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Arts and Literature of Cuba
58
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