An artist reports on 3rd Havana Biennial

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tions that imputed the artist was not "fully qualified." The audience was given the dignity to judge for itself.

Religious and historical imagery The Havana Biennial contained most of the artistic currents in pictures today; thus symbolism was prevalent. Its messages varied from liberalism to popular pride and political resistance. From oppressed capitalist countries, there was the symbolism of liberal-seeming and self-flagellation of those who feel guilty.

The liberal political viewpoint was best exemplified by the work of Juraci Dorea, of Brazil. Dorea goes to poor Brazilian villages and creates sculptures and paintings which use locally available materials such as leather, wood, and tar. The work is then photographed and documented and presented in museums as a report on the laudable activities of social art-workers.

Testimony of the poor villagers are then collected to prove how much they appreciJULY 1990 ated these charitable "contributions." Dorea seems totally oblivious to the fact that these villagers would much rather have modern homes and modern jobs than modern art.

Most noteworthy of works of popular pride was that of Manuel Mendive Hoyos from Cuba. Its Santería religious themes have become secularized in the absence of a clergy. Mendive's work is a happening which combines a rich visual environment with music, dance, and bodypainting. His work elicits popular support in Cuba. At the Biennial his events gained such popularity that people waited for hours outside the booth.

Themes of resistance

In the "Tres Mundos" exhibition, another current of symbolism appeared that reflected the tradition of political resistance. In those which had a definite political view, visual metaphors were sharpened by verbal additions directly within the painting.

Excellent examples of effective political Bayangu Mayala from Zaire, whose paintings exposed the cruelties of colonialism and imperialism. One is titled, for instance, "Heritage perdu: Le SIDA tue." (Lost heritage: AIDS kills).

There was also work that sought to criticize the ruling class and describe the pomposity and selfishness of those who serve them. One example was a painting by Ramon Moya Hernandez from Guantanamo, Hernandez's painting, titled "Fascism dressed in Obatala, or the portrait of Margaret Thatcher," was of a mostly naked woman draped in white. She was painted frontally like a medieval icon of a saint. Blood is smeared on her lips and drips on her body, and she holds symbols of fascism and oppression. The painting exposes the role contemporary Christianity plays as a veil for oppressors.

The Havana Biennial was surrounded with workshops and debates open to anyone to participate. It had the fertile quality of international exchange. One did not get a feeling of antiseptic distance from art and the making of it, as in exhibitions in capitalist countries.

The doors were wide open to the general population free of charge. At the opening, it seemed that all Havana was there. The warm air carried music and laughter.