Wifredo Lam. In perhaps his most famous work of art, entitled The Jungle, Lam puts many powerful symbols on display. It is the undertaking of this essay to explore this renowned work of art, and to discover the intent of Lams symbols and subtlet

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Cuban surrealist artist Wifredo Lam (1902-1982) was renowned for his unique style which combined his rich cultural heritage with the social issues that inspired him. Throughout his life he traveled many places and learned from some of the most famous artists to ever create art, namely, Pablo Picasso. Lam has become an international symbol for the form of surrealism, along with the Chilean artist Roberto Matta (1911-2002). In perhaps his most famous work of art, entitled "The Jungle," Lam puts many powerful symbols on display. It is the undertaking of this essay to explore this renowned work of art, and to discover the intent of Lam's symbols and subtleties. By doing so, the observer can place into context the many symbols and underlying meanings that make up the work of Lam. He used these symbols and subtleties to draw attention to the plight of the African descended Cubans living in a social quagmire. It was his intention to bring these issues to the rest of the world, who were unaware of the poor social status of African descendants in Cuba.

Wifredo Lam was born the last of nine children in 1911 to Yam Lam and his second wife. Yam Lam had immigrated to Cuba from Canton, Ohio, and was of Chinese descent. At the time of his son Wifredo's birth, Yam Lam was already eighty-four years old. Wifredo's mother was a mulatto woman with some American Indian blood. This made the cultural heritage of Wifredo Lam a very diverse one. From early childhood, Lam was exposed to Santeria, a mixture of Catholic doctrine and African Yoruba beliefs. His own godmother was a priestess of the religion.

Lam came from a middle class family and was sent to Havana at an early age to be educated. Shortly thereafter he traveled to Spain to continue his education in 1923, and remained there for fifteen years. While in Spain he fought on the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War, and it was while in the hospital recovering from intestinal infection that he met the sculptor Manolo Hugue. Hugue was an old friend of Pablo Picasso, and when Lam traveled to France in 1938, Lam handed Picasso a letter of introduction written by Hugue. Picasso and Lam immediately became close friends, and even had a joint exhibit. Perhaps most pivotal in these new friends was the introduction of Lam to Andre Breton and Benjamin Peret. These men were considered the leaders of the surrealist movement, and their influence would shape the work of Lam in a very considerable way.

Lam had established himself as a surrealist artist by the time he chose to return to Cuba in 1941. Surrealism was a movement formed in response to the outbreak of World War I. Surrealists contended that the horrible amount of death in the First World War was the result of the industrial revolution and rational thought. From these conclusions, the surrealist movement decided that the easy solution was to turn to irrational thought. In the arena of art, surrealism relies heavily on the idea of images and symbols that appeal to a deeper understanding in the unconscious of human minds. Many works by Lam contain symbols that are meant to evoke emotions subconsciously. However, Lam also added a very significant aspect to his work. He created his art in the surrealist model, but he used his work to comment on social issues that he felt were important. Lam said of his own brand of surrealism:
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"...it is the last liberating commotion of man. It nourishes itself on the concept of liberty which in turn nourishes creativity.1"

Barnitz labels the unique brand of surrealism by Lam as "surrealism with a cause.2" This is a very accurate description of the Lam brand of surrealism. He is able to comment on social issues that are of great importance to him, while at the same time using the ideas of the unconscious and symbols of surrealism.

The foremost importance for Lam was to expose the poor social conditions within his native country of Cuba. Lam ...

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