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Painting and Sculpture 49
father of surrealism. The influ-
ence of cubism and surrealism
is readily apparent in Lam’s
work. But the feverish energy
many of his paintings radiate is
attributable largely to his min-
ing of African and Afro-Cuban
sources. Lam was himself partly
of African descent (he also had
Chinese, Spanish, and native
ancestry). He sympathized with
the plight of Cuba’s downtrodden black population, and he
sought to exalt Afro-Cuban culture in his art. Lam’s paintings,
which nearly always contain
abstract elements, often draw
on symbols and gods from
Santeria, an Afro-Cuban reli-
gion; feature geometric bodies
inspired by traditional African
carving; and depict faces remi-
niscent of African masks.
Perhaps the most distinctive
recurring elements in Lam’s
work are hybrid human-animal
figures, such as a horse-headed
woman.
Another early member of the
Vanguardia whose work didn’t
appear in the Exposición de
Naturaleza muerta con florera
(Still Life
with Flowers), by Cuban artist Amelia
Peláez.
For a short
look at the
art of
Amelia
Peláez, scan
here:
Educational
Video