IMAGES: Hollywood in Havana: Five Decades of Cuban Posters Promoting U.S. Films

Cuba Journal

7 years ago

From August 20, 2017–January 7, 2018, Hollywood in Havana: Five Decades of Cuban Posters Promoting U.S. Films, will be on display at the Pasadena Museum of California Art (PMCA).

The exhibit assembles approximately 40 Cuban posters publicizing Hollywood films from the 1960s to 2009 including some iconic names like Marylin Monroe and Alfred Hitchcock.

Astonishing in their design, stylistic diversity, and artistic skill, these bold and vibrant posters helped create visual literacy among the Cuban population in the decades following the Cuban Revolution. The screenprints go beyond the glossy and celebrity-filled film posters that are ubiquitous in Los Angeles today and reawaken viewers to the nuanced visual signs that inform and shape their worldviews.

Produced by the Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industria Cinematográficos (ICAIC) or the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry, the posters were part of an initiative of the revolutionary government to develop cultural awareness and consciousness after Fidel Castro and the guerrilla forces overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgenico Batista in 1959.

Today, the posters stand independent of the films they represent. Their magnetism and innovative use of design elements continue to spark conversation and understanding about the role of film, culture, art, and politics in Cuba as well as California.

Raúl Valdes (Raupa), El Resplandor/The Shining, 2009. Silkscreen, 29 15/16 x 20 1/16 inches. Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industria Cinematográficos (ICAIC). Courtesy of the Center for the Study of Political Graphics

Julio Eloy Mesa, Retrospectiva De La Cinematografia Chicana/Retrospective of Chicano Cinematography, 1979. Silkscreen, 29 15/16 x 20 1/16 inches. Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industria Cinematográficos (ICAIC). Courtesy of the Center for the Study of Political Graphics

Eduardo Muñoz Bachs, Tres En Un Sofá/Three on a Couch, 1974. Silkscreen, 29 15/16 x 20 1/16 inches. Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industria Cinematográficos (ICAIC). Courtesy of the Center for the Study of Political Graphics

Antonio Pérez (Ñiko), Trapecio/Trapeze, 1969. Silkscreen, 29 15/16 x 20 1/16 inches. Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industria Cinematográficos (ICAIC). Courtesy of the Center for the Study of Political Graphics

Antonio Reboiro, Moby Dick, 1968. Silkscreen, 29 15/16 x 20 1/16 inches. Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industria Cinematográficos (ICAIC). Courtesy of the Center for the Study of Political Graphics

René Azcuy, Marilyn Monroe In Memoriam, circa 1976. Silkscreen, 29 15/16 x 20 1/16 inches. Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industria Cinematográficos (ICAIC). Courtesy of the Center for the Study of Political Graphics

Giselle Monzón, La Soga/Rope, 2009. Silkscreen, 29 15/16 x 20 1/16 inches. Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industria Cinematográficos (ICAIC). Courtesy of the Center for the Study of Political Graphics

Claudio Sotolongo, Tiempos Modernos/Modern Times, 2009. Silkscreen, 29 15/16 x 20 1/16 inches. Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industria Cinematográficos (ICAIC). Courtesy of the Center for the Study of Political Graphics

Lisandro Trepeu, Singin’ in the Rain, 2009. Silkscreen, 29 15/16 x 20 1/16 inches. Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industria Cinematográficos (ICAIC). Courtesy of the Center for the Study of Political Graphics

René Azcuy, ¿Que Paso Con Baby Jane?/Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?, 1976. Silkscreen, 29 15/16 x 20 1/16 inches. Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industria Cinematográficos (ICAIC). Courtesy of the Center for the Study of Political Graphics

Eduardo Muñoz Bachs, Por Primera Vez/For the First Time, 1968.
Silkscreen, 29 15/16 x 20 1/16 inches. Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industria Cinematográficos (ICAIC). Courtesy of the Center for the Study of Political Graphics

Antonio Pérez (Ñiko), Isadora, 1979. Silkscreen, 29 15/16 x 20 1/16 inches. Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industria Cinematográficos (ICAIC). Courtesy of the Center for the Study of Political Graphics

IMAGES: Hollywood in Havana: Five Decades of Cuban Posters Promoting U.S. Films was last modified: May 5th, 2017 by Cuba Journal