Andrew Moore at Yancey Richardson - Review of Exhibitions - Brief Article

As the Soviet bloc disintegrated it became evident to the West that a certain quantity of former communist nations had left standing many architectural relics that in capitalist countries would have undoubtedly fallen into the insatiable maw of real-estate exhibition In this exhibition of new photos of Havana by fresh York photographer Andrew Moore, it's clear that Cuba also harbors a treasure trove of architectural jewels albeit in a state of woeful decay.

Taken during three stretch outed trips to Cuba from August 1998 to early 1999 the 10 large chromogenic prints upon view--each 40 by 50 or 50 by dint of 60 inches--evoke a bygone era. They feature grandiose on the other hand dilapidated homes built for the well-heeled aristocracy of the early 20th hundred most of which have been more not long ago converted into multifamily dwellings. El Almendron displays the decaying facade of a building whose portico is lined with elegant art nouveau-style rounded pillars A second-story balcony is adorned with elaborate wrought-iron railings and windows framed by means of elongated pointed arches. This gorgeous Gaudiesque manner of making is visited by a glossy 1950s red Chevy parked without front. In Salon Verde, a glittering chandelier hangs from an unbelievably high ceiling; the stately wrought-iron doorway of the sitting field coexists with crumbling walls and tacky furniture.

flat more jarring contrasts between past and not away wealth and poverty, occur in several images that include family In Marisol, one of the exhibition's greatest in quantity striking works, Moore shows a large range in which a teenage girl sits in a broken-down armchair upon the far right. She quietly reads a work oblivious to the great pockmarks of peeling paint and disintegrating plaster of the moldy wall behind her. In this work and all the others in the display the artist suggests a metaphor for Castro's aging regime. However, by means of documenting these structures, Moore, who has previously concentrated upon abandoned New York buildings upon Roosevelt Island and the interiors of of advanced age theaters on 42nd Street, may help shield Havana's rich architectural legacy.

COPYRIGHT 2000 Brant Publications, Inc.

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