Art, Landscape and Tourism

Arts & Entertainment, barbados, Infinite Island, Natalie McGuire, Updates By Natalie McGuire on
October 8, !"" ""#$! am
%&rou'&out &istory, it (ould seem t&at art &as some(&at been affected by s&ifts in
community and en)ironment* %a+e t&e Modernists, for e,ample# -ubism, .urrealism and
/rimiti)ism all ar'uably sprun' from t&e a'itation of t&eir European social en)ironment0
t&e landscape &ad been rapidly mo)in' from a'riculture to o)erpopulated, mec&ani1ed
urban cities for t&e past century* Add (ar to t&at mi, and its a no (onder early !t&
-entury artists portrayed 2a''ed an'les, distorted dreams, and fara(ay e,otic life*
Ale,andre Arrec&ea 3b* -uba"45!6* Elementos ar7uitect8nicos I 3Arc&itectural
Elements 6, !!9*
.o, in a re'ion (&ere t&e smallest s&ift from )e'etation to urbani1ation )isibly pro2ects
an impact on t&e landscape, &a)e -aribbean artists in turn s&ifted t&eir sub2ect focus and
style of creatin' from t&e tourist popular palm treed beac& scenes to a more 'ritty and
po)erty inspired depiction of life: And is t&is e)en an artists; response to t&e landscape at
all, or is it more a reflection on (&at <s&ould; be -aribbean Icono'rap&y:
It is important to reco'ni1e t&at t&e =isual Arts of eac& Island &ad different e,periences
of c&an'e after t&eir indi)idual independences from t&e respecti)e European nations,
especially in terms of institutional support* >o(e)er, t&e pattern of landscape c&an'e is
similar# /lantation lifestyle (as 'radually replaced (it& industrialism and tourism* %&e
coasts became more built up t&an t&e middles of t&e islands, and to pull in t&e tourists,
t&e <pictures7ue; (as t&at of e,pansi)e beac&es, palm trees, and ot&er ima'ery related to
an ideali1ed tropical settin'* %&is is seen in )ast e,amples of commercial art (&ic& still
comprises a ma2ority of t&e -aribbean art scene today, suc& as t&e famous ?ill @al+er
paintin's and prints in Barbados* %raditional styles of paintin', especially Impressionism,
became popular for artists in t&e -aribbean to depict t&eir landscape, and t&e response
from local and o)erseas )ie(ers encoura'ed t&is trend*
-ontemporary artists, t&ou'&, &a)e seemed to mo)ed a(ay from t&e idealistic and &ead
for t&e realistic* %a+e an e,&ibition (&ic& too+ place in t&e Broo+lyn Museum !!5A
!!8, entitled Infinite Island# -ontemporary -aribbean Art* A ma2ority of t&e (or+s
selected portrayed a 'ritty, po)ertyAstric+en perception of t&e islands nati)e to t&e artists*
Bor e,ample, -uban Ale,andre Arrec&ea;s Arc&itecturual Elements series# s&irtless men
a'ainst a bac+drop of decayin' arc&itecture, &oldin' piles of bric+s so &i'& only t&eir
arms and lo(er &alf are )isible, so t&at t&e body, bric+s and buildin' mold to become one
feature of a derelict landscape, of faceless po)erty* Anot&er e,ample is ?amaican .torm
.aulter, (&o t&rou'& &is )ideo art fa)ours t&e 'rit of urban -aribbean life o)er its idyllic
beauty* %&is trend &as seeped do(n to t&e ne,t 'eneration of -ontemporary -aribbean
artists as (ell, suc& as Ebony G* /atterson;s !"! (or+ Entoura'e, (&ic& depicts &u'e
e,tended families in t&e form of 'an's, and e,plores issues of po)erty and crisis of
identity in contemporary ?amaica*
On t&e surface t&en it (ould appear t&at t&ere &as been some sort of 'radual s&ift of t&e
types of <landscapes; depicted by re'ional artists, and it seems to be in correlation (it&
t&e rapid urbani1ation of t&e islands* But is it a true perception of (&at t&ese artists
)isuali1eC* or is t&e ideal -aribbean <pictures7ue; for tourists 2ust simply s&ifted from
idyllic beac&es to derelict buildin's:
I say t&is based on t(o main points* Birst of all, e)en in some of t&e popular -aribbean
ima'es, elements of po)erty (ere included and seen as part of t&e <7uaint tropical scene;,
suc& as t&is "4D!s postcard from ?amaica, depictin' local ?amaicans in t&e form of a
(oman carryin' a bas+et on &er &ead, and a man (restlin' (it& a don+ey* E)en t&ou'&
t&ere (ere distin'uis&ed local fi'ures on t&e island, t&ese (ere t&e c&aracters t&at (ere
t&ou'&t to portray a more <-aribbean; ima'e* .o for contemporary artists to also be usin'
ima'ery of stru''le and ab2ection, is it t&e same conte,t: Or is society in suc& a (ay t&at
it is ine)itable destitution plays a crucial role in artists creati)e processes:
%&e second point is t&at (it& t&e Infinite Island e,&ibition, it (as not e,ecuted in a
'allery in t&e -aribbean, but an international 'allery, (&ic& (&ile is a 'reat reco'nition
for a collecti)e -aribbean art, by lettin' international institutions be t&e first to present
contemporary art in t&e re'ion, it opens ris+s of t&em pro2ectin' t&eir perspecti)e of (&at
contemporary -aribbean art is, or (&at it s&ould be* And in t&at (ay, it could become no
different t&an (&en international ad)ertisin' companies pic+ed out suitable -aribbean
ima'ery for tourism*
.o, &as t&e landscape affected our contemporary artists, and is t&at pattern a dan'er for
tryin' to brea+ -aribbean art out of t&e tourism mold: