Cuba 2012: American Photographers in Havana

North Americans who know Cuba only from Hollywood movies and familiarity with Cuban artists are guilty of mainland insularity, a product of Cold War tensions that have lingered for over 50 years. It is now possible, however, for U.S. citizens to travel to that nominally Communist state, a tourist destination in the pre-revolutionary past (and possibly the post-revolutionary future).

Redwood City photographer Charles Anselmo has made two dozen trips to Cuba over the past 12 years, cultivating friendships there, and leading small groups of American artists and photographers on one-week trips through his company, Anselmo Image Works (AIW).

Charles Anselmo

Stanford Art Spaces will be showing a selection of over 60 medium-format color photographs made by Bay Area AIW alumni over the past two years. Cuba’s resilient, photogenic people, its famous hybridized old American cars and its stunning colonial architecture – all possible tourist-art clichés – are depicted here with beauty and sophistication. The photographers include Charles Anselmo, Linda Barsotti, DeWitt Cheng, Stan Chism, Dana Flores, Bill Jackson, Kristina Johnson, Dayton Misfeldt and Christian Pease.

A reception will take place in the Paul G. Allen Building on Friday, Nov. 30, from 5 to 7pm.

Stanford Art Spaces exhibitions are installed in three Stanford University venues: the Center for Integrated Systems in the Paul G. Allen Building at 420 Via Palou Mall, the adjacent David Packard Building and Jordan Hall’s psychology offices on the Quad.