Steven dosRemedios

Cuba

Havana Housing

Cuba is in a complicated situation. On one hand, the people are warm and inviting even after long suffering from a stifling embargo; on the other hand, the government remains brutally repressive while claiming relaxed freedom of expression.

My recent visit there was rewarding because the people are educated and happy in their situation. As an outsider, my anger percolated from within for the deplorable living conditions of the masses.

Government jobs are unrewarding and generally tedious for most. Good work goes unrewarded and poor work seems to be tolerated. Since there are very few places to buy things, if they can be afforded, the best jobs offer access to pilfering, which is tolerated to a degree - just don't embarrass or humiliate your boss.

Ration Store

Every person is assigned to a specific ration store where they can buy, theoretically, food and basic necessities. But even here a kilo of sugar is 900 grams so that the store proprietor can make something on top of government pay.

Basket Factory

My visit to a state-run basket factory in Cienfuegos exemplifies a big part of the labor problem in Cuba. Workers here are paid a salary of about $20US/month for coming to work and producing a set amount of product. Making more product than required does not increase their wages, but may increase their future quota. When they make their quota, they just stop working and relax; they can't go home because they have government monitor to ensure the required hours spent there are met.

Potter

There are private businesses in Cuba, although they are strictly limited in size by the government and no outside investment is permitted. This ceramic factory is a family owned business which employs a number of local laborers and has attained a relatively high degree of success. They sell product to tourists, the more they produce the more profit they enjoy. It is a very entrepreneurial environment, but there are not many of these types of businesses - mostly arts, crafts, and tourist activities.

Dance Students

One thing the government has done right is universal education. Everyone is exposed to music, dance and art at an early age, and those whom show promise are given the opportunity to nurture their talents. As a result, the Cuban cultural environment is rich with performing and graphic arts.

Casa Fuster

José Rodríguez Fuster is a successful mosaic artist whose work invokes Antoni Gaudí and Pablo Picasso. He has applied his work to many of his neighbor's homes and has built a fantastical mosaic park on his property.

Malpaso Dancers

Malpaso Dance company is a group devoted to expressing and advancing Cuban contemporary dance. Drawing dancers from the national Danza Contemporanea de Cuba and up-and-coming students. They are faced with the situation of having a lot of talent but a lack of funds for performances and travel. You could describe them as a hidden gem, although they have performed in New York, Pittsburgh and Miami.

Painted Canyon

Almost every November finds me in the desert, wandering along ancient trails among ocotillos to remote oases. There is much to see while experiencing the warm enervation of hiking. I'm always searching the distant cliffs and washes for bighorn sheep or Cooper's hawks or Wiley Coyote; but I'm seemingly alone.

One of my favorite places is Painted Canyon, near Mecca, California. It is a popular place for its beautiful slot canyons, washes, and broad vistas - you will find someone there any day of the week. You begin walking up a wash with rock wave walls in red and brown, then ascend a series of ladders through tight slot canyons, ultimately arriving on canyon shoulders overlooking the Salton Sea. Return from the top of the wash back through their serpentine route to the start.

You can see some photographs from Painted Canyon here.

Back to Basics

As a child my experience with photography was entirely viewed in shades of gray. Now as I consider my body of work I realize the use of color has changed the way I pre-visualize my work. Recently, in an effort to recapture the more basic and direct view of my photographic vision, I'm shooting more black and white. As a result, I'm much happier with my new images. You can view a selection here.

Day of the Dead

In 2013 I visited my sister in Oaxaca during the season of Dia de Muertos. It was an interesting and moving experience, unlike anything I had encountered before. I brought with me some mementos of departed relatives and pets to add to the ofrenda my sister built at her house. I was able to see the festivities take place over three days and nights, and I was able to participate in a very real and emotional way with my own family.

Now I have a new outlook on the occasion of October 31st through November 2nd and fondly celebrate those in my life and those who are gone from it.

You can view my Oaxaca images here, and you can view my recent Mission District images here.

Our Recollections

All photographs are memories. Many have an intimate relationship with their authors and some are mere products of work. An image which is very dear to me may be mundane to others, because I have my own emotional recollection of the moment. My goal is to create images which stimulate what I call motivated recollection in viewers. It evokes feelings reminiscent to their own history.

I draw on concepts from the art of painting to construct my final images. Beginning with an idealized photograph of contemporary scenes captured with the widest possible luminance range, I isolate portions for treatment for hyper-realism accentuating textures. I highlight an emotional anchor with lighting masks; this is the image element I use to make a connection to the viewers recollection. Other portions of the image are de-emphasized and overlays of color and texture are applied, finishing the image.

Final images contain clues to the viewer that we're looking at another time and to match their own memories with what they see. When successful, a personal connection to my work is created. Recollection fills-in the details which only memory can vividly provide.

This is not a portrayal of a moment in time with respect to light and color; it's begins there but retreats into texture and then into an idealized chronicle style (motivated recollection).