01.14.08
Posted in Javier Hernandez-Miyares, Hugo Consuegra, Cuba, Images at 11:07 pm by mbumba
At the end of the 4 line Utica Station Crown Heights (Photo By JHM)
Hugo Consuegra was a founding member of the avant-garde movement in Cuba known as Los Once. Follow This Link to an image of one of the ceramic pieces from the Hernandez-Miyares collection, which is an artist’s proof of one that is installed at this station. For those of you that read spanish, i recommend his autobiography Elapso Tempore.
Tags: Hugo Consuegro, Los Once, Cuba, Art, New York City Subway, Utica Station, 4 Line, Elapso Tempore, Crown Heights, Javier Hernandez-Miyares
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07.02.07
Posted in Uncategorized, Javier Hernandez-Miyares, Hugo Consuegra at 10:21 pm by mbumba
If you pay attention you will see and discover things that most people ignore. Last week i recorded Alina Brouwer for the Sineparade Minor Heroes proyect. Her father is Leo Brouwer the legendary composer. His compositions are performed all over the world every day. He wrote music for films as well as for guitar and orchestra. One of my favorite films is Memories of Underdevelopement, and Leo wrote the music for that film. That film was written and directed by Thomas Gutierrez Alea. Anyway, the next day i watched the video that i have of this movie, and i see this shot in the apartment of “Sergio”, who is the protaganist of the film. I immediately recognized a painting by Hugo Consuegra, and i took a picture of the film still (Now Showing). As some of you know, i am blogging unpublished Consuegra Works. What an awesome discovery i thought, but there was something else that i would discover. The next day in the studio with Roberto Poveda (my musical collaborator) after i told him of my discovery, he revealed to me that our drummer Alex Garcia is married to the daughter of Thomas Gutierrez Alea.
Tags: Javier Hernandez-Miyares, Leo Brouwer, Hugo Consuegra, Memories of Underdevelopment
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06.08.07
Posted in Uncategorized, Javier Hernandez-Miyares, Hugo Consuegra at 5:15 pm by mbumba
Excerpt from Hugo Consuegra’s Obituary From The Miami Herald. Hugo Passed Away In 2003.
Painter Hugo Consuegra, who in the 1950s helped spark a movement of abstract expressionism in Cuba, died of cancer Friday at his home in Rego Park, New York. He was 73. Consuegra was born in Havana. He studied at the Academia de San Alejandro, and graduated from the University of Havana as an architect. In 1953, he became one of the founding members of The Eleven, a group he described in a recent interview as “young artists attempting forms of expression different from the Havana school represented by [René] Portocarrero, [Mario] Carreño and others.'’ The group broke away from the representational style prevalent at the time in Cuba and produced its largest volume of work between 1953 and 1955, after which it disbanded. Consuegra and four of the original 11 continued to exhibit until 1963, in what became known as the post-revolutionary avant-garde movement. To Consuegra, being part of a group did not rob him of his individuality. ‘’A group does not create, unless it does so through its members,'’ he said in a 2001 interview. “Like fish, group is a generic name. What’s really important is the salmon, the bream or the snapper.'’
Hugo was a great artist and a wonderful person with a gentle temperment. In celebration of the publishing of the book HUGO CONSUEGRA, we at “Where The Pieces Fall” will be posting previously unpublished images of Hugo’s work. Stay tuned.
Tags: Hugo Consuegra, Los Once, The Eleven, Cuban Art, Abstract Expressionism
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06.04.07
Posted in Uncategorized, Javier Hernandez-Miyares, Hugo Consuegra at 6:34 pm by mbumba
Photograph by Javier Hernandez-Miyares
Ceramic tile for “Arte Cubano de Hoy” exhibit, La Rampa, Havana 1959
This tile was designed by Hugo Consuegra who was a member of the now legendary “group of eleven”. In the early 1950’s this group of young artists abandoned figurative representation and many adopted a style of abstract expressionism. They rebelled against the complacency of the established artists of that time and refused to participate in any exhibition sponsored by the Batista government. In 1959 during the first year of the Revolution the “Arte Cubano De Hoy” exhibition was held at a theater on La Rampa Avenue in Vedado Havana. This tile and others designed by participating artists such as Wilfredo Lam and Amelia Pelaez were imbedded in the sidewalk of that Avenue and are still there today. The tile that i photographed is from the Dr. Julio E. and Maria J. Hernandez-Miyares Collection. I had the privilege of knowing Hugo and i will be posting more pictures of his artwork and his writings in the next few days.
Ediciones Universal has just published a book on Hugo’s artistic career titled Hugo Consuegra. New York City book launching will occur sometime this summer. When i have more information i will immediately post it.
Tags: Hugo Consuegra, Los Once, Modern Cuban Art, Javier Hernandez-Miyares
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