Photo courtesy of Taller Público Silvano Lora
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the death
of Silvano Lora (1931-2003) who left behind an immense and exquisite body of
work that is still as relevant as ever before. Ten years later, the legacy of
this non-conformist artist and social activist is being celebrated and
re-assessed in the media, art venues as well as academic institutions by intellectuals, artists, friends and relatives marked
by his unique, interdisciplinary artistic vision and towering personality.
Silvano Lora and Pachito stage a protest in opposition to the official celebrations of the 500th Centenary of the conquest of the Americas[Photo courtesy of Taller Público Silvano Lora]
In June, for example, the Autonomous University of Santo
Domingo and the Association of Constitutionalist Combatants [of the 1965
revolution and civil war] held a ceremony to pay tribute to both Silvano Lora
and Jacques Viau Renaud, the Dominican-Haitian poet and educator and one of the
martyrs of the armed conflict. Another tribute and re-assessment of Silvano’s
legacy was his first posthumous individual show (on display from July
25-September 10, 2013) at the Galería Nacional de Bellas Artes [Bellas Artes National
Gallery] in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. The show won
praise not only from art critics but the general public.
Crossing the Ozama River in remembrance of the 500 years of indigenous resistance in the Americas [Photo courtesy of Taller Público Silvano Lora]
Sivano
Lora: un arte combatiente [Sivano Lora: A Combatant Art]
encapsulated the artist’s approach to art and life by showcasing a series of paintings,
collages, assemblages and even texts penned by others who knew him. Among the
items on display was a raft canoe built in collaboration with the craft artist
Pachito. In 1992, on the eve of the official celebration of the 500th
anniversary of the conquest of the Americas—known with the anachronism
of “discovery”— both artists sailed the Ozama river to bring attention
to the plight of indigenous people not only in Dominican Republic but also
throughout Latin America. This retrospective was organized by the Taller Público Silvano Lora [Silvano Lora
Public Workshop] in conjunction with the Bellas Artes National Gallery under
the direction of art critic Marianne de Tolentino.
The 1992 protest staged by Silvano Lora overshadowed the official celebrations of the 500th Centenary of Columbus arrival [Photo courtesy of Taller Público Silvano Lora]
In Santiago, the second largest city, Centro
León organized a panel on Silvano Lora which included among other panelists,
his daughter, the historian Quisqueya Lora Hugi, Marianne de
Tolentino, and the art critic and author Danilo de los Santos.
An
aesthetic of rebellion
Trained in the school of Western classical painting, Silvano
Lora eschewed academicism, idealism and tradition, embarking in what later
became an ongoing artistic search for experimentation that lasted a lifetime. And
while his art took cues from the latest trends within the international avant-garde,
he was able to develop a true aesthetic of rebellion. In fact, his art was not
only grounded in theory but in concrete reality. This was personified in the concrete
reality of the barrios in the
post-dictatorial era; overcrowded urban spaces that lacked both basic services
and political freedoms. The Trujillo dictatorship (1930-1961) has left the
country in shambles as many political exiles like Silvano Lora could attest. (He
was exiled in Paris, France for a while. There he took part in the Algerian
anti-colonial struggle).
A scene from the 1965 revolution [From the book Historia gráfica de la Guerra de Abril (1981 edition) by Fidelio Despradel]
In the early 60s, Silvano Lora was instrumental in bridging
the gap between art and politics in a time when students, intellectuals and
ordinary people pushed forward for more democratic reforms and freedoms. Like
his peers, Silvano took part in poetry recitals, self-publishing and collective
art-making as well as exhibitions that brought art to the masses: First, as a
member of the Arte y Liberación [Art and Liberation]
group, and second, as one of the leading members of the short-lived but
far-reaching cultural action committee known as Frente Cultural
Constitucionalista [Constitutionalist Cultural Front].
[From the book Historia gráfica de la Guerra de Abril (1981 edition) by Fidelio Despradel]
During the 1965 popular uprising that opposed the 1963 coup,
the Frente Cultural made posters, organized art exhibits and published a
collection of poems entitled Pueblo,
sangre y canto [literal translation: People, Blood and Song]in which poets
expressed their unconditional support to the revolutionary cause. A statement
signed collectively by Frente Cultural in support of the ideals and goals of
the revolt first saw the light of the day in the first edition of that book.
According to Juan
José Ayuso, a poet,
historian and former Frente Cultural member, “the book appeared in September of
1965”. In 1985, a second edition published by Autonomous University of Santo
Domingo was released to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the
revolution.
[Click here to read the English translation of the Frente Cultural 1965 statement and here to read the original version in Spanish]
Poster by the Frente Cultural circa 1965 [From the book Historia gráfica de la Guerra de Abril (1981 edition) by Fidelio Despradel]
A mural by Silvano Lora at UASD university
After the revolution, a twelve-year semi-dictatorial regime
imposed terror in the streets. Combatants and unionist were murdered. Others
like Silvano Lora were forced to go into exile. But he never became disengaged
from his place of birth, denouncing the state terror facing Santo Domingo
whenever he went. At the same time, Silvano continued to produce art in places
like Panama where he gave talks to artists and young people and collaborated
with plastic artists to create participatory art spaces such as murals.
Scene from the Bienal Marginal [Photo courtesy of Taller Público Silvano Lora]
Upon his return, Silvano continued his social art practice. Some
of his long lasting contributions are a film festival, a rural museum in
Baoruco province as well as the Bienal Marginal in Santa Bárbara—a working-class neighborhood
located in the Colonial City of Santo Domingo— which showcased work
produced by ordinary people, among others.
La inmensa humanidad de Silvano (2003) by Alberto Lara available for perusal at the DSI Library
The artist, writer, filmmaker, revolutionary combatant,
activist and father remained committed to social change until the end. What was
truly admirable was that at no point in his prolific career, his art was driven
by the dehumanizing desire to accumulate lucre but instead, it was driven by a
collective desire to change the status quo. Ten years later, his work remains
vital. Never a pessimist, Silvano
Lora was— in the words of his friend Marianne de Tolentino — “an untamed
artistic rebel who never believed in lost causes”.
Amaury
Rodriguez/Guest contributor
