A Publication of Lesley University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Table of Contents
“Given the political and economic issues attendant in the US/Cuban relationship, it is not surprising that all of the participants, while having the common purpose of learning, also brought along their own particular expectations and unique biases that would come to be challenged on the trip. As a result, each participant viewed the experience through a different lens, had different responses to the people, events and places, and came away with his own story to tell within the larger story of the Cuban experience .”
“As our bus rolls down the winding road to the College of St. John , students sense that they are in a different place. The wide-open sky, the parched brown earth, and the adobe homes sit in sharp contract to the New England surroundings we left a few hours ago. If we are lucky on our first evening, we will be rewarded with a brilliant lightshow (the thunder and lightening of the monsoon season) and a glorious sunset. Unlocking the mysteries of this 'land of enchantment' and its people will be our project for the next eight days.”
“… today's effort seems to be fueled by the current political situation, my sadness at the disaster in the U.S. , and my fears for all of us. The dyes were there, the paper stacked, and the brushes ready to use. Tonight or tomorrow I will come back to view the work, rip up some drawings, pin up others for contemplation. I have a fear that if we are evacuated soon I won't get a chance to show this work in the indigo show. There is strong anti-American sentiment since the terrorist attacks which may necessitate our leaving – and I want these marks to be included in Aranya's history and process. I have a suitcase packed with essentials. Everything else will have to be left behind.”
“As James Allen writes, the exchange of lynching postcards in the nineteenth and twentieth century reveal “the lust propelled by the commercial reproduction and distribution of the images,” which worked to “facilitate the endless replay of anguish.” “Even dead,” writes Allen, “the victims were without sanctuary.”
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