Para el ojo que mira.

Video documentation of Manuel Mendive's 'Para el ojo que mira, ' an interdisciplinary performance held at the opening of Mendive's eponymous art exhibit at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Havana in August of 1987. An ambitious, syncretic, critically acclaimed show that included mixed media paintings, sculptures, masks, and performance, 'Para el ojo que mira' opened with an exuberant public body art performance created by Mendive, with the participation of musicians and dancers from the Conjunto Folklórico Nacional and the Danza Nacional de Cuba, along with the guest appearance of Lázaro Ross, one of the most important contemporary interpreters of Yoruba music in this Caribbean island. This video documentation was directed by Lourdes Prieto. Manuel Mendive Hoyo (www.mendive.cult.cu) is perhaps the single most important Cuban artist today. Mendive, a major exponent of contemporary 'Afro-cubanismo' in the visual arts, was born in 1944 into a Santería-practicing family. He graduated from the prestigious Academia de Artes Plásticas San Alejandro in Havana in 1962 with honors in sculpture and painting. He held his first one-man show at the Center of Art in Havana in 1964. Since then he has exhibited in some of the most important international venues. The Cuban booth at the XLII International Biennial Exhibition of Modern Art in Venice in 1988 was completely dedicated to his works. His work can be found in Museums and galleries in many countries including the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Havana, the Musee d'Art Moderne in Paris; as well as museums in Russia, Somalia, Congo, Norway, Denmark, Finland and the U.S and other countries. He is well-known not only for his painting and soft sculpture, but for his performance pieces in which he paints dancers' naked bodies and creates theatrical backdrops and environments. Representing an important strain of Cuban life, Mendive's multi-media work reflects his syncretic take on religion, philosophy, ethnography, art and dance. Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics