The Newark Museum Shows "Ajiaco: Stirrings of the Cuban Soul"

Written by Sybil Cranston Sunday, 12 February 2012 20:19

Newark, NJ.- The Newark Museum is proud to present "Ajiaco: Stirrings of the Cuban Soul", survey of modern and contemporary Cuban artists that explores the rich cultural roots of Cuban art. This exhibition consists of more than fifty objects, including paintings, works on paper, photographs, sculpture, installations, and audio works by 22 artists. "Ajiaco: Stirrings of the Cuban Soul" features such major figures in Cuban art as Wifredo Lam, Manuel Mendive, Jose Bedia and Sandra Ramos. "Ajiaco: Stirrings of the Cuban Soul" is on view at the museum until August 14th. After Newark, the exhibition is tentatively scheduled to travel to two additional venues: the Chelsea Art Museum in New York City and the Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

Ajiaco seeks to interpret the diverse social dimensions of Cuban art in a global context through the exploration of its relationship with African, Asian, European, and Indigenous influences and belief systems. The art incorporates the tales of the Orisha of Africa, the calligraphy of Chinese Tao Te Ching, and the rituals of indigenous peoples. The formats change, the materials vary, but the mix remains constant in both Cuban and Cuban American art. Ajiaco: Stirrings of the Cuban Soul is not necessarily about one group however; it explores diaspora, embracing those aspects of Latin American culture that are sympathetic to all. In broader terms, this project addresses both the immigrant experience and the expression of cultural identity in a new place. The curator, Dr. Gail Gelburd, writes, “Isolated and yet educated, restricted and yet heralded, the Cuban artist embodies the angst of their situation and yet embraces the loftiest of goals. Their syncretist tradition and heritage allows them to go beyond the monotheistic traditions in order to find the origins of their soul, the geist or inner spirit of their art.”

In 1939, anthropologist Fernando Ortiz characterized Cuban culture as ajiaco, a rich stew consisting of a large variety of ingredients. The ingredients of the “stew” include Catholicism brought in by the Spaniards; the spirituality of the Yoruba slaves and their cultural traditions from Africa; and the Chinese indentured servants who brought Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. The base of the stew is the indigenous people, such as Tainos, who were almost wiped out by the Spaniards. This exhibition is a survey of modern and contemporary Cuban artists that explores these rich cultural roots of Cuban art. In contemporary society, the “stew” has become thicker and richer as the influences become more complex and intermixed: the artist now borrows not only from the traditional cultures that populated the island, but also appropriates from contemporary everyday life. The exhibition includes works by leading artists in a variety of media, from paintings, works on paper and photography to mixed-media sculpture and installations.

The Newark Museum, established as the largest New Jersey museum, invites you to enjoy unforgettable experiences in the arts and natural sciences. Take an inspirational journey through 80 galleries of world-class collections including American, Asian, African and Classical. Experience another era in the Victorian Ballantine House — a National Historic Landmark, and stroll through the beautiful sculpture garden. The Newark Museum operates, as it has since its founding, in the public trust as a museum of service, and a leader in connecting objects and ideas to the needs and wishes of its constituencies. In 2009, the Museum celebrated its 100th anniversary. The Newark Museum has been committed to collecting contemporary American art since its founding. The American Art collection at the Newark Museum, numbering over 12,000 paintings, sculptures, works on paper and multimedia art, is one of the finest in the country. Surveying four centuries, the Museum’s American holdings include important Colonial and Federal portraits and a superb collection of Hudson River landscape paintings by artists including Thomas Cole, Frederic Church and Albert Bierstadt.  A pioneer in collecting and exhibiting American folk art, the Museum boasts outstanding examples by 19th century masters Ammi Phillips and Edward Hicks.




The collection of American Impressionism and later 19th century art is equally distinguished, including major works by Childe Hassam, Mary Cassatt, John Singer Sargent, George Inness and Winslow Homer. The comprehensive collection of 19th century sculpture includes well-known works by Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Daniel Chester French and John Rogers as well as Hiram Powers’ The Greek Slave. The Museum began its commitment to African American art in 1929 with the acquisition of an important painting by Henry Ossawa Tanner.  It has continued to build a strong collection in this area adding works by Romare Bearden, Jacob Lawrence and Robert Thompson as well as the work of more contemporary African American artists including Melvin Edwards and Carrie Mae Weems. One of the collection’s core strengths is early American modernism, in part the result of the Museum’s commitment from its founding in 1909 to collect the work of living artists.  America’s foremost modernists are represented, including Edward Hopper, Max Weber, Georgia O’Keeffe, Marsden Hartley, Robert Henri, John Sloan, Arthur Dove, Theodore Rozsak, Charles Sheeler and Alexander Calder. The collection also possesses one of the great landmarks of American art, Joseph Stella’s monumental Voice of the City of New York Interpreted, and holds one of the greatest collections of geometric abstraction in the country. In addition, the Museum is the largest repository of works on paper created under the auspices of the Federal Arts Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA ), and possesses over 100 vintage prints by the photographer Berenice Abbott as well as important photographs by Edward Steichen and Edward Weston. The Museum’s commitment to folk and outsider art continues in its 20th century holdings, maintaining the world’s largest collection of sculpture by William Edmondson as well as important works by Bill Traylor, David Butler and William Hawkins. The collection boasts a fine selection of mid-century paintings by Helen Frankenthaler, Robert Motherwell, Wayne Thiebaud and others as well as important sculptures by Andy Warhol, Louise Nevelson and George Segal.  The Museum’s post-war photography collection is especially strong with major examples by Cindy Sherman, Lorna Simpson and Andres Serrano.  The Museum continues to collect the art of its time, building an important contemporary collection that includes work by Martin Puryear, Chakaia Booker, Elizabeth Murray among others, as well as multiple works in a variety of media by such artists as Alexis Rockman, Willie Cole and Alison Saar.  New media is represented by examples of video installations by Nam June Paik and Pepón Osorio. The museum also has world class collections of African, Asian and Classical art. Visit the museum's website at ... http://www.newarkmuseum.org

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