Subject

Cuban graphic arts became in the 18th and 19th century worldwide famous, when masters like Collot, Mialhe and Laplante made tobaco– and rum labels and posters into a “sympathetic synthesis of art and commerce” (Hernándo Guerrero).
The economical decline of these industries and the growth of political dictatorships and their cultural narrow mindedness made the artistic aspects in the first half of the 20th century almost disappear.
In 1949 the Cuban Graphic Association (Asociación de Grabadores Cubanos) was initiated by A. Posse in order to oppose this trend, principally with woodcarvings, similar to the German expressionists who exposed the horrors of their society in the eve of the First World War – in Cuba it were the horrors of the Batista regime in the eve of the revolution. And after the triumph of the latter, the direct approach of the graphic arts became also a favorite medium to express its euphoria and dynamics.
In 1962 the “Experimental Graphic Workshop” (Taller Experimental de Arte Gráfica) was established in Havana and became, with the help of Spanish and Mexican masters and some of the Cuban avantgarde, which had returned from exile, a mayor center for the contemporary Cuban art, where future stars like Sosabravo, Mendive, Choco, Nelson Domínguez and Angel Ramírez experimented, learned and taught. And also after the opening of the academies ISA and ENA – and despite its antique hand printing machines – the experimental workshop in Old Havana continued to be essential for the development of the Cuban graphic arts.
Catalog 3 begins with a collective work of 19 artists, titled “Dando y dando”. It was first shown at the 9th of July 2004 in the “Gallery Villena” of Havana, and praised by art critics as the event of the year.
The project was coordinated by Angel Ramirez, one of the leading graphic artists, painter (see catalog 1) and intellectuals of the contemporary Cuban art scene.
“Dando y dando” is about the illusion of power and its crippling effects on the development of mankind.