ExhibitionOctober 15, 2024
Dagoberto Rodríguez: Retropía
The exhibition Retropía by Cuban artist Dagoberto Rodriguez at the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Atchugarry (MACA) will be open until December 15. The show brings together a selection of works articulated in series and closely related to language.
“Retropia” is a reference to the essay of the same title by philosopher Zygmunt Bauman, in which he discusses how happiness does not lie in the future but in a past that is idealized and reconstructed. According to Bauman, the negation of the utopia leads to retropias, which are ideal worlds located in a lost and longed-for past that refuses to die and whose memory clouds our vision of the future.
In this exhibition the artist creates a dialogue between language and the object of consumption, in the current Cuban context. For example, the automobile culture from its beginnings has been the bearer of values that have changed the culture, being part of dynamics associated with design, technique and consumption. In the particular case of Cuba, the classic cars in circulation are the vehicles that remained when the Revolution started. On the other hand, in the first modern expressions in Cuba, buildings with straight lines and geometric elements appeared, where movie theaters were one of the most relevant activities in society.
Dagoberto Rodríguez, with irony and humor, narrates the recent history of his country and the power of words. In series such as emblemas (emblems) and cones (cinemas), he materializes popular expressions and phrases that are part of the spiritual state of Cuban society. The show includes a series of watercolors with futuristic landscapes and the installation Túnel Blanco.
“Retropia” is a reference to the essay of the same title by philosopher Zygmunt Bauman, in which he discusses how happiness does not lie in the future but in a past that is idealized and reconstructed. According to Bauman, the negation of the utopia leads to retropias, which are ideal worlds located in a lost and longed-for past that refuses to die and whose memory clouds our vision of the future.
In this exhibition the artist creates a dialogue between language and the object of consumption, in the current Cuban context. For example, the automobile culture from its beginnings has been the bearer of values that have changed the culture, being part of dynamics associated with design, technique and consumption. In the particular case of Cuba, the classic cars in circulation are the vehicles that remained when the Revolution started. On the other hand, in the first modern expressions in Cuba, buildings with straight lines and geometric elements appeared, where movie theaters were one of the most relevant activities in society.
Dagoberto Rodríguez, with irony and humor, narrates the recent history of his country and the power of words. In series such as emblemas (emblems) and cones (cinemas), he materializes popular expressions and phrases that are part of the spiritual state of Cuban society. The show includes a series of watercolors with futuristic landscapes and the installation Túnel Blanco.
Gallery
