Culver City,
California
x
Comandante en Jefe ¡Ordene!
Date Made: 1961
Country: Cuba
Materials: paper
Measurements: 31 in x 20 1/2 in; 78.74 cm x 52.07 cm
A poster depicting Cuban revolutionary leader, Fidel Castro, created by the Department of Revolutionary Orientation (Departamento De Orientación Revolucionaria). Castro stands in uniform with a rifle on his back amongst a rolling, green landscape, likely the Sierra Maestra mountain range where Castro and his 26 of July militants hid while fighting against Fulgencio Batista’s regime. The poster reads: “Comandante en Jefe !Ordene!” acknowledging Castro as commander-in-chief, not only of Cuba, but the 26 of July movement that resulted in its successful liberation from Batista and the influence of the United States. The poster’s aesthetic quality is reflective of the newly independent nation’s journey towards defining its own design language. In the early years after the 1959 revolution, Cuba experimented with employing a socialist realist style, not dissimilar to that of the Soviet Union, in its official visual materials such as posters and billboards. However, following criticism from prominent cultural figures and an overall departure from Soviet influence, Cuban designers began working in a more colorful, distinct style, at times borrowing from pop art or psychedelia. The DOR is the Cuban Communist Party’s official publishing entity. It has gone through several name changes since its establishment, having also been referred to as the Commission of Revolutionary Orientation, and finally Editoria Política beginning in 1985.
Accession Number: 2021.013.002