1. The Art of José Toirac and Meira Marrero (Cuba)
Image 1:
Untitled from Alma Pater Series (2011), José Martí with his son José Francisco Martí:
Image 2:
Ave Maria, 2010:
Image 3:
From Tiempos Nuevos (New Times) series(1996), Opium (1996), Courtesy of the Artists

2. Theme: History Historical Research
Subjectivity in Historical Interpretations
Multiple Perspectives in Historical Interpretations
Toirac and Marrero’s work often relates in some way to History.
Historical Research
Subjectivity in Historical Interpretations
Multiple Perspectives in Historical Interpretations
Untitled, 2011 from the Alma Pater series
Fidel Castro with his son of the same name, known as Fidelito

3. Untitled works from the Alma Pater series (2011)
Much of Toirac and Marrero’s work involves extensive historical research. This is evident in works such as those in the Alma Pater Series (2011). The term “alma pater” is a play on “alma mater” (“nourishing mother,” usually used to indicate a school where one received a degree). In this study on masculinity, Toirac paints a number of notable Cuban male figures with their children. The soft, hazy quality of the paintings evoke the concept of memory (and history) and how it is often fuzzy and subject to interpretation. The visual qualities of these paintings are also reminiscent of old newspaper clippings, slowly fading away, yet etched in one’s subconscious. The softness of the paintings also draw attention to a softer, more vulnerable, human side to men who were known publicly as hardened, political figures.
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José Martí with his son José Francisco Martí
Fidel Castro with his son of the same name, known as Fidelito
Juan Miguel González with his son Elián González

4. Art Historical Reference: Mary Cassatt
Although the Alma Pater series is situated in the Cuban political context, the work is visually reminiscent of the mother and child paintings from American Impressionist artist, Mary Cassatt in the use of soft brush strokes and casual parent and child domestic scenes.
Image 1:
Young Mother Sewing, Mary Cassatt,1900:
Image 2:
Breakfast in Bed, Mary Cassatt, 1897:

5. Cuba (2006)
Cuba (2006) consists of paintings of Cuba’s presidents from the first president after Spanish Independence Carlos Manuel de Céspedes del Castillo to Raul Castro. The last image includes a single nail, causing the viewer to question who will govern in Cuba’s future. This series was considered controversial by the Cuban government and censored when it was presented in Cuba. This work is one of many that considers the complexities of the concept of History.
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6. Theme: Representations of Iconic Figures
The work of Toirac and Marrero often utilize iconic figures (religious or political) in their work in innovative ways in order to make commentary on the socio-political conditions within Cuba.
The work of Toirac and Marrero often utilize iconic figures (religious or political) in their work in innovative ways in order to make commentary on the socio-political conditions within Cuba.
Image:
From Tiempos Nuevos (New Times) series(1996), Opium (1996), Courtesy of the Artists

7. Tiempos Nuevos series (1996)
In these two works from the series Tiempos Nuevos (New Times) (1996), Toirac appropriates iconography from perfume advertisements and juxtaposes them with imagery of Fidel Castro. In the Obsession (1996) image, Castro is depicted smiling at an American newspaper headline depicting a plot to kill him. This work reflects the strained relationship between the United States and Cuba. In the Opium (1996) image, Castro is depicted holding hands and gazing intently at Pope John Paul II. This work reflects the complexities of religious practices in a communist society and references Karl Marx who said “Religion is the opium of the masses.”
Toirac plays with the idea of advertising; pervasive in the developed world, commercial advertising is banned in Cuba but the State propaganda machine is equally present in the daily life of the Island.
Images: Courtesy of the Artist
Opium, 1996
Obsession, 1996
Tiempos Nuevos series (1996)

8. Art Historical Reference: Appropriation of Advertising: Barbara Kruger
Many artists appropriate (borrow and reimagine in a new way) images and concepts from advertising. The work of Barbara Kruger provides an example of such appropriation. Kruger utilizes appropriated imagery with bold red, white, and black text in her work, much of which has a feminist perspective.
Image 1:
Untitled (We don’t need another hero), Barbara Kruger, 1987:
Image 2:
Untitled (I shop therefore I am), Barbara Kruger, 1987:

9. Ave Maria (2010)
Ave Maria (2010) is a sculptural installation that shows a variety of depictions of the Virgin of Charity of El Cobre or Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre, the patron saint to Cuba. Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre is based upon a statue (that supposedly originally appeared with the real hair and skin of a mixed-race woman) of the Virgin Mary. It was discovered by men in a small boat—the “three Juans,” two Spanish brothers and their African slave-- while in the midst of a storm at sea and deemed miraculous. The statue is now housed in the National Shrine Basilica of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre in the town of El Cobre in Cuba. In this work (Ave Maria, 2010), Toirac and Marrero have developed an installation that depicts various incarnations of the Virgin Mary based upon Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre. This work is an example of how one iconic figure can be depicted in many different ways and how these variations reflect issues of race, class, religion, and culture.
This work reflects the multiplicity of religious and cultural influences evident within Cuba (with particular focus on the syncretic religion of Santería). As African slaves were brought to Cuba, they were forced to convert to Catholicism. Santería is a religious practice developed by African slaves in the Americas that combined Yoruban religious practices (Yoruba is an ethnic group from Nigeria in West Africa) with Catholicism. Thus, as a means of resistance to this forced conversion as well as a means of maintaining traditional practices, many slaves appropriated Catholic iconography and embedded it with dual meaning. In this way, the figures represented both Catholic icons as well as the deities from their original belief systems. While these practices occurred during slavery, they have relevance for contemporary life as Cuban society continues to grapple with the complexities of social inequities based upon race, class, religion, gender, etc.
At the base of the sculpture, there is a quote from José Martí (in English on one side and in Spanish on the other side): “Either the republic is based upon the full character of each and every one of its sons and daughters…or the republic is not worth a teardrop from our women or a single drop of blood shed by our brave fighters.”
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10. Art Historical Reference: Virgin Mary in Art
The Virgin Mary has been depicted in a wide range of ways throughout history, dependent upon the culture in which the image was created and disseminated.
Image 1:
The Granduca Madonna, Raphael, Italy, 1504:
Image 2:
Altar of the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mexico,
Image 3:
Midnight Madonnas, Betye Saar, United States, 1996:

11. Ave Maria, 2010 Podcast on Ave Maria by Toirac and Marrero Podcast:
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Podcast on Ave Maria by Toirac and Marrero