Today in 1960

Politics = the aesthetics of the system +

the aesthetics of failure = Politics

Fidel Castro

US Government Prohibits All Exports to Cuba (1960)

Cuba is the most exciting and inspirational place I have been to….and was one of the major factors in getting me painting again. The place is about survival and adaptability – before 1960, the US and Cuba shared strong economic ties, trading heavily in sugar and tobacco. When Fidel Castro rose to power and Cuba expropriated many American-owned land holdings, the US took action, enforcing countermeasures such as the 1960 prohibition of all exports to Cuba. In 1962, the US imposed a commercial, financial, and economic embargo on Cuba, which remains one of the most enduring trade blockades in modern history. More…

As a UK citizen it would be interesting to know the exact position my government take on this blockade – there are some interesting insights here..

Trip to Cuba 1999

The billboards around Cuba proclaim Revolution; the heroic gestures of Cuban heroes symbolize the power of Revolution. Cuba is still in a politicized state of revolution, a religion of the state, with Che substituting for the iconic imagery of Christ…. The imagery and feel of Cuba lead me to submit a proposal to Wolverhampton University in 2003 for my final piece of work there – it was never completed.

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About peter

'Death by Sushi' Fish can kill me. When I was very small (maybe 3 or 4 years old) my grandfather, who lost the sight of one eye from a bullet fired by a German sniper (fortunately not a very good one) during the Battle of the Somme in World War 1, wiped my face with the corner of his apron, an apron he had used to wipe his filleting knife on. He was a grocery shopkeeper who specialized in wet fish.