Carlos Martiel: The Shadow of the Color Line Residency at Lux Art Institute

 by Patricia Frischer

A naked man is sealed in a concrete box and a man and a women spend some time chipping away to make a hole so the man can slither out.

A naked man stands on some small raised protrusions with his legs shaking with the effort of balancing.

A naked man takes the place of one of the four legs of a table serving a large buffet of food.

Carlos Martiel is this naked black man and a Cuban performance artist who resides both in Havana and New York but is currently the resident artist at Lux Art Institute.  He puts himself in danger, not just briefly but over a period of time.

This is  very obviously a metaphor for the treatment of African American, but that does not make the immediacy of the experience he presents us any less potent. There is violence, abuse and alienation, born with a stoic almost impersonal demeanor. There is visible pride but with innocence that exudes a mystery.

You can see three of his performance art works which were linked on utube and find out more about him on his Carlos Martiel  Lux Art Institute page.

Carlos Martiel at Lux Art Institute
IN STUDIO: Sat, Nov 21, - Sat. Dec 19, 2020 through
ON EXHIBIT: Sat. Nov 21 – Sat. Jan 16, 2921