Imprisonment of Cuban ‘art-ivist’ sparks charges of censorship

(Reuters) - Dozens of renowned Cuban artists from across the political spectrum are calling for the release of dissident artist and activist Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara who was arrested 10 days ago, decrying this as an outdated act of censorship.

The 32-year-old, known for his provocative performances criticizing communist authorities, has been put in “preventive prison” awaiting trial on charges of insulting national symbols and damaging property, according to his partner and art curator Claudia Genlui.

The insult charge, which carries a one-year prison sentence, came after the selfdescribed “art-ivist” draped himself in the Cuban flag for a month last year, including in the bathroom, documenting his performance with photos and videos.

Genlui said she did not know what property he was being accused of damaging but that was a more serious offense carrying a sentence of two to five years. His supporters have called this a trumpedup charge to portray him as a common criminal rather than a victim of censorship.

The Cuban government, which usually does not comment on police activity like the detention of dissidents, did not respond to a request for comment. But one pro-government blogger published a post on the “new hero of the counterrevolution,” accusing him of being a U.S.backed mercenary.

Otero Alcantara has been detained dozens of times at police stations over the past few years but never for more than 72 hours, and he had never been thrown in

HAVANA

Organizer of the “00Biennial” Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara speaks during an interview at his home in Havana, Cuba, May 2, 2018. Picture taken May 2, 2018. (REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini/File Photo)

jail, Genlui said.

While more than 3,000 people including prominent Cuban intellectuals, artists and opposition activists have signed an online petition calling for his release, dozens of public figures have gone on social media to criticize what they call authorities’ heavy handed actions.

These include even some staunch defenders of Cuba’s 1959 revolution such as folk singer Silvio Rodriguez and painter-sculptor Alexis Leiva “Kcho,” who was friendly with late revolutionary leader Fidel Castro.

“We are giving a very sad impression of backwardness, of the Middle Ages,” Rodriguez wrote on his blog. “How, in the middle of the 21st century, are we going to put ideological brakes on young artists?”

“Let’s stop this now! We do not need it and the future of Cuba is freedom, not censorship,” wrote Leiva on Facebook.

LONDON (Reuters) - A series of six paintings by the Venetian master Titian, commissioned by King Philip II of Spain and inspired by the works of the Roman poet Ovid, have been reunited for the first time in four centuries in an exhibition at London’s National Gallery.

The large-scale paintings, created between 1551 and 1562, represent scenes from classical mythology drawn mostly from Ovid’s “Metamorphoses”, and explore themes of passion, temptation and punishment.

“They’re touchstone paintings in the development of European painting,” said Matthias Wivel, curator of the exhibition, during a preview on Thursday. “They were incredibly famous in their day and indeed inspired artists for generations.”

The show, “Titian: Love Desire Death”, is scheduled to open to the public on March 16 and last until June 14.

Unlike other countries affected by the global coronavirus pandemic, Britain has not yet taken measures such as shutting down museums and galleries. Wivel said he did not know what would happen to the Titian show if such measures were taken.

“I guess we’ll see. It’s so unpredictable, it’s hard to pronounce upon it,” he said. “Obviously it’s a shadow over everything.”

The six paintings, which Titian called his “poesie”, or poems, are considered landmarks in European art for their highly expressive rendering of emotions.

The National Gallery described the works as a turning point in Titian’s career. Unusually for a patron of that era, Philip had given him freedom to select his own subjects, allowing him to develop complex narratives and explore ambiguous feelings.

All six paintings were delivered to the king but later scattered across Europe by various twists of history.

One of them, “Danae”, remained in Madrid until it was seized by Joseph Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon, after French forces invaded Spain. It was later taken by the British military commander Wellington when he defeated Joseph’s army at the Battle of Vitoria in 1813, eventually finding its way to London.

Nowadays, four of the paintings belong to various British galleries, one to the Prado in Madrid, and one to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston.

Visitors look at Titian’s ‘The Rape of Europa’ painting at a media preview of Titian: Love Desire Death exhibition at the National Gallery in London, Britain March 12, 2020. (REUTERS/Simon Dawson)

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