For Immediate Release
[Updated 08/22/11]
Media contact and image requests: Margi Caplan mcaplan@smith.edu
SCMA is First Museum to Acquire El Muro Photography Series
by Cuban Artist Eduardo Hernández Santos and Will Show It for the
First Time in United States beginning September 2, 2011
August 22, 2011, Northampton MA— Smith College Museum of Art (SCMA) is pleased to announce the
acquisition and exhibition of El Muro: Photographs by Eduardo Hernández Santos, Friday, September
2–Sunday, November 20, 2011. El Muro is comprised of ten large-scale black and white triptychs that
feature portraits by Mr. Santos, a Cuban-born contemporary artist, and text by Cuban writer Virgilio
Piñera (1912–1979).
SCMA is the first museum to acquire El Muro for its permanent collection and the first to make it
available for public viewing in the United States.
In 2005 Santos discovered that a block of the Malecón, the five-mile sea wall extending from Old to
Central Havana, had been claimed as a space where gay and transgender Cubans congregated on a
nightly basis. He engaged with and photographed his subjects over the next year, many of whom had no
other public social outlet to express their identities.
In the words of the artist, this project strives to represent “the inner essence of a people who struggle
to define and defend their right to be themselves, to have a space of their own.” The project references
fragments from the 1924 poem “La isla en peso (The Island Burden by Virgilio Piñera), and mirrors
Piñera’s passionate attacks on aspects of society he saw as repressive, violent, and insular. However, as
much as the piece is a critique of contemporary Cuban culture, it is also a tribute to the people of the
Malecón, who Santos describes as “armed with huge quotas of courage… defying the night, the city, and
their own fears.”
El Muro was purchased with the Dorius/Spofford Fund, established by Smith College in 2002 to support
programs dealing with issues of citizenship, censorship, creativity, and contemporary political and social
repression associated with sexual identity and expression.
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RELATED PROGRAMS (Free and open to all):
Smith College Museum of Art (SCMA) | Friday, September 9 4–8 PM
El Muro will be the focus of SCMA’s September 9th Free Second Friday program (open to all; no
reservations necessary). At 6 PM, Ann Musser, associate director for academic programs and public
education, will lead “Open Eyes,” an informal conversation about work in El Muro. Program details:
www.smith.edu/artmuseum
Hampshire College, Jerome Liebling Center | Tashmoo lecture series featuring
Eduardo Hernández Santos | Tuesday, September 20 4 PM | reception immediately following
PLUS:
Hampshire College | Liebling Center Mann Gallery | September 6 - October 6, 2011
Tipos y Costumbres de la isla de Cuba 2010, photographic collages from Strong 2005 and Palabras 2006–
2007, and new lithographs from 2011 by Eduardo Hernández Santos
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Considered one of the finest college art museums in the country, SCMA is known for its distinguished
collection of 23,000 objects from all periods and cultures. The Museum is located in the heart of
Northampton, Massachusetts, a thriving cultural and academic community. The permanent collection
includes Modern painting and sculpture, works on paper, Western European masterworks, antiquities,
decorative arts, and expanding collections of African, Asian, and Islamic art. Changing exhibitions reflect
the growing diversity of the collection. In addition, SCMA hosts free public programs for all ages,
including monthly Second Fridays (with hands-on art-making and gallery talks or lectures) and Family
Days. Popular amenities include acclaimed artist-designed rest rooms, a series of 11 unique, handcrafted gallery benches, the Museum Shop, and Riff’s Café.
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