Many artist in Cuba are saving
money on materials by using the walls of Havana as their canvas. One artist named Yulir Rodriquez uses debris
from decaying buildings and turns them into art. Yulir used the decaying
building as his canvas because he feels it represents the decay in Cuban society
which has forced people to seek alternative ways of making money. Yulir goal is
to make art that questions the society. Most of the art involves violence with
fear, sadness and misery which he says are alive in the Cuban life. Something
that surprised me about Yulir art is that he puts back the same piece of debris
on the street for free once he has painted it. Yalir was jailed for 36 hours and
told he needed to erase all of his wall art. I feel he was in this situation because
of the message he is trying to portray in his art goes against the Cuban governments
image.
The tradition of street art has always
been political but artist Mysel Lopez is turning his neighborhood into an art
gallery. Mysel paints photo realistic pictures using grids by taking photos and
turning them into murals. Mysel gets permission from parents and takes pictures
of their children and recreates the picture on the outside of buildings. He has
created 15 different murals all approved by the local authorities. In the video
“Cuban street artist turn city walls into gallery” they talk about how the women’s
wall he is painting brings him lunch every day and as people pass by, they stop
and watch him create the painting. Mysel says he likes to paint children because
they are important with the development of society and they are the future. He
hopes to create more within the next year.
Lastly one of the videos provided
was about graffiti in the city of Havana. One of the artist talks about how
there is no list that say what you can and cannot paint. Although everything has
to be with the revolution nothing against it. Although it is not illegal
because there is not given permission, but it is also not legal due to it not
being controlled. Now after what we have learned from last week’s module and
this week’s I feel that the government only wants control over art if it will
make a profit for an individual and not the government. Why are artist stopped
by authorities for painting if it is not illegal? If there are no clear guidelines
on what can and cannot be painted why would artist be arrested? Artist Mysel
Lopez gets permission before his paintings but others don’t Do you think artist
should have to pay the government for the piece of the buildings they use?
Hey Natalie,
ReplyDeleteI think street artists are being stopped because what they're doing is essentially "against the norm". In a society where everyone is expected to be pretty much the same, this expression is different and it raises suspicion as it seems to almost go against the Revolutions' ideals. I think the artists are also being stopped because the government realizes how, through art, people can rebel- as El Sexto did when he painted pigs with the Castro's names. I also believe that the government are not giving clear guidelines to their advantage: they want to be able to arrest for any reason at any sign of rebellion. Even if there were clear guidelines do you think artists would be treated fairly? Or do you think the government would bend these guidelines to their will? Mysel Lopez seems to be very careful as he gets permission, but I don't think artists should have to ask for permission or pay. As Yulier P. says in "Graffiti Artist Launches New Project..." street art is a practice that is supposed to be free and unconstrained.
Hi Natalie,
ReplyDeleteAlthough Mysel Lopez's murals seem void of any political connotation, he did go on to say that the reason he was painting them was to improve the construction and development of Cuban society, which I bet could spark some form of controversy with the government. However, I do agree that his street art is far less triggering than the others we have seen. Additionally, to answer your first question, I agree with Rebecca. I think the Cuban government is keeping the rules of what is legal and illegal vague, solely to have the upper hand by manipulating it which ever way they wish. However, I think I disagree with Natalie when she says that artists shouldn't have to pay to use the walls of buildings. I think if the buildings are private owned homes, than the permission from the owner is sufficient, but if its a government building I think it's only fair they have to pay. But I'm not sure this would really make any difference in the government allowing certain street art to be shown because since there are no hard rules, they could allow the art one day and ask for it to be taken down the next.
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ReplyDeleteNatalie,
ReplyDeleteI think my favorite artist of all the ones we have learned about is Mysel Lopez. His style and his inspiring story is so moving, and his art is beautiful and raw. His work, like Ingrid said, isn't necessarily politically-motivated, but I can see how someone might think so. His murals of children are up on the deteriorating walls of Cuban infrastructure, just like the murals of Fidel and Che, which might strike some die-hard Fidel and Che fans as disrespectful. 'How can you compare a "meaningless" child to the almighty Fidel and the oh so great Che?' I feel like this idealism has a lot to do with the machismo that is associated with both Fidel and Che, and that also runs through the veins of many Cuban men today. To answer your questions, I do not think that artists should have to pay to put up their art, specifically street art, and especially street art that is put up on run down buildings. These buildings are an eye sore to anyone, especially tourists. If anything, I think the government should be paying artists to put these paintings up!! They beautify the city, despite their hidden messages.
I think street art in general is thought of as going against the law and that it is vandalism, at least that is the general feeling towards graffiti in the United States. In Cuba, I feel like street art has a whole other level to it since they use it as a canvas to express their frustrations toward the government like Yulir Rodriguez. He paints what majority if not all of Cubans feel, that there are many issues with the Cuban society and that things need to change. And if there are no specific laws against street art like you said, I don't see why artists should have to pay to paint the walls around the country especially if it's paintings like those of the children or of the elderly that don't necessarily go against anything but support the future of Cuba or the stories of the past. If there are no laws in place for street art I think artists are arrested solely on the fact that they go against the government however subtle it may be. It's not pro-government and that is enough of an issue no matter what the painting is.
ReplyDeleteI believe that artists are stopped by authorities even if painting is not illegal because they are being stopped for what the painting represents. If the painting has anything to do with Fidel, the revolution, or the regime then they want the artist and the painting removed immediately. This is all due to the fact that every Cuban citizen is under a dictator who wants to mask any discrepancies with his people. So, this is why artists need to be careful with everything they paint because they are not allowed to fully express themselves. This is why street artist, Yulier Rodriguez, paints melancholy-like paintings to represent his feelings. I truly believe it is a call of help to tourist that visit Havana since he ensures he paints in very visible areas. Not to mention, there are many other artists like him who are painting the same exact way and now it’s like a movement of the artists with all of the street paintings happening. The government officials are allowing them to paint anything that doesn’t have to do with those three things mentioned earlier. But, the officials keep a close eye on all of the artists to make sure they are not disobeying the rules. The government officials are stopping any artists who paint about those three things because the artists can provoke an uprising and possibly start another revolution against Castro since no one approves the way he runs things. So, if people don’t see these paintings then no uprising will happen. Do you believe street paintings about Fidel, the revolution, or his dictatorship will lead to an uprising? By these artists not allowing to express themselves completely with their paintings can lead to a human right violation?
ReplyDelete