QUESTION CLAIRE BILDERBACK

Juan Francisco Elso’s Essay on America was a quintessential work for the Process of Rectification in Cuba, though Gean Moreno acknowledges Elso’s work as more than “merely a repository of symptoms that index a historical moment.”1 But how would Elso’s work live on without that acknowledgement? The tethering of Elso’s work to the period of political unrest is not unwarranted, but it does point to a potential loss of control by an artist over the meaning of their work. Moreno points out earlier in the text, “...there seems to be a very narrow channel in which to maneuver when interpreting Elso’s work.”2 What sovereignty does an artist hold over the interpretation of their own work, especially during times of political unrest?

Endnotes

1 Gean Moreno, “One is Already Two, and Two are Many”. (2022), 21. Manuscript in preparation.

2 Gean Moreno, “One is Already Two, and Two are Many”. (2022), 18. Manuscript in preparation.