A pale, peanut-shaped figure cocks its head downward, calmly extending a hand toward an oversized pink fish sporting black fins. The hand, shaped like a black and blue fin, delicately brushes the edge of the fish’s face. The figure stands motionless in a blue and yellow polka-dotted boat, perched atop a suede treasure chest. The fish, painted in soft pink and orange hues, stares off into the distance, wide-eyed and open mouthed.
“The Sons of Water, Talking to a Fish,” by Manuel Mendive Hoyo, toys with the idea of people and animals coexisting peacefully. As part one of the collections in the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art’s newest exhibit, the piece challenges conventional wisdom and combines folk art iconography with underwater wildlife.
More than 1,000 people attended the museum’s grand opening for its new Cuban art exhibit, Cuba Avant-Garde: Contemporary Art from The Farber Collection, on Friday, Oct. 3.
The museum’s executive director, Jill Hartz, said despite the evening’s rainy weather, the massive group that packed into the reception room enjoyed the Cuban-inspired hors d’oeuvres, drinks and live entertainment from musical guest Jesse Marquez.
Hartz said she hopes students gain a broader understanding of contemporary Cuban art from the exhibit.
“I would hope that students see not just the exhibit, but the whole museum as an attempt to enrich our understanding of other cultures and to see that we all face similar issues, and maybe this way we can understand each other better and make the world a better place,” Hartz said.
The museum hopes to increase visual literacy through this exhibit, she added.
The exhibit features 42 artists and many provocative images with underlying political messages, as well as religious and historical themes.
One 3-D piece is entitled “The Cold War Has Ended. Let’s Enjoy Globalization (WTC): Dedicated to the lives of the people who unexpectedly became playing pieces of the game of terror.”
Another controversial piece includes a wooden airplane frozen in motion, about to plow into a World Trade Center replica. The piece, crafted from wooden blocks, looks more like a toy structure than a polished end product. A wooden shipping box sits off to the side while the written description calls it a “do-it-yourself” kit, as if anyone, even a child, can contribute to the construction and destruction of such a symbolic building.
“That piece has so much to it,” Hartz said. “We’re a part of that world that made it happen, but we’re also part of the world that cries because it happened and feels horrible thinking about it. You have these contradictions you have to think about.”
Hartz added that the piece comes with specific instructions from the artist explaining how the pieces will be dismantled once the exhibit ends in January 2009.
“The whole low-tech notion of it is very Cuban, especially with the scarcity of materials,” Hartz said. “They try to make whatever they can with what they’ve got. They can be incredibly creative.”
Karen Myers, a Lane Community College professor, chose to visit the exhibit Saturday.
“I’ve come to opening night receptions and it’s just too crowded,” Myers said. “This gives you time to really stop and enjoy the contemporary pieces.”
Poring over the different forms, Myers, who hails from Canada, said she enjoyed the diversity of the motifs in the pieces.
“It’s just brilliant,” Myers said. “I think this will give students a different view of Cuba other than propaganda and Castro’s communism everywhere.”
As a sculptor, Myers particularly admired the 3-D pieces.
“These pieces are provocative,” Myers said. “They make you think. There’s no sameness to it all; every piece is different.”
Museum staffers reveled in the success of the opening weekend, particularly with the multiracial attendance.
“There was a really great buzz inside,” Hartz said. “And we had made everything bilingual in the exhibition.”
With a clear goal to attract as many people as possible to the exhibit, art museum staff created bilingual press releases and advertising, and consequently, drew a mix of Spanish and English speakers to the gallery Friday.
“It’s part of the responsibility that taking a show that expresses another culture requires,” Hartz said. “It’s a wonderful opportunity to expand audiences and do something meaningful.”
South Eugene High School student Shaylynn Stone visited the exhibit Saturday as part of an assignment for her English class. “We had to pick a cultural experience that would be something new for us,” she said.
Stone said examining the Cuban pieces opened her eyes to a new art form and allowed her to really see the strong emotions behind the work. She hopes to continue observing art exhibits in an attempt to develop an eye for such things.
“I think this exhibit offers a stimulating opportunity for students to view a real range of different media with different subject matters,” Hartz said. “It allows students to ask, ‘Why is the artist focused on this subject?’ It allows students to think critically more and make comparisons.
“Also, students are really interested in looking at the art of their time,” Hartz continued. “Students in this generation are interested in looking at identity, and Cuban art is all about identity and exploring what it means to be Cuban, what it means to be American, and what it means to be part of a global community.”
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