On the afternoon of Tuesday 16 the Servando Museum in the Cuban capital was the place of choice for the presentation of the Art by Excelencias magazine’s two latest issues. We just wanted it to be an unconventional presentation in which a number of collaborating writers could air their views on this publication with nearly a couple of years under its belt. With this view in mind, we invited Norberto Codina, publisher of Gaceta de Cuba –a magazine dealing with art and literature put out by Cuba’s League of Writers and Artists- and Nelson Herrera Ysla, a Cuban art critic and curator. Both intellectuals have been involved in this project of ours from the word go. We also invited Dr. Yolanda Wood, who sent us a text with her comments on the contents of issues six and seven.
Codina referred –among other topics- to the role a publication on visual arts with these characteristics actually plays in the Cuban context –where it is published- and the way the magazine melts into that context marked by La Gaceta de Cuba, Artecubano, ArteSur, among others. He also stressed on the intense projection toward Hispanic America and the rest of the world. He recalled that two years ago the magazine project was already underway and he praised the Excelencias Group’s commitment to it as the Spain-based company left behind the uncertainties any new publishing project could trigger from both the cultural and economic perspectives.
Nelson Herrera, for his part, addressed the vital role played by the editor and the designer of any visual art magazine. He praised the job done by David Mateo at the helm of the editorial team for having pieced together seven issues with a delicate thematic balance. For Herrera, the magazine offers one-and-only possibilities to take a closer look at certain topics such as the publication of art books and catalogs in the region –usually far from the reach of a considerable chunk of readers. In the same breath, he extolled the job conducted by assistant editor Charo Guerra and designer Jorge Rodriguez (R10) in the project’s visual conception. The latter has sought to turn Art by Excelencias into an artistic product all by itself thanks to the thorough design of its cover and headlines, let alone an impeccable treatment of all images.
Yolanda Wood went directly into the contents of these two issues from quite a different perspective. On the one hand, a genre vision that lays bare –as in issue six- the role played by women in the realm of arts. Good cases in point are Soucy de Pellerano in a text penned by Marilyn Sampera on contemporary sculptures in the Dominican Republic, represented by Monica Ferreras, Belkis Ramirez and Raquel Paiewonsky. On the other hand, Dr. Wood made reference to the timely inclusion of essays and interviews related to collections and the art market, as well as the need to insist in those topics in coming issues.
As the second anniversary of Art by Excelencias draws near, we’ve read and heard encouraging remarks from our colleagues that strengthen our commitment to keeping up the good work. Our team is currently involved in the making of issue eight that’s due out a few weeks from now.
