Cuban Diaries By Monika Teal - Part 2 of 2

I have just returned from my second trip to Cuba. As with my first trip, I am overwhelmed at my experience. This time, I was in Santiago de Cuba for an entire month, never leaving the city limits. I am one of a handful of American's invited by the Cuban Union of Writers and Artists to exhibit with the Cuban sculptor Caridad Ramos at the Galeria Oriente in Santiago. The opportunity came about as a result of a cultural exchange with Global Tapestry. Each day I awoke, went to Caridad's studio and worked 'til evening in the sweltering tropical heat to prepare for the August 4 opening.

The opportunity to work with these highly trained artists overcame the heat. What I have learned I will carry with me for a lifetime. Working with artists who have made a commitment to their work, in spite of shortages of everything from paint to paper, have taught me about improvisation and being truly resourceful. Each frustration was met with humor and the decision to overcome the shortages and find another way to make things work. This improvisation leads the Cuban artists to think creatively and resourcefully. It demanded the same from me. I ran out of materials and found some materials I take for granted in the U. S. impossible to find. Resourcefulness, a key factor in Cuban life, became also my byword.

The "first world" art world is made of economic based art. It meets the supply and demand scheme in the art world, for buyers, collectors and critics. Eastern Cuban artists feel themselves exempt from this world. Their distance from Havana and their proximity to the other Caribbean countries makes their art less economic based and more about art for art's sake. There is the sense that the work is pure Cuban. Possibly, or probably more Cuban than the Havana scene.

The eastern Cuban artists do not sit and wait for better times. They seem tireless and reluctant to pull away and wait. Their challenging circumstances and their ability to articulate visually have given them the ability to go well beyond every expectation in regards to quality and honest expression. There is much to be learned from them.

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