"Our enemy is imperialism not abstract art"
- Fidel Castro, 1977
¡Revolución! Cuban Poster Art is an embodiment of the beauty of solidarity, revolution and education. It all started in the mid-1960s, when Cuban graphic artists came together and produced an artistic power that had a massive social impact. The role that Cuban art played during the Revolution was historical, to say the least. These posters covered an immense number of topics, ranging from The Vietnam War and solidarity with the people of Latin America to military chess tournaments, saving water, and public health. They did so much for Cuba, from helping to get the word out on the importance of recycling glass, to raising funds for Fidel Castro and the July 26th movement. ¡Revolución! arranges the posters in five categories, which range from solidarity and revolution to sports and health. This gives the reader a full understanding of the vast range of topics touched upon by the posters.
The posters’ significance doesn’t end with the messages they send. The level of artistic advancement, the originality of the visual concepts, and the technical effects achieved with silkscreen and off-set printing are nothing less than amazing. The combinations of colors are remarkable. The collection of posters presented in the book is an example to the world of how limitless the artistic concepts of the human mind are, especially when fully funded by the government. Some of the posters have similar styles, but even after looking at hundreds of the posters, there is no sense of redundancy. The beauty of these posters is the beauty of revolution, solidarity and education.
The posters in ¡Revolución! tell the history not only of the revolutionary upsurge in Cuba, but in the world. In the book’s “Revolution and Solidarity� section, the reader gets a grasp of the anti-colonial and freedom struggles around the world from the mid 1960s to the early 1980s. Cuba was in solidarity with every progressive struggle going on in the world. The government issued posters commemorating George Jackson, as well as posters in solidarity with the people of Ethiopia. Looking through this book and looking at the posters brings the reader back to a time when the whole world was up in arms, and working class people across the world began to reclaim their land, ideas and propaganda.
This book touches upon the uniqueness of the art produced in socialist Cuba in comparison to art that has been produced by other countries, using the former Soviet Union and China as examples. The Cuban understanding has been that the mission of art is to attack imperialism and expose the beauty of revolution. That is exactly what occurred. While reading this book and looking at the art, you get a real feeling of the importance of propaganda - especially creative, sharp, humorous propaganda.
This book is something everyone should try to get his or her hands on. It is a page-turner. Whether you’re crazy about abstract art or you’re more of a realist, this book will quench your revolutionary thirst -- and at only twenty bucks, it’s a bargain. ¡Revolución! will hopefully influence young progressives, radicals, and communists in the U.S. to produce some of our own art to lend beauty to the fight for peace, justice, and socialism.
Abdul Hassan is a student at John Jay College and a member of the National Council of the YCL.
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