Black with a Drop of Red: Contemporary Cuban Poster Work

October 16, 2016 – January 22, 2017

Featuring posters of US movies, Cuban cultural events, and documentaries, this exhibition showcases the striking and influential work of Cuban graphic designers. Carefully chosen by Claudio Sotolongo, a designer and a professor based in Havana, the images reflect on Cuba’s fascination with cinema as well as its internal and external political struggles.

Whether advertising a popular film, honoring a cultural hero, or announcing a community event, the posters included in Black with a Drop of Red well illustrate the visual persuasiveness of the genre. Using silk-screen printing techniques, the eighteen designers shown here demonstrate the continued allure and influence of poster work in contemporary Cuba. While similar examples produced in the United States often emphasize celebrity close-ups or dramatic moments as a way of enticing visitors and fans, Cuban posters often embrace a different, more eclectic aesthetic that emphasizes the power of distilled imagery to convey the essence of an entire film or an event.

The Fowler Museum would like to thank Sharon Farb, Associate University Librarian for Collection Management and Scholarly Communication; Dawn Aveline, Preservation Officer; and Lauren Derby, Associate Professor in the Department of History, for their assistance in making this exhibition possible.

Image credits (left to right):

Julio Eloy Mesa, Clandestinos (Living Dangerously), 1987. Silk screen. Private collection

René Azcuy, La última cena (The Last Supper), 1977. Silk screen. Private collection

Roberto Ramos, Rebelde sin causa (Rebel without a Cause), 2009. Silk screen. Private collection

Press Release

Black with a Drop of Red: Contemporary Cuban Poster Work