Descripción de la Exposición
Visionary Aponte: Art and Black Freedom brings together over a dozen contemporary artists working across a range of media to interpret an extraordinary—and now lost—historical artifact: a so-called “Book of Paintings” created by José Antonio Aponte, a nineteenth-century Afro-Cuban revolutionary. Authorities found the “Book of Paintings” in 1812 during the investigation into a major antislavery conspiracy. During his trial, Aponte was forced to describe every picture in his book. They portrayed lush landscapes and Biblical stories; Roman goddesses and Spanish kings; black men as warriors, emperors, and librarians; Rome and Ethiopia; Havana and the heavens. Shortly after testifying, Aponte was publicly executed, and his “Book of Paintings” disappeared.
Using Aponte’s trial testimony—which is all that is known to remain of the “Book of Paintings”—the artists of Visionary Aponte have reimagined Aponte’s book for our present. They invite us to think about the role of art in making social change and in mitigating the violence of colonialism and its archive.
The artists include: José Bedia (Miami), Leonardo Benzant (New York), Sanford Biggers (New York), Juan Roberto Diago (Havana), Édouard Duval-Carrié (Miami), Teresita Fernández (New York), Nina Angela Mercer (New York), Emilio Martínez (Miami), Clara Morera (North Carolina), Glexis Novoa (Miami), Marielle Plaisir (Miami), Asser Saint-Val (Miami), Jean-Marcel Saint-Jacques (New Orleans), Vickie Pierre (Miami), Renée Stout (Washington, D.C.). The exhibition also incorporates—and the art engages—scholarly research on Aponte and his world by NYU Professor Ada Ferrer, author of the prize-winning book Freedom’s Mirror: Cuba and Haiti in the Age of Revolution, and art historian Linda Rodríguez, curator of the digital humanities website Digital Aponte.
Exposición. 17 dic de 2024 - 16 mar de 2025 / Museo Picasso Málaga / Málaga, España
Formación. 01 oct de 2024 - 04 abr de 2025 / PHotoEspaña / Madrid, España
