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On Art and Other Trades in Turn of Millennium Cuba: A Conversation with Alexandre Arrechea

Abstract

This interview seeks to analyse the dynamics of the Cuban cultural context at the end of the millennium. To do so, it examines the work of Alexandre Arrechea, a former member of the collective Los Carpinteros. During the 1980s Cuban art had held an important position as a space for social and political criticism, replacing other spaces and becoming a major centre for discussion in the public sphere. That process changed substantially in the following decade as the country entered the Special Period and with the increasing attention of the international art market on the Cuban art sphere. This interview looks at the decisive years in which Cuban art became appreciated and consumed internationally, recovering the voices of some of the main actors in that process, such as Gerardo Mosquera, Carlos Garaicoa and Sandra Ramos. While the work of Los Carpinteros has been analysed several times, the oeuvre of Arrechea, one of the major creative voices from the Caribbean in the new century, has not received the same focus. The present discussion aims to fill this gap, by looking at his work as a whole and discussing issues related to migration and spectatorship, creativity and representation.

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On Art and Other Trades in Turn of Millennium Cuba: A Conversation with Alexandre Arrechea

Author: Garrido Castellano, Carlos
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2013
Source: https://repositorio.ulisboa.pt/bitstream/10451/34662/1/41.pdf
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Jou nal o La in Ame ican Cul u al
S udies: T a esia
Publica ion de ails, including ins uc ions o au ho s and
subsc ip ion in o ma ion:
h p://www. and online.com/loi/cjla20
On A and O he T ades in Tu n o
Millennium Cuba: A Con e sa ion wi h
Alexand e A echea
Ca los Ga ido Cas ellano
Published online: 18 Jul 2013.
To ci e his a icle: Ca los Ga ido Cas ellano (2013) On A and O he T ades in Tu n o Millennium
Cuba: A Con e sa ion wi h Alexand e A echea, Jou nal o La in Ame ican Cul u al S udies:
T a esia, 22:2, 155-168, DOI: 10.1080/13569325.2013.801832
To link o his a icle: h p://dx.doi.o g/10.1080/13569325.2013.801832
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Ca los Ga ido Cas ellano
ON ART AND OTHER TRADES IN TURN OF
MILLENNIUM CUBA: A CONVERSATION
WITH ALEXANDRE ARRECHEA
This in e iew seeks o analyse he dynamics o he Cuban cul u al con ex a he end o he
millennium. To do so, i examines he wo k o Alexand e A echea, a o me membe o he
collec i e Los Ca pin e os. Du ing he 1980s Cuban a had held an impo an posi ion as
a space o social and poli ical c i icism, eplacing o he spaces and becoming a majo cen e
o discussion in he public sphe e. Tha p ocess changed subs an ially in he ollowing
decade as he coun y en e ed he Special Pe iod and wi h he inc easing a en ion o he
in e na ional a ma ke on he Cuban a sphe e. This in e iew looks a he decisi e yea s
in which Cuban a became app ecia ed and consumed in e na ionally, eco e ing he oices
o some o he main ac o s in ha p ocess, such as Ge a do Mosque a, Ca los Ga aicoa and
Sand a Ramos. While he wo k o Los Ca pin e os has been analysed se e al imes, he
oeu e o A echea, one o he majo c ea i e oices om he Ca ibbean in he new cen u y,
has no ecei ed he same ocus. The p esen discussion aims o ill his gap, by looking a
his wo k as a whole and discussing issues ela ed o mig a ion and spec a o ship, c ea i i y
and ep esen a ion.
This in e iew looks a he wo k o Alexand e A echea (T inidad, Cuba, 1970), one
o he membe s o he Cuban collec i e Los Ca pin e os, in o de o examine he cul u al
con ex o Cuba a he end o he 20 h cen u y. Du ing he eigh ies he e was an
unp eceden ed eno a ion o he coun y’s a is ic sphe e, ma ked by he appea ance
o se e al gene a ions o a is s who pu sued o mal expe imen a ion and played wi h a
sub e sion o he codes and alues ha had a icula ed he ways in which he poli ical
li e and a is ic scene o he p e ious decades had unc ioned. Always ac ing ‘wi hin he
Re olu ion’, in a amewo k de e mined by a desi e o e i alise and a he same ime
c i icise e olu iona y p ac ice, he a is s c ea ed a mo emen ha was dynamised by
p o oca ion and he ex ension o he ways a is ic wo k could ha e an in luence on
la ge sec o s o socie y. New Cuban A , hen, was abou coming close o li e, an
app oach o he immedia e eali y o he coun y, as well as a e ision o he pa io ic
symbols and slogans ha ha e now come o in eg a e a is ic discou ses, by eso ing o
ki sch, app op ia ion and i ony. The end o he decade, howe e , looks like one o he
mos dispu ed momen s in he his o y o new Cuban a , domina ed by a clash wi h
o icialdom, he g ow h o p o oca ion and he massi e exodus o a is s who had
played he main ole in he eno a ion o he a is ic pano ama (Figu es 1–3).
q2013 Taylo & F ancis
Jou nal o La in Ame ican Cul u al S udies, 2013
Vol. 22, No. 2, 155–168, h p://dx.doi.o g/10.1080/13569325.2013.801832
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The ac i i y o he Los Ca pin e os collec i e (Alexand e A echea, Ma cos Cas illo
and Dagobe o Rod ı
´guez) is si ua ed in he momen immedia ely a e hese e en s,
which was ma ked by he need o ill he oid le by he depa u e o he p e ious
gene a ion. Pa icipan s in wha has been dubbed ‘ he es o a ion o he aes he ic
pa adigm’ o he ecupe a ion o ‘a as a ade’, hei wo k seeks o eco e a isanal
echniques, like ca pen y, ha hen become inco po a ed in o he a is ic epe oi e.
The g oup o ms pa o a he e ogeneous Gene a ion o he Nine ies ha had o
con on he a is ic consequences o he Special Pe iod in Times o Peace as well as i s
own de ini i e inco po a ion in o he in e na ional a ma ke . As wi h a is s like
Fe nando Rod ı
´guez, Sand a Ramos and Ca los Ga aicoa, Los Ca pin e os c ea i ely
engage om a pe spec i e ha seeks o i onise he new condi ions o li e and he
FIGURE 1 Alexand e A echea. Dus .
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di ec ion ha a in he coun y had adop ed. Educa ed a he Ins i u o Supe io del
A e (ISA), an ins i u ion ha played he main ole in he successi e a is ic e o ms
ha ha e happened since he eigh ies, he membe s o he g oup ha e played a leading
ole du ing a decisi e momen in he un olding o Ca ibbean c ea i i y now in a p ocess
o unp eceden ed expansion.
In 2003, Alexand e A echea decided o lea e he collec i e and begin a solo
ca ee . Based in Mad id, he began o use new exp essi e media such as ideo, a he
same ime as con inuing o be p eoccupied wi h conce ns like social ep esen a i i y
and he ole o he indi idual ha had amed he wo k o Los Ca pin e os. In he cou se
o he i s decade o he new cen u y, Alexand e A echea became one o he mos
a ou ed and bes exhibi ed a is s om he Ca ibbean, whils a he same ime
becoming in eg a ed in o an in e na ional cu en ha abandoned iden i a ian and
egional labels o engage in a e lec ion o a mo e global cha ac e . A echea’s solo
wo k can hus be conside ed as impo an as ha de eloped in he nine ies in Los
Ca pin e os, e en hough i has ecei ed much less a en ion.
This in e iew goes o e he key momen s o he cul u al p ocess in Cuba and he
Ca ibbean du ing he pe iod om 1980 onwa ds. The a is e lec s on he dis ance
be ween he ideals o social eno a ion embodied in he a o he eigh ies and he new
FIGURE 2 Alexand e A echea. Swea .
A CONVERSATION WITH ALEXANDRE ARRECHEA 157
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posi ion occupied by he wo k o a in he subsequen decade; he expansion o Cuban
cul u e o o he se ings like Mad id and New Yo k; he condi ions in which Ca ibbean
a has been in e na ionalised by means o la ge-scale exhibi ions and e en s o ganised
by ins i u ions inside and ou side he egion; and inally he cu en s a e o a is ic
ac i i y in he Ca ibbean, a a new momen o expansion whose pa icula
cha ac e is ics equi e a mo e de ailed examina ion.
In e iew wi h Alexand e A echea
In e iewe (I): Hello Alexand e. Pe haps we could begin wi h an analysis o he
ea ly nine ies, wi h he beginning o you wo k in Los Ca pin e os and he ole he g oup
played in exhibi ions such as The Me apho s o he Temple o The T ade o A . How do you
iew his s age now?
Alexand e A echea (A): Memo y o en be ays us and one ends o build up pas
imes, bu I will y and keep a clea iew o he pas and be objec i e. I he e was
any hing pa icula o he nine ies, I belie e, i was ha nea ly all o us who we e ac i e
a ha ime had a consciousness o he ole ha had allen o us, abo e all because he e
had been a pe iod when impo an a is s had emig a ed and a so o oid had appea ed
in he a scene in Cuba. We we e hus placed in a si ua ion in which we soon became
he main ac o s, bu we e somewha o ced in o his posi ion. We we e going o be he
new g adua es, h own in o an a ena ha equi ed a new and di e en con e sa ion:
and he e was ou momen .
In 1991 Los Ca pin e os was s ill jus he wo o us, Dagobe o and me, and hen in
1992 Ma cos joined he g oup. In eali y he i s yea was 1990, when as s uden s we
FIGURE 3 Alexand e A echea. Black Sun.
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s a ed o collabo a e wi h ou eache Rene
´F ancisco, who was he a chi ec o ou
p ojec and was esponsible o ge ing di e en s uden s o collabo a e on an idea. We
began o de elop p ojec s ha bo e he imp in o his collabo a ion wi h Rene
´in 1990
and we go ou wo ks in o spaces like he Tabaque ı
´a o p i a e houses ... . I was ou
way o ge ing in o di e en zones, wi h he aim o e en ually ge ing o he galle ies.
Tha ’s o say, a ha poin we we e s uden s and i is eally di icul o a s uden o ge
he oppo uni y o ha e a space. In ac , when he museum app oached us i was eally
some hing emendous .... In eali y i s ill is. We s ill had his naı
¨ e unde s anding o
he con ex o Ha ana, bu also a esponsibili y o do some hing wi h ha con ex .
I s ill ha e memo ies o The Me apho s o he Temple show, like a elling in an
eno mous lo y, each o us wi h his sculp u es, o pu hem up in he museum, he
Cen e o De elopmen , he image o he lo y, and o us o o show a The Me apho s,
and I emembe ed he plans he Re olu ion was making o cu cane in a pa icula
p o ince. The e we we e, all o us a elling like wo ke s, o ca y ou ou mission.
Undoub edly, i was a e y impo an p ojec and i s cha ac e would b ing oge he
e e y hing ha ollowed.
As a g oup, we we e always in e es ed in dialogue, e en when he indi iduali y o
each membe began o show h ough. We had ha kind o a esponsibili y and, o
example, we we e e y in e es ed in documen ing e e y hing ha happened. So, o
example, e e y ime we we e going o be pa o an exhibi ion, we’d make pos e s and
pu hem up all o e he school, e e ywhe e in Ha ana ha we could, and i was a way
o gi ing a uni y o wha we we e doing. In 1992 when people we e al eady beginning
o alk abou he Gene a ion o he Nine ies, hey began o de ine i as some hing ha
was going back o mo e adi ional o mulas o do wi h ways o building, a e
concep ualism and p ope ly poli ical a like wha was being made in Cuba a he ime,
and le ’s say in ou case we began wi h ‘new ools’ and a di e en way o elling, o alk
abou he same issues ha had wo ied he p e ious gene a ion, bu now in a much
sub le way. None o us we e much in e es ed when hey ook one o ou pain ings
om a museum o a galle y, because we we e jus beginning and i was us a ing o
hink ha when you a e elabo a ing a ce ain social c i icism ha hey ake i away om
you when he idea was ha e e yone should see i . We had all lea ned his p e ious
lesson a he well, and i was a way o no op ing o di ec con on a ion. Somehow
we lea ned o es ablish ela ions wi h Cuban a ins i u ions, which up o hen had been
qui e s ained, and he e was qui e a complex si ua ion, abo e all hinking abou
p ojec s like El Cas illo de la Real Fue za (The Cas le o Real Powe ), which happened in
1989 and was a eally powe ul p ojec , c ea ing a con on a ion be ween a is s and
ins i u ions, wi h he a is s doing some hing like poli ics.
This was he well-sp ing ha nou ished ou hinking, es ablishing a poin o iew
ha was a li le mo e ‘accep able’, and so e en s slowly de eloped. Wi hin Ha ana, we
we e s ill in e es ed in exhibi ing in places like El Mo o, which is whe e he Ha ana
Biennial is held, bu ying o use i ou side he Biennial’s ime ames. Fo us he ci y
was u ning in o no only a place o ac ion bu also a isual elemen ha we could use.
So we and o he a is s like Ca los Ga aicoa began o make use o he ci y wi h his idea
o expe imen a ion ha had appea ed his o ically in Ha ana, bu using i o ou
bene i .
This is when we began o de elop a ype o a whe e we made e e ence o he
Cuban a isanal adi ion ha in ou own case was nea ly always bound up wi h he
A CONVERSATION WITH ALEXANDRE ARRECHEA 159
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obacco g owe s’ union, since i had been so impo an in Cuban his o y om he Wa
o Independence o he p esen day. Using he obacco indus y and he obacco
wo ke s as a e e en , as a space o dialogue, unde lined ou inspi a ion by Ma ı
´’s
ideas, which we had ixed in ou minds. I ’s some hing ha appea s in exhibi ions like
El O icio del A e which se ou o escue p o essions o ades. Nea ly all o us we e
called Los Ca pin e os, hough we didn’ begin o sign ou wo k wi h his name un il
1994: p e iously we’d signed wi h ou own names, Alexand e, Dagobe o, Ma cos,
bu e e yone knew us by ha name, p ecisely because o he echniques we we e using.
I: Wha is he o igin o his ela ionship o ca pen y?
A: Ou expe ience as ca pen e s began in he o es , because we we e doing e e y hing
in a e y p imi i e way, we’d go in o he o es , cu down a ee, wo k i , p epa e i ,
ind a ac o o some hing we could use, ca y he ee o he school, d y i ou , cu i
and make he wo ks. I was some hing eally basic, he e was no hing p e-designed.
A e wa ds we couldn’ chop down ees because i had become illegal, and we began
o go o abandoned houses, houses ha had belonged o he Cuban bou geoisie be o e
he Re olu ion and ha we e s ill emp y, and because we knew ha people in he
neighbou hood would go and g ab wha e e was he e, we decided o do he same
e en hough he e was a isk ha he police migh su p ise us a i .
We began o use he wood om places like ha and his led o a new s age in he
his o y o Los Ca pin e os and he meaning o ou wo k. I was in some way a e igu ing
o his o y, we we e seeing how all hose inhabi an s o poo qua e s i ed ou hei
houses wi h wha hey could s eal om he houses o he ich. The Robin Hood s o y
bu done di e en ly .... We saw ha his could wo k a a concep ual le el, his e-
app op ia ion o Cuban his o y. Fo ins ance, we’d ake wood om he ences and
oo s and cons uc chimneys, in allusion o he bou geois aspi a ion in he o ies o
e e yone o ha e a chimney in hei house, some hing comple ely illogical in a opical
coun y. I was a game wi h his o y, and we used he wo k o e e o he ecen pas ,
and I hink i was in his sense ha we de eloped an in e es in ummaging abou in he
his o y o Cuba o alk abou con empo a y p oblems. I was some hing ha o en
happened: Sand a Ramos, whose eng a ings used he image o Libo io, a ca ica u e
used in Cuba du ing he o ies, app op ia ed he icons o ha pe iod and began o use
hem o he own pu poses; Ca los Ga aicoa began o use he de elic a chi ec u e o
Ha ana, and like an a chaeologis began o escue elemen s ha he pu in o dialogue
wi h pho og aphs ha he made o he same places; Es e eo Segu a began o use all o
he image y o eligion, mixing i wi h Communis symbology .... E e yone began o
ha e a dialogue wi h he his o y o Cuba.
I: Is ha when you we e wo king on p ojec s like Ha ana Coun y Club?
A: Exac ly. Those a e wo ks ha belong o ou g adua ion. We called ha p ojec
In e io Habane o (Ha ana In e io ), because i alluded o he u ni u e o he o ies.
We made i using ine wood, all his his o ical was e o ma e ials ha was ne e heless
o hand, wha we could ge hold o . In ac , he i s ime we le Cuba, we we e
ascina ed by PVC a he han caoba, can you imagine? We wo ked in he houses ha
we e a ound he ISA, in he dis ic s o he uppe bou geoisie: a ionalis houses,
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houses by impo an a chi ec s .... I was somewha on he ou ski s o he ci y, in
Cubanaca
´n, be ween La Lisa and Playas, Ciboney, nea he Palace o Con en ions ... .
So i was also somewha mo e pa olled; i you poked abou in a house in Vedado,
nobody bo he ed, bu his was a p o ec ed zone.
Wi h he ooms in his p ojec , we also c ea ed a ic ion ha was ou g adua ion
hesis. Ra he han w i ing a ex abou wha he wo ks mean , abou ou in en ions,
we in en ed some hing, concoc ing a le e om a collec o who supposedly li ed in
Miami, and hen we elabo a ed a discou se abou why his man was buying ou wo k
and why he was in e es ed in wha we we e doing. So we placed ou sel es wi hin he
discou se. The le e p o oked all so s o eac ions, and some mon hs a e wa ds he e
was an a icle in A Nexus ha alked abou a ycoon in Flo ida who had bough all he
wo k by Los Ca pin e os, as i his had eally happened, and we we e su p ised.
I: And wha do you make o he way c i icism de ined a gene a ion, o show ha
some hing was happening?
A: I hink ha a he s a he e was a ce ain con usion and he c i ics began o w i e
abou wha we we e doing bu in a a he naı
¨ e way, e y supe icially. E e ybody saw
he escue o a isanal adi ions, he c ea ion o new discou ses bu I hink ha people
we e igh ened by he engagemen wi h hings ha had less unanimi y. La e
exhibi ions like El obje o escul u ado (The Sculp u ed Objec ) ga e a much clea e image
o hings and Ge a do Mosque a, who was always a s anda d-bea e in his s o y, began
alking abou weeds, e e ing o hose a is s who we e g owing all he ime wi hou
he condi ions in which hey wo ked seeming o ma e . A he same ime igu es like
Dan Came on began o u n up in Ha ana, hanks o hei connec ions wi h Kcho, who
had al eady become a phenomenon du ing hose yea s, and his ga e he imp ession
ha he en i onmen was being e eshed, ha we we e no so isola ed.
Wi h he a i al o hese so s o igu es who also began o w i e abou wha was
happening in Ha ana he i s , pe haps naı
¨ e, phase was o e and we go in ol ed in a
much mo e se ious c i ique o wha was happening, and became much mo e conscious o
o ming a g oup o linked a is s. We hadn’ w i en a mani es o bu e en as we we e
hinking o ge ing ound o doing i , e en as we we e cons uc ing he bloc, he
indi idual na u e o he membe s began o become mo e appa en and a ce ain dis ance
began o g ow be ween us as we ollowed ou ownlines o g ow h. No we e manya is s
in e es ed in g oup shows, hey wan ed indi idual exhibi ions, o gi e hem a name.
I: Do you hink he e is a change in he way o concei ing he ole o he a is in
socie y compa ed wi h he p e ious decade?
A: Well, I hink he change was mo e one o consciousness, because a he a is ic le el
I don’ hink any hing we we e pu ing o wa d was a comple e up u e, o ally
di e en om wha had been done be o e. In ac , we used a he basic ma e ials in ou
wo ks. I hink ha men ally he e eally had been a change because we didn’ jus ha e
o hink abou a ha ing an educa i e unc ion as in he eigh ies, as being socially
commi ed: now he e is a gene a ion ha is much mo e cynical, no longe in e es ed
in p e ious cliche
´s. The e was a momen , o ins ance, when e e yone ea ed Cuba
like an island, i seemed like he only way o e e ing o he coun y. So, I hink ha is
A CONVERSATION WITH ALEXANDRE ARRECHEA 161
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somewha he legacy ha we had adop ed om p e ious gene a ions, o whom he
island had become an icon o li ed expe ience.
The gene a ion had an impo an in luence and con inues o ha e one, jus as i did
in he eigh ies, bu one o he hings ha ma ks a subs an ial di e ence wi h he
p e ious gene a ion is ha we had he chance o a elling ou side Cuba, i was al eady
di e en . The Gene a ion o he Eigh ies didn’ ha e ha oppo uni y; when hey le
he coun y hey didn’ come back. We could come back, we had ha ad an age.
Then, in he in e na ional sphe e he e was a much mo e impo an change, especially
because wha we once saw as he cliche
´s and commonplaces o Cuban a didn’ wo k
ha way ou side Cuba. Somehow we had o eadjus ou discou se, p ecisely because i
we we e in e es ed in sailing in o he wa e s, we had o unde s and ha he language o
a had o go h ough an impo an me amo phosis.
I: Tha is o say, you mo ed close o he language o in e na ional a , abandoned
he e e encing o he Cuban a is ic con ex , he quo ing o a and conc e e
momen s ....
A: P ecisely. A he same ime, I hink we began o iew he phenomenon o Cuba
much mo e clea ly, because by c ea ing a dis ance, you ge a clea e iew. A he same
ime, whils we we e s ill alking abou Cuba, we began o use he ools and
ins umen s ha he in e na ional a is ic milieu was using. We we e ying no o be
hypoc i es in any way: he Ha ana con ex abso bed a lo o ene gy and e en i you
wan o, you can’ de ach you sel om ha expe ience. We began o alk abou
Ha ana, bu a he same ime we also began o es ablish pa allels: o ins ance be ween
ci ies – Ha ana, New Yo k, Mad id. One begins o weigh up, o compa e hese new
con ex s wi h ha o Ha ana and see how one con ains he o he , o ice e sa, and
es ablish connec ions o a ini ies, o di e ences. Mad id, which was ou i s
expe ience, ga e us his ision i s , because we had a i ed in a con ex ha seemed
simila o us igh om he s a . No opposed eali ies a all.
I: Le ’s mo e on. Why did you decide o wo k on you own?
A: Rene
´F ancisco always had a saying, I hink i was om Lezama Lima, ha ‘only
wha is di icul is s imula ing’. F om he ime I s a ed o make a in a conscious way
as a s uden , a e wel e yea s o expe ience in a collec i e, I hink I had exhaus ed ha
mechanism o making a , making a in a g oup, wi h o he people. And jus as I had
concei ed o wo king wi h Rene
´as some hing ha always changed, I wan ed o ca y
on being ue o my aining and ound a new egion o ein en mysel . I don’ hink
I’d had my own indi idual expe ience, because I had always been subo dina ed o he
expe ience o he g oup; a g oup ha wen h ough slow me amo phoses; i s wi h
Rene
´, hen Dagobe o and me, and hen he g oup o Los Ca pin e os p ope ly speaking,
wi h Ma cos, Dagobe o, Alexand e,
I hink i was igh o h ow mysel in o a new idea. O cou se, in di e en
ci cums ances: wi h Ma cos and Dago, he e had been a so o ‘ins i u ion’ and lea ing
his en ailed closing a chap e . And I wasn’ jus lea ing a g oup; I was lea ing my
galle ies, i was when I le Ha ana as well .... I unde s and he change was necessa y,
I didn’ know in wha di ec ion o go, bu you mind dic a es: you ha e o comply,
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