Schools of Ballet & Music
Escuela Nacional de Arte (1961-65)
Vittorio Garatti, architect
Escuela Nacional de Arte (1961-65)
Vittorio Garatti, architect
Photo series of two of the facilities design for the National School of the Arts in Cuba by Vittorio Garatti. Ricardo Porro (Hidalgo) and Roberto Gottardi were the architects for the schools of Modern Dance, Plastic Arts & Dramatic Arts.
"The Escuelas Nacionales de Arte (National Art Schools), constructed from 1961 to 1965, were the result of an educational program initiated by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara soon after the Revolution of 1959. The architects they commissioned created an organic complex of brick and terra-cotta Catalan vaulted structures that reflected the optimism and exuberance of the period. The schools attempted to reinvent architecture, just as the Revolution hoped to reinvent society.
However, even before construction was completed, the schools fell out of official favor and were subjected to an attack that resulted in their subsequent "disappearance." An ideological campaign branded them politically incorrect, a bourgeois luxury that was not in keeping with the Revolution. The buildings fell into disuse and, abandoned to the jungle, were literally overgrown. Now, almost 40 years later, Cuba is beginning to recognize and reclaim these significant works of architecture."
However, even before construction was completed, the schools fell out of official favor and were subjected to an attack that resulted in their subsequent "disappearance." An ideological campaign branded them politically incorrect, a bourgeois luxury that was not in keeping with the Revolution. The buildings fell into disuse and, abandoned to the jungle, were literally overgrown. Now, almost 40 years later, Cuba is beginning to recognize and reclaim these significant works of architecture."
excerpt from "Revolution of Forms: Cuba's Forgotten Art Schools" by John Loomis
Prints available: ENdA 014-10 & ENdA 077-10
Prints available: ENdA 014-10 & ENdA 077-10
