In/dependence: An Incomplete Survey of Cuban Design

Cuban graphic design is complex; its breadth and depth links to politics, geography, nationalism, inventiveness, economics, and much more. This complexity, in addition to 60+ years of a communist dictatorship that continues to trigger a Cuban diaspora expanding the globe, makes it difficult to accurately and comprehensively pin what encompasses Cuban graphic design. This lecture, an incomplete survey of Cuban design from the 1900s through today, focuses less on the aesthetics and innovative aspects of Cuban design, and more on design as a tool of oppression, resistance, and liberation.