Alejandro González
1974

1974

© 2015 Alejandro González Méndez

1974
1974
CultureCuban
Titles
  • 1974
  • from the series Quinquenio gris
  • from the series Grey Five Years
Date2015
MediumInkjet print
DimensionsImage: 11 3/4 × 20 13/16 in. (29.8 × 52.9 cm)
Sheet: 14 7/16 × 23 9/16 in. (36.7 × 59.8 cm)
Credit LineThe Madeleine P. Plonsker Collection, museum purchase funded by the Caroline Wiess Law Accessions Endowment Fund
Object number2022.528.4
Current Location
The Nancy and Rich Kinder Building
Gallery 314
Exposé

Explore Further

Department
Photography
Object Type
Description

With archival photographs or written historical accounts as his source and corrugated cardboard and lead figures as his materials, Alejandro González created dioramas that revisit one telling moment in each of the five years, 1971 to 1975, that marked Cuba’s increased reliance on the USSR and the adoption of Soviet economic, educational, military, and political models. 1975 depicts the culminating event of Cuba’s transformation, the first Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba at the Karl Marx Theater, with attendees meeting below portraits of Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, and Vladimir Lenin; José Martí, Antonio Maceo, and Máximo Gómez, heroes of Cuban independence; and the 20th-century heroes Julio Antonio Mella, Camilo Cienfuego, and Che Guevara. González’s dioramas portray the adoption of Soviet orthodoxy in five easy steps.

 

 

Alejandro González construyó modelos de cartón corrugado y figuras de plomo que recrean hechos significativos ocurridos entre 1971 y 1975,  para ello se basó en fotografías de archivo y relatos históricos. Cada una corresponde a un año de esta etapa, marcada por el aumento de la dependencia de Cuba de la URSS y la adopción de modelos económicos, educativos, militares y políticos soviéticos. 1975 representa el hito final de la transformación de Cuba: el Primer Congreso del Partido Comunista de Cuba en el Teatro Karl Marx. Los asistentes se reúnen bajo retratos de Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels y Vladimir Lenin; José Martí, Antonio Maceo y Máximo Gómez (héroes de la independencia cubana); y los héroes del siglo XX Julio Antonio Mella, Camilo Cienfuegos y Che Guevara. Las maquetas de González ilustran la adopción de la ortodoxia soviética en cinco pasos.


ProvenanceThe artist, Havana, Cuba; purchased by Madeleine P. Plonsker, Glencoe, Illinois, 2017; purchased by MFAH, 2022.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
.4: Inscribed in pencil, verso, bottom edge: 1/1 de la serie "Quinquenio Gris": 1974 Ale Glez [signed] // 2015
Signed in pencil, verso, bottom right: Ale Grez

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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1975
Alejandro González
2015
Inkjet print
2022.528.5
1971
Alejandro González
2015
Inkjet print
2022.528.1
1973
Alejandro González
2015
Inkjet print
2022.528.3
1972
Alejandro González
2015
Inkjet print
2022.528.2
9 de noviembre de 1989
Alejandro González
2012
Inkjet print
2022.529
Quinquenio gris
Alejandro González
2015
Inkjet prints, cardboard handmade box
2022.528.1-.5
2:57 am, 24 de dic de 2005, Vedado, La Habana, Cuba
Alejandro González
2005
Inkjet print
2022.525
10:09pm, 21 de abril del 2005, Playa, La Habana, Cuba
Alejandro González
2005
Inkjet print
2022.524
from the series Conducta impropia
Alejandro González
2008
Chromogenic print
2022.527
Untitled
Alejandro González
2008
Chromogenic print
2022.526
10:09pm, 21 de abril del 2005, Playa, La Habana, Cuba
Alejandro González
2005
Chromogenic print
2024.159
2024.254
Alejandro González
2008
Chromogenic print
2024.254