Rewriting Revolutionary Myths: Photography in Castro’s Cuba and Tania Bruguera’s Tatlin’s Whisper#6
Abstract
Photography was a key medium for creating, spreading, and cementing myths about the Cuban Revolution and its leaders. In the first part of this essay, I’ll explore several iconic images as well as responses to these pictures, all parts of a Cuban “cross-national memory discourse†(cf. Quiroga, 2005). Walter Benjamin’s media philosophy can help in developing insights about the functioning of these photographs. In the second part of the paper, I turn to Tania Bruguera’s piece Tatlin’s Whisper#6 (staged at the 10th Havana Biennial in 2009), which radically rewrites the poetics of the images and aspires to create a sense of participation and direct involvement.References
[1] Benjamin, Walter. 1999. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproductionâ€Illuminations. Transl. by Harry Zorn. London: Pimlico. 211-244.
[2] Bruguera, Tania. “Arte de Conductaâ€/ “Debates about
[3] Behavior Artâ€. [Last Accessed: 05/10/2013].
[4] Busto, Ernesto Hernández. 2009. “Revolución: Fotos Fijasâ€. Letras Libres.
[5] Hutcheon, Linda. 1990. The Politics of Postmodernism. London and New York: Routledge.
[6] Obejas, Achy. 2001. Days of Awe. New York: Ballantine.
[7] Quiroga, José. 2005. Cuban Palimpsests. London Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
[2] Bruguera, Tania. “Arte de Conductaâ€/ “Debates about
[3] Behavior Artâ€.
[4] Busto, Ernesto Hernández. 2009. “Revolución: Fotos Fijasâ€. Letras Libres.
[5] Hutcheon, Linda. 1990. The Politics of Postmodernism. London and New York: Routledge.
[6] Obejas, Achy. 2001. Days of Awe. New York: Ballantine.
[7] Quiroga, José. 2005. Cuban Palimpsests. London Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
How to Cite
SöLLNER, Louisa.
Rewriting Revolutionary Myths: Photography in Castro’s Cuba and Tania Bruguera’s Tatlin’s Whisper#6.
Култура/Culture, [S.l.], n. 4, p. 59-64, nov. 2014.
ISSN 1857-7725.
Available at: <https://journals.cultcenter.net/index.php/culture/article/view/76>. Date accessed: 23 mar. 2026.
Section
English Articles
Keywords
Photography, Memory Mediation, Diaspora, Performance Art, Walter Benjamin
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