The Glasgow School of Art

Lunchtime Talk: Michael Tyler
Thursday 30 October, 1pm, Reid Building Ground Floor Corridor

Michael Tyler will provide insight into the method of building up his private collection of the posters created by the Organisation in Solidarity with the People of Africa, Asia and Latin America (OSPAAAL) of which 70 is being shown in Posters of the Cuban Revolution. 

To most people Cuba is famous for cigars, rum, salsa and baseball however, perhaps lesser known is the state sponsored poster art that flourished following the Cuban revolution as the country’s most talented artists and graphic designers embraced Fidel Castro’s enlightened declaration: “Our enemies are capitalists and imperialists, not abstract art.”

Bold, colourful and eclectic, OSPAAAL posters are widely considered the frontrunners in propaganda art revealing the idealistic spirit at the core of the Cuban revolution, intent on fighting globalisation, imperialism and defending human rights.  Politics aside, they are a testament to the creativity of the Cuban people, an important legacy that has put Cuba at the centre of cultural activity in the Hispanic world for a generation.

Posters of the Cuban Revolution will run until 31 October in the Reid Building Ground Floor Corridor.

Related event:

Friday event: 31 October 11am, Reid Auditorium, The Glasgow School of Art

Catherine Flood, curator at V&A, London (prints, posters and graphics) will discuss art, design and activism, through a focus on ‘Posters of the Cuban Revolution’ at GSA and the current V&A exhibition that she co-curated, ‘Disobedient Objects’.