Cuban School (Community 5th of October) 2010

Two large-scale digital projections presented in an abandoned supermarket are meticulous slow-moving ‘virtual portraits' of schools constructed in the 1960's Cuban countryside.
The original schools were part of an ambitious education programme by the Cuban government to mix work and study. The disappointing results of the programme and the lack of resources are reflected in the decaying conditions of the buildings. The structures were not abandoned however and Gerrard has referred to them as ‘functioning ruins'.

As a group made up of members of staff and students struggled to keep them going against all odds. The schools have however effectively been closed since the making of the work. Gerrard's attention was initially drawn to the strangeness of their architecture in the landscape and their dilapidated appearance. The Cuban School pair is part of a series of works that have focused on architectural and industrial structures. Both works are infinite in duration and powerfully mark the melancholic demise of a political vision.

Producer: Werner Poetzelberger
Programmers: Helmut Bressler, Matthias Strohmaier
Modeller: Daniel Fellsner
Presentation design: Jakob Illera / Inseq Design

Presented at Galway Arts Festival: 14th – 28th July 2013

Exhibitions

Cuban School at Galway Arts Festival, Ireland, 2013

14th - 28th July 2013

Two large-scale digital projections presented in an abandoned supermarket are meticulous slow-moving ‘virtual portraits' of schools constructed in the 1960's Cuban countryside. The original schools were part of an ambitious education programme by the Cuban government to mix work and study. The disappointing results of the programme and the lack of resources are reflected in the decaying conditions of the buildings. The structures were not abandoned however and Gerrard has referred to them as ‘functioning ruins'. As a group made up of members of staff and students struggled to keep them going against all odds. The schools have however effectively been closed since the making of the work. Gerrard's attention was initially drawn to the strangeness of their architecture in the landscape and their dilapidated appearance. The Cuban School pair is part of a series of works that have focused on architectural and industrial structures. Both works are infinite in duration and powerfully mark the melancholic demise of a political vision. This is his first major Irish exhibition since 2007

http://www.galwayartsfestival.com

Install photography : Colm Hogan

Cuban School at mima, Middlesbourgh / AV Festival, UK, 2012

1 March – 1 July, 2012
solo show curated by AV Festival

The first UK showing of two recent works by Gerrard consolidates his reputation as one of the most innovative artists working today.
Cuban School (Community 5th of October) 2010 and Cuban School (Sancti Spiritu) 2011 are meticulous slow-moving virtual portraits of schools constructed in the 1960’s Cuban countryside that are now decaying functional ruins. Both works are infinite in duration based on a continuous real-time 365-day solar cycle, and powerfully mark the melancholic demise of a political vision.
Curated by AV Festival in partnership with mima.
UK Premiere.

www.visitmima.com
www.avfestival.co.uk

Cuban School at Simon Preston Gallery, 2010

4 November – 19 December 2010
Solo exhibition

Simon Preston is pleased to present John Gerrard's second solo exhibition at the gallery. The exhibition will comprise of a major new work, shown as a large-scale double-projection, titled Cuban School (Community 5th of October) 2010. The show will open to the public on Thursday, 4 November and run until Sunday, 19 December 2010.
Cuban School (Community 5th of October) 2010 is a portrait of an existing building, situated in the countryside outside Havana. Constructed in the 1960's to a modular Eastern Bloc design, the school is, though actively used and home to 75 school children, essentially a 'functional ruin', disinheriting its formal integrity through entropy and decay.
...
www.simonprestongallery.com

AO& / John Gerrard 'Cuban School' at Simon Preston Gallery, 2010

11/03/2010 - 11/14/2010
AO& Fall Residency

AO& hold their first New York City in tandem with John Gerrard / Cuban School at Simon Preston Gallery. 

Over a ten day process AO& will undertake several spatial interventions in a derelict storefront next to Simon Preston Gallery. 
A succession of rooms will provide shelter, comfort and confidentiality for an informal dialogue. 
AO& will guard the spatial integrity of these sites for 24 hours each day and provide their widely renowned AO& cuisine, ranging from daily aliments to multi-course dinners limited to 20 participants each. 

AO& will bring salt from Altausee and the much acclaimed Moric wine. All other ingredients will be of disclosed origin and gathered from suppliers in and around New York City.   
phf@aound.net for information and booking. 
AO&

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Sited upon an illuminated table of the dimensions of the Cuban School projected next door in Preston, AO& created a 'reverse ruin' and site of discourse in dialogue with the installation Cuban School (Community 5th of October)

Research

Response

Selected Press

Gopnik, Blake: "New York art galleries focus on politically oriented collections", The Washington Post, 18 November 2010

Sutton, Benjamin: "New Portraits of Old Art", Planet magazine

2013 · CUBAN SCHOOL / GALWAY ARTS FESTIVAL, IRELAND
Photo: Colm Hogan
2013 · CUBAN SCHOOL / GALWAY ARTS FESTIVAL, IRELAND
Photo: Colm Hogan
2012 · CUBAN SCHOOL / MIMA, MIDDLESBOURGH / AV FESTIVAL, UK
Courtesy A/V Festival
2010 · CUBAN SCHOOL / SIMON PRESTON GALLERY
2010 · CUBAN SCHOOL / SIMON PRESTON GALLERY
2010 · AO& / JOHN GERRARD 'CUBAN SCHOOL' / SIMON PRESTON GALLERY
2010 · AO& / JOHN GERRARD 'CUBAN SCHOOL' / SIMON PRESTON GALLERY
2010 · AO& / JOHN GERRARD 'CUBAN SCHOOL' / SIMON PRESTON GALLERY
2010 · AO& / JOHN GERRARD 'CUBAN SCHOOL' / SIMON PRESTON GALLERY
Working Drawing for Cuban School (Community 5th of October) 2010 giglee print on hahnemuehle photorag Edition of 15 + 5AP
photograph by the artist

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