Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Lindsay and photographer Sandra Eleta created Taller Portobelo, an artists'
workshop for a community in the throes of hardship. It was art as salvation, and it
worked. Lindsay describes Congo as contemporary art with folk elements. Ex-
tremely expressive, with color and textures such as beads or broken mirror shards,
Congo paintings are often self-portraits. Paintedbastones(walking sticks) repres-
ent those used by slaves to escape to freedom in the mountains and ward off pur-
suing Spaniards and forest predators.
Congo art has evolved and matured since its initial period, and artists have found
the stability that is so hard to come by through commissions and gallery showings.
In annual exchanges with visiting US artists, the groups collaborate on earthworks,
sustainable architecture and biodegradable installations in addition to painting.
Lindsay describes Spelman's Summer Art Colony as a cultural bridge. 'It is not just
about work, but creating new friendships and a new network that will bring others
into the fold.'
Portobelo is the best place to buy paintings direct but you can also find Congo
art in Panama City at Karavan. Look for work by Yaneca Esquina, the movement's
best-known artist.
Photography
Panama has several gifted photographers, including Iraida Icaza, Stuart Warner and
Sandra Eleta. Icaza's abstract art is bold and innovative, made with photographic equip-
ment. After living in Tokyo for many years, she now resides in New York.
Warner, who has spent much of his life in Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the USA,
captures the human spirit in beautiful landscapes and portraits.
With a recent 40-year retrospective of stunning and thought- provoking work, Sandra
Eleta is among the most important photographers in Latin America. Her most lauded
work are portraits of the black inhabitants of Panama's Caribbean coast (particularly of
Portobelo, where she resides part of the year). She also founded the Panama City gallery
Karavan, featuring Kuna and Congo art.
Michel Perrin's
Magnificent Molas: The Art of the Kuna Indian
contains photographs of
300 fabric works of art. Perrin describes the vivid relationship between Kuna art and cul-
ture.
