Cuba: Picturing Change

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With inful essays--in English and Spanish--from Louis A. Pérez Jr., America's preeminent Cuba scholar, and Ambrosio Fornet, renowned Cuban author and screenwriter, Cuba: Picturing Change introduces the work of photographer E. Wright Ledbetter, whose images create a captivating portrait of the remarkable Cuban culture as it faces the complex forces of change. Made from visits to Cuba over a four-year period (1997-2001), Ledbetter's photographs take us on a compelling journey within a culture pressured by numerous internal and external difficulties, where the resulting climate is saturated with the tension and uncertainty brought on by a political and economic future that continues to evolve with no clear direction. Graphically alluring and rich in metaphor, Ledbetter's photographs focus on the overwhelming power and spirit of the Cuban people. They also explore what he believes is an imminent Cuban culture shift and inevitable redefinition of Cuban identity. As Ledbetter's visual narrative unfolds, however, the photographs begin to reveal a greater depth and mystery, framed by the honest eye of a humanist and the compassion and perspective of an artist. Cuba is a setting in which the questions surrounding its future become the questions all cultures face as social systems--political, economic, and otherwise--help shape human experience. The photographs and essays of Cuba: Picturing Change emerge as a beautiful, balanced, and inclusive body of work. They capture one view of Cuba on the cusp of centuries, and at the same time explore the timeless art of human perseverance and the powerful current of the ever-changing human story.