In this video, you will learn about the artist Amelia Pelaez and the beginning of her artistic education. To help you navigate her work, we recommend you answer the following questions as you watch the video:
What are the three categories that, in my perspective, have dominated the discourse around Amelia's work? What do you think they do to help build her narrative?
What was the importance of the San Alejandro Academy in her process?
How was the Academy framed for the Modern Cuban Painters exhibition in New York in 1944?
How do you think her relationship with Lydia Cabrera affected her work?
How did she start to challenge the academic language in her work?
What was the importance of the study of the line in her work?
Why do you think she opted to leave the mouths of her female characters invisible?
What did she learn from Alexandra Exter?
How did she start to define what art was about for her?
How did the tradition of Still Life in European art history affect her work?