By David J. Glenn
Even though the Cold War ended years ago, Cuba, the Communist island nation just 90 miles from Florida, remains under trade embargoes with the U.S. and is still a mystery location to most Americans.
It’s why a new exhibit coming to the Queens College Art Center promises to be quite intriguing.
“Cuba in Black and White,” opening Sept. 5, will showcase the photos that Laurelton native Deborah Harse took during five visits to Cuba since 1991.
Don’t expect tourist-y landscapes or buildings — the part-time photographer, in her adventures bicycling in 35 countries in Latin America, Asia, Europe, and North Africa, has focused her lenses on people. “It’s up close and personal,” Harse, who now lives in Manhattan, told Qguide.
As in most nation-to-nation relationships, the people of Cuba have no animosity toward Americans in the face of continuing embargoes imposed by the U.S. government, Harse said. And surprisingly “they make a very clear distinction between Republicans and Democrats,” she said. “Republicans are bad, Democrats are good.” this is particularly mysterious since the Democratic Clinton administration had maintained the same embargoes that the GOP’s Bush administration is continuing now.
Harse’s photography has been featured in a variety of publications, and the Cuban photos have been exhibited at the Center for Cuban studies in Manhattan and at the Miami-Dade Public Library.
She hasn’t tried to get her work in the National Geographic because the magazine uses color, and she shoots only in black and white, which she develops herself. “I just like it,” she said.
Harse became interested in photography when she was only 13, but a full-time career in the field alluded her. “I knew I had to acquire a new skill,” she said. She decided to become a masseuse, and now practices in Manhattan.
The “Cuba in Black and White” free exhibit runs through Oct. 26 at the art center on the Queens College campus.
Reach Qguide Editor David Glenn by e-mail at glenn@timesledger.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 139.
