Q&A With Karen Keating

MEG member Karen Keating shares some thoughts about Cuba Revisited, her new show featuring portraits of people in a changing and challenging place.

Last spring, you made your third trip to Cuba, but the first in eight years. What felt the same and what felt different when photographing on the streets? The streets of Havana seem busier, especially in the central part of the city. Tourists are the most visible -- traveling in groups, gathering as tour guides with umbrellas explain a building, an historical event or answer questions. This kind of group travel was not common in 2000 or 2001. The tourists are from all parts of Europe and the world except the United States.

               (c) Karen Keating

      In Old Havana, my favorite part of the city, there are new restaurants in the Plazas, more renovating and a subtle feeling that a kind of gentrification is occurring as well as displacement. The exuberance that I felt during my first few trips as I watched the daily unfolding of Cubans' lives, their ability to embrace each day, seemed missing.

Your portraits capture a sense of "watching and waiting," which was the title of your prior book on Cuba. Do you feel the emotion behind this watchfulness is the same today as it was during your prior trips? This is conjecture, not fact, but the emotion as Cubans watch and wait now seems to have an edge. Rules and regulations, if not laws, seem to be shifting, and people are looking for opportunities. Perhaps there is more intensity in their watching. I saw less "celebrating" or living in the moment, especially in Havana. In Regla and Matanzas, the pace of the day is slower and the number of visitors watching the Cubans is less and the people feel less watchful.

Many of your portraits are close up and personal. How do you make your subjects feel comfortable? How much do you interact with them before shooting? How long do you spend shooting each subject? I do not have a prescription for my street portraits. I "hang out," I stay in one spot, wander slowly, watch the flow of activity and people. I use a noisy camera that makes it obvious that I am taking photos. I watch their body language, trying to see an opening maybe just a smile, a "may I take your photo?" I have Spanish phrases, but no real Spanish language ability. I NEVER take a photo if a person says no. I never use telephoto lenses.  I have no idea how long I take with a person; I try to leave my watch in my room and just let the day unfold. In this series from spring 2011, I spent time in some people's homes because we were working with Cuban photographers, but the majority of these images are from the street.

When you're walking through the streets, what draws your attention?  In Cuba, the people, their interactions, their activities, their environment and certainly the quality of the light and shadows are the elements that grab my attention. I am not a fast, quick shooter; I guess like the Cubans, I watch and wait, too. I never go out with a script, a plan. However, having been to Cuba five times, I am trying to think more conceptually -- what are the recurring themes, the connections?  Finishing a portfolio or set of images allows me to reflect, pull together my thoughts making me eager to return.

You typically shoot only in film, but also brought a digital camera on this trip so you could easily review images with other photographers. When shooting digitally, did you find yourself being less deliberate about what you chose to shoot vs. when you shoot film? Shooting with a digital camera made me a little crazy, less focused, sloppy at times. I was eager for feedback from the photographers during the trip, but I am not sure that it was valuable during the shooting process.  There are five images in this exhibit shot digitally -- at least three of those I could not have taken with my film equipment. The boxing arena was great fun digitally!  Then there is the issue of the square vs. rectangle composition. I do not like cropping later.

Are you done with Cuba or is there more you'd like to explore?  No, I am not "done" with Cuba. I continue to find connections between what I shoot in Cuba and my personal concerns. The texture of Cubans' lives, the challenges, the humanity of each day continues to resonate with me. I want to spend more time in other areas of the island, travel slowly. I especially liked the tobacco-growing area, Vinales.

What's next for you? Next, right now, is an Easter trip to Sicily with Ernesto Bazan who became my inspiration in Cuba. He is a phenomenal photographer of Cuba. Being Sicilian, he found Cuba was a connection to his homeland and I would like to see this unique island before returning to Cuba!

A reception for Cuba Revisited will be held Sunday, March 4th from 12:30-2:30 pm. A light brunch will be served. Keating will also give an Artist Talk on Thursday, March 15th from 7:00-8:00 pm.