My Last Day in Miami Part 3 -Fans Forever Day 15 of SMCSF 30 day blog challenge

Hola Hola Hola My Beautifuls! Today I am finishing the "My Last Day in Miami" series with the original intention of the viaje- the Fans Forever exhibit. Ever since my brother had mentioned it to me I knew I had to go, I mean, how perfectly Babushka verdad?

Housed in the famous Freedom Tower, the Miami Dade College Museum of Art and Design always has ongoing exhibits, performances and events.

The entrance to the museum itself is free and open from Tuesday to Saturday noon to 5 p.m.

Of course the price is right and BB would be making the trip for the love of art, pero this trip is specifically for the love of fans.

"The fan is not an accessory, but a perfect whole, a work of art in miniature and, as such, must be respected."

~Dulce Maria Loynaz Cuban poet and writer

Naturally I was enchanted by the fans and BB, being BB, had to find out more and express her appreciation. Babushka had the good fortune of speaking with Mr.Jeremy M. Mikolajczak, Executive Director & Chief Curator of the MDC Museum & Galleries of Art + Design who graciously gave me a more in depth history of the exhibit and a copy of the official book. (Swag!!) From this publication- which is a work of art in itself- is where BB found the names of the artists and the titles of the fans. However, again, BB being BB, had further questions on the decision of artists contributing in the exhibit, if there were any restrictions given to the artists and how long they had to complete their submission. Here I was put in contact with Mr. Gustavo Orta, the curator of Fans Forever who via email went into specifics. Following is the Google translation of Mr. Ortas' reply:

Bohemiam Babushka:

The project Fans Forever, recalls an exhibition held in Havana in July 1943, where distinguished Cuban artists painted fans to sell in benefit of the Church of Santa Maria del Rosario that needed restoration.

For this new exhibition of Fans Forever it was necessary, if possible, to get fans painted by artists who participated in that exhibition of 1943, as Wifredo Lam, Cundo Bermúdez, René Portocarrero, which we got.

Also spoke with relatives of deceased Cuban artists for us to facilitate their works on loan, as is the case for the fans of Cuban artist Mariano Rodriguez.

Then the next step was to get fans of later generations of artists, up to contemporary artists. What also could get (with living artists) in Cuba and in exile, to whom we sent fans unpainted, and explaining the project, encouraging them to participate in this exhibition.

Cuban artists began thinking of which fans we already had in our collection, works of art, and whose work we already knew, and then went to private collectors including other friends.

We thought initially that would entail a total of 30, and was then increased to 50 fans.

We would have liked to include many more, which also could have been on display, but we deliver the catalog which had 116 pages, and the space facilitated by MDC's Freedom Tower didn't have the room for more .

There were no restrictions except those mentioned above (and catalog space already reached 116 pages).

The time it took to perform the show (since it was conceived) until the day of the opening was 2 years and 2 months.

If any additional information is necessary you can contact me by this route.

Thank you for your interest and attention.

Sincerely,

Gustavo Orta

Curator. -

Woah.

How generous were both gentlemen with their time and how great was that answer? Almost as great as the fans and the art themselves.

Queee? It took over two years for the opening of Fans Forever, and you think BB will show you her favorites in one post?

JU SO FONII!!!

Ok si, esta bien. Here's the signature piece of the exhibit.