Delighted as always to be invited to exhibit my photographs. This time in Havana, Cuba, where I photographed the National School of Modern Dance in 2001 for Blueprint magazine.  This post will document the exhibition, so do please keep checking back and I will add to this post accordingly.

With new scans of old negatives, I am so pleased to use my modern Canon A3+ printer along with Hahnemühle Photo Rag® Baryta paper.

With tremendous thanks to Hahnemühle for their kind sponsorship of the Photo Rag® Baryta,  a pure cotton paper with an inkjet coating that has been perfectly optimised for the needs of FineArt applications.  This Photo Rag® Baryta is acid- and lignin-free and meets the most exacting requirements in terms of age resistance. It is 315 gsm, 100% cotton and white, without optical brighteners.

I visited the school in 2001 on the commission from Blueprint magazine. I photographed the architect Ricardo Porro and photographed the dancers in their classes for 2 weeks. The exhibition celebrates the 60 years of this school. I am so excited that my photographs were rediscovered in the archives and I was approached to be part of this amazing experience. I am now looking to make another visit to the Dance School in Cuba later this year. Do watch this space as I might have some exciting news to share with perhaps a photographic workshop, and some talks. Eitherway, to return to Cuba will be so gorgeous and I simply cannot wait.

 

THE EXHIBITION CONCEPT AND FOLLOWING TEXT IS WRITTEN BY DANIEL REYES 

TEMA:

The visual representation of the ENA Dance Academy from its earliest years to the present day. A study of documentary visual narrative in the context of its 60th anniversary. And the search for documentation and a new visual perspective, seen from the perspective of contemporary art. This shows how artists produce visual chronicles, from an artistic documentary perspective.

Argumento:

The exhibition seeks to converge documentary and artistic photographs that reflect the dance elements within a time-bound space and the grandeur it possesses as a tool for historical and artistic documentation, also seen from a new lens. Parallel to this we will have as a first the exhibition of photographers who from a temporally divided vision are able to capture the energy that a dancer gives off, art that emanates from the body and soul of the artist is captured after the temporality and contemporaneity of the artists and the historical exhibition, all of this fused in a concurrent way to give fluidity to the exhibition.

Not only is the project seeking to bring together elements that could have a museum-like character in a dialogue with creative photographs that have, in turn, become documentary pieces of emblematic and significant spaces.

Photography has been of primary importance in safeguarding documents and in the transmission of events of all kinds, transcending from being a document to becoming an essential monument for collective memory. From a historical documentary perspective, they must show how they have captured crucial moments of the institution from the everyday to the most solemn, resulting in a solid and comprehensive reconstruction of history.

It is important not to discount the cultural importance that they encompass because from them we obtain a cultural, environmental, artistic, memorial, historical and traditional construction of the institution seen from a very intimate vision of the lens professional or not, where dancers and teachers were focused.

Without losing the cause of the aforementioned in the argument, we also seek to exalt photography as an art form that communicates unique emotions and perspectives unable to achieve in the ephemeral moment.  All of this contributes to an exhibition that not only pays tribute to documentation but also inspires and transcends the activated collective memory, remaining as a documentary legacy that preserves its importance for future generations.

To enrich the present curatorial project, we can integrate the contemporary perspective, since they not only document reality, but transcend it, interpreting and transforming it through their lens, a perspective that offers an intimate and emotional vision of captured events and landscapes. It generates a deep social dialogue that invokes reflection and emotion in the public, given by a subjective, internal view of the documented subjects, superimposing layers of emotive, symbolic and spiritual meanings. Consider the result of a legacy of the present that preserves the importance of current moments for future audiences from an ancient contemporary visionfrom an innovative perspective

 Selección de artistas:

This selection is supported by research into the pieces, and a contemporary Cuban visual artist was considered. These pieces underwent extensive research, analysis, and a critique process to determine whether they met the criteria to be included in the exhibition. The research process involved determining the piece’s origin, date of creation, materials, author(s), and technique. A conceptual and formal analysis of the pieces was made to reveal the connotative and the significant, formal aspects such as composition, rhythm, visual journey, color palette, style among other essential aspects, the aforementioned contributes to the pieces that are selected comply not only with the appropriate visual narrative but also provide as much information as possible to the public that visits it. A previous physical analysis was made to determine the physical conditions of the piece with the objective of identifying damages in these that could interfere with the correct reading of them, in case there are pieces that due to their value are decided to exhibit and have damage that makes this difficult, they will be sent to receive the due intervention processes, so that they can be part of the exhibition. The rest of the pieces will receive a mechanical cleaning and in the case that it requires a chemical cleaning and in exceptional cases they will be minimally intervened with the objective of stabilizing the pH of the paper or another method of intervention to preserve the piece in better conservative conditions.

In the case of contemporary artists, significant contributions to the institution and their transgressive and explicit poetics were taken into account, capable of causing not only repercussions but also a cognitive reaction on the part of the recipients, influencing this, the hybrid between the documentary and the subliminal artistic, capable of achieving a harmony revealing a valuable range of artistic resources and virtuosity.

One of the selected artists was Victor Dominguez García (2002, Pinar del Río, Cuba). An artist active in his creative work from circumstantial contexts, he contributes to an exotic visuality, in tune with his time, where the behaviors of a specific social section are captured in his pieces. Pieces of high dynamism and expressiveness, express his concerns and critical perspective of the environment in which he operates, the multidimensional is reflected in several photographic series that range from social themes such as sexuality, the ambiguous and mundane, to documentary, journalistic and or filmic themes. Sometimes there are discrepancies or contradictions of ideas in his pieces regarding visual identity, this being a clear example of the search to find the authentic in his professional artistic work. In the case of artist Lara Platman (Great Britain),

An artist passionate about documenting culturally rich, eccentric, or endangered areas, the result of growing up surrounded by a family who produced theatrical costumes and immersed among numerous creative artisans. Trained in photography and journalism, with an ambition to ensure Britain’s national treasures are recognised by a wider audience, she blends the two skills to provide a greater immersion in her projects. Lara is currently an ambassador for Leica Camera AG, a Getty contributor, and the author and photographer of four books: Art Workers Guild 125 Years (Unicon Press), Harris Tweed, From Land to Street (Frances Lincoln Publishing), Through the Night, and The Passion of Motorsport (a self-publishing project with Blurb). Behind these books is an in-depth study of the artists, craftspeople and workers who were photographed and recorded, followed by editing and transcription for a better understanding. She visited Cuba in 2002, where she visited the dance school designed by Ricardo Poro and was fascinated by its eccentricity and beauty, powered by the energy of nature within it. Her ability to use photography and narrative enriches her work, offering a holistic view. of the cultures it documents by highlighting aspects often forgotten by its native culture. A strong contribution to heritage preservation and its recognition by a wider public, this is a pleasing example of exhaustive research and authenticity that captures not only images but also the behind-the-scenes stories and scenarios.