VISionary Aponte

Visionary Aponte: Art and Black Freedom takes as its point of departure an extraordinary — and now lost — historical artifact: a so-called “Book of Paintings.” Its creator was José Antonio Aponte, a free black carpenter, artist, and former soldier who was also the leader of an ambitious antislavery conspiracy in Cuba in 1812. During his trial, Aponte was forced to provide testimony describing each of the pictures in his book. They portrayed a wide array of subject matter, from Biblical scenes to landscapes to episodes in the history of Africa, Europe, and the Americas. Using those descriptions, fourteen contemporary artists have reimagined Aponte’s book for our present, inviting us to think about the role of art and history in making social change.

Curated by: Édouard Duval-Carrié and Ada Ferrer, with Laurent Dubois, Tosha Grantham, and Linda Rodríguez