Architecture and the urban fabric of Cuba Tanya Barson, Curator One of the key subject areas that he addresses is architecture – architecture in general but also the language of modernism, but specifically the architecture of Cuba and of Havana. This piece takes both specific buildings, through the photographs of the facades of cinemas, and through this, sort of, summary of cinematic architecture in Cuba – through the architectural model that amalgamates a number of different buildings in an imaginary architecture – addresses the theme of what is happening to the fabric of Havana – known for it’s architecture – it’s a very beautiful city, but it’s also one that is suffering from decay – crumbling, and how this has been taken on as part of the identity of Havana. So it has become part of Havana’s identity to be known for it’s urban picturesque – of this crumbling decay – and this is something that maybe outsiders go there specifically to consume – so this is something that is very associated with the image of Cuba, and how it is, through the revolution in ’59 and the subsequent isolation of Cuba, and especially also the economic sanctions imposed by the United States. This has had an impact on the urban fabric and ways of life in Cuba, and so it addresses how the architecture has not been maintained and how certain buildings are crumbling and disappearing, and how the Cubans are loosing their architectural heritage through this. |