez (1969– ), Alexandre Arrechea (1970– ), and Marco Antonio Castillo (1971– ). Arrechea left the co-op in 2003. Los Carpinteros’ work—which is now in the permanent collections of prestigious museums around the world—often combines architecture, design, and sculpture. Other artists emblematic of Cuba’s diverse contemporary art scene include Manuel Mendive and Wilfredo Prieto. In his paintings, sculptures, carvings, and mixed-media pieces, Mendive (1944– ) often draws inspiration from Santeria. Prieto (1978– ) is a conceptual artist whose piquant humor sometimes targets the Cuban regime. For example, his 1999

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Arts and Literature of Cuba