Friday, October 3, 1997
Fowler provides revolutionary display
ART: Exhibit offers insight into life, ideals of activist Che
Guevara
By Jammie Salagubang
Daily Bruin Contributor
Many people might associate the name Che Guevara with a singing,
dancing Antonio Banderas, who starred as Guevara opposite Madonna
in the movie "Evita." The real-life Guevara probably did not look
like or do any of those things, especially with Madonna, however
great her list of men may be.
Hollywood glam aside, to many other people, Ernesto "Che"
Guevara’s actual ideals and actions have made him an "icon, myth
and message," hence the theme of the Fowler Museum’s exhibition on
Guevara which opens Oct. 5.
Born in Argentina, Guevara later became a physician. After
traveling and witnessing first-hand the poverty of Latin America,
Guevara’s life took on a decidedly revolutionary role. He aided in
Fidel Castro’s Cuban revolution and later traveled to Bolivia
hoping to incite another one.
"Che was for peace, but he was also a revolutionary,"
says David Kunzle, a UCLA art history professor and a curator of
the exhibit. "Che believed one of the ways to achieve change was
through armed struggle."
"The message of the exhibit is possibly the message of Che
Guevara himself, which is about social justice; to raise our
consciousness between the quality of living between the rich and
the poor, to become critical of this arrangement which in some ways
has gotten worse," Kunzle continues.
The presentation includes some digital media, pictures and poems
about Guevara, but is largely made up of approximately 200 posters
which span the 30 years since Guevara’s death. Kunzle explains many
were produced for "jornadas," or gatherings of the people.
"(Posters are) a very democratic medium. They are relatively
inexpensive and can be mass produced so they get their message
across much more efficiently," comments Fowler Museum curator Dorin
Ross. "A lot of our world is promoted by posters, by billboards and
so on."
Much of Guevara’s recent surge in popularity could be attributed
to the media: the upcoming biographies, the name dropping in movies
and magazines and especially through the posters, Ross says.
The display encompasses a variety of viewpoints concerning
Guevara. Some portray him as a Cuban or Latin American hero, and
even as "Chesuchristo" (a word which plays on the traditional ‘Jesu
Cristo’).
Kunzle notes that posters from countries outside of Cuba tend to
view Guevara as peaceful. Some points of view are more literary,
others are more graphic, and still others are more about the means
the artists use to spread their message, Ross says.
"His persona has elicited extraordinary (response); there are
probably thousands of different portraits," Kunzle says, "all of
them distinct and more or less inspirational."
As a controversial political figure, Guevara was of course not
beloved by all people. However, the exhibit presents an overall
favorable view of him.
"Poster art was largely in the realm of artists who support him.
There are one or two negative images of Che in the exhibition, but
they are very difficult to find," Ross explains. "It’s not a medium
that Che’s detractors used to spread their message."
Guevara was later caught and killed in Bolivia. Kunzle says the
United States of America was directly involved in his death because
they trained and furnished weapons for the Bolivian army.
"I hope that through this exhibit the students of UCLA will
learn of Che’s example: his self-sacrifice and vision of a more
just world," Kunzle says.
The pictures taken of his death have been linked to his rise in
icon/myth status. In some of the pictures, Guevara’s likeness has
been compared to that of Jesus Christ after the crucifixion.
Instead of engendering the failure of revolution, the pictures
ennobled his cause and turned Guevara into a martyr and hero.
"Che envisioned a much more radical world, one more oriented
towards humans than money." Kunzle says. "He was a revolutionary of
an exemplary kind."
ART: "Che Guevara: Icon, Myth and Message" opens Oct. 5 at
Fowler Museum, with a curatorial walkthrough of the exhibit by
David Kunzle at 2 p.m. For more information call (310)
825-4361.