Art became a growing industry after
the Soviet Union collapse and Castro had to open up the island to tourist and allow
the dollar. Visual Arts were first shown at the 1983 Cuban Biennial which is a
Cuba arts festival. Two artists named Dagaberto Rodriquez and Marco Castillo who
are called Los Carpinteros were discovered at that show. Their career quickly sky
rocketed and two artists live a life that most Cubans dream of having. But just
like everyone else Los Carpinteros struggled like everyone else during the economic
fallout of the 1990s. They had no food, no transportation and no electricity.
During that time Los Carpinteros helped themselves to abandoned housed of rich
Cuban’s who had fled the Island. There work shows upper class Cuban lifestyle
while critiquing the socialist system through humor. When interviewing Marco
was asked if he would change anything in with Cuban Politics he didn’t flinch
and answered “the government” immediately. Going against the Cuban government can
get you imprisoned I am surprised he so openly stated what he would want to change.
Los Carpinteros sell sculptures in
the United States between $50,000-$60,000 and paintings that sell between $20,000-25,000.
Their art is sold at high auctions, but they are not allowed to go into the
United States. What surprises me about these artists is how much money they
make in one piece of art. The average doctor in Cuba makes $30 a month. How is
that right that a doctor who has to use outdated materials makes $30 a month?
Due to the
revolution there was no international exposure for Cuban music. Cubans started
to look into each other. The Buena Vista Social Club was the first club International
success for Cuban music. It opened doors for Cuban music and other genres that
we hear worldwide today. Raul Paz a Cuban musician believes that music should
become more modern in Cuba. He feels that when it comes to music and artist because
the technology is not advancing it is not a forward-thinking model when
creating new music. Many artists left Cuban to pursue careers in other countries
then came back. Music is a huge part of the Cuban culture it is all over the
streets and everyone is involved in it. After reading this module it left me
with a couple of questions. Why are artist paid so much money? If the art or
music is not benefiting the government then how are they able to sell their
art? Although Cuba seems to be frozen in the 1950’s if the music has changed
why is the way it is being created not changed?
Hey Natalie,
ReplyDeleteI think you raise some really interesting questions. It does seem pretty unjust that doctors in Cuba are making so much less than artists, and not even just the outlier of Los Carpinteros, but average artists too- I definitely agree with you on that. I think the reason that artists are making so much is solely because they are getting money from outside Cuba. As you said, Los Carpinteros sell paintings in the United States for thousands of dollars. There's no way they would sell their work for that much in Cuba because, as said in "The Art of Change" videos, most Cubans can't afford to buy art but tourists from other countries can. Doctors can't really get outside money from tourists, so they get little pay under the Cuban government. I think the government realizes that though capitalism is sneaking in with people selling their art on the island, tourism is important to put Cuba on the map in a global scale. Fidel Castro realized this when he opened up the borders to tourism.
Hi Natalie,
ReplyDeleteI feel like you're totally right to question the "wage" gap between some Cuban artists and doctors because in the United States, it'd probably be the other way around, depending on how famous the artist is. But I think you have to remember that in Cuba, health care is free, so doctors are only going to get paid as much money as the government has/wants to give them, whereas artist, such as Los Carpentaros, have no affiliation with the government, so they can ask for however much money they want for their art. But I do agree, the concept of that is unfair. Also, I'm not quite sure how art/music that the government doesn't approve of gets sold. Cuba clearly seems strict about such things, but I feel like the citizens create and sell their art until they're asked not to. However, it only seems like this is becoming a stricter issue now. Lastly, to answer your final question, I believe the reason why Cuban music is still being created in the same way it has always been is because, as Raul Paz said, the technology to create current music has not come to Cuba yet.
It surprised me as well that Los Carpinteros weren’t allowed in the United States either, but I can understand why they are not allowed in the United States. I also agree that it is surprising how much their artwork sells for when the average income is around $20 per month. Perhaps the paintings sell for so much because Cuban art has never been easily accessible in the past. Now, Cuban art is starting to flourish and will sell at high prices since no one from other countries own Cuban art.
ReplyDeleteHi Natalie,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post! I think you raised some interesting questions. I think the wage gap has to do with the greater value of the tourist industry. Cuba has been such a distant nation from the US so a primary source of the situation could be the art. This could be the reason for the high prices.