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Tina Spiro: Making Waves in Miami & Jamaica

Tina Spiro:  Making Waves in Miami & Jamaica

 

 




Introduction to Tina Spiro.  2:38 min.  Camera:  Lee Skye.  Editor:  Betsabe Romero.  Photo & Design:  Raymond Elman 

 

Tina Spiro is a New York born-artist who studied undergraduate art at Stanford University and art history at NYU with Professor Jansen, author of Jansen’s History of Art. She obtained her bachelors degree from Skidmore College and began her artistic career as the protégé of American sculptor David Smith while she was still an undergraduate student. She obtained her MFA in sculpture from Pratt Institute and exhibited in landmark exhibitions such as Primary Structures at the Jewish Museum in New York and Seven Sculptors at the ICA, Philadelphia.

Spiro began her teaching career at Hunter College and exhibited in New York City and was friends with Andy Warhol until she moved to Jamaica West Indies in 1969, where she taught at the Edna Manley College and University of the West Indies (UWI). During the following decades she became one of the foremost artists in Jamaica and the Caribbean and is included in the books Modern Jamaican Art and Jamaican Art.

She spent a decade in Miami, Florida, from 1999-2009, where she distinguished herself as an artist, curator and professor of art.  She authored a course in Caribbean Art History, which she taught at Florida International University (FIU) for eight years. One of her projects, Paint the Town, transformed the Omni district into a large-scale urban panorama of color. She initiated and produced OMNIART I, II an III for the City of Miami for Art Basel Miami Beach, a large-scale exhibition format of cutting edge art in vacant warehouses in Miami’s Omni area, which was cited in the Miami press as “…the coolest thing Miami has ever done.”

She is founder and executive director of the Miart Foundation since 2003, an art forum to promote Miami as an art destination, support Caribbean Art, and promote environmental and humanitarian awareness through art. She also was a director and curator of Chelsea Galleries, in Kingston, Jamaica, and in Miami’s Wynwood art district at its inception. She has curated over 100 exhibitions of international and Caribbean contemporary art and is included in the book Miami Contemporary Artists.

Spiro is the recipient of numerous honors and awards. She and her husband architect and urban planner Eran Spiro, continue to reside in South Florida and Jamaica. The artist maintains studios in both Kingston and Miami and exhibits in museums, biennials and galleries internationally.

The videos below are organized by topic and run between 30 seconds and 10 minutes. Click on any video. You must be connected to the Internet to view the videos.

 

 

INSIGHT & INSPIRATION: 1:30 min.




What was your earliest memory of art in any form?

 

SELF-CONFIDENCE:   1:36 min.




Where did you go to school? What did you learn that still informs you today?

 

EXPOSURE TO BROAD INFLUENCES:  1:13 min.




Who are some of the talented artists who became your teachers outside of the school system?

 

VALUES FIRST-RATE EDUCATION:  9:40 min.




Describe the chronology of your art education and career.

 

SEIZES OPPORTUNITIES: 4:34 min.




Describe the evolution of your practice.

 

SEIZES OPPORTUNITIES:  0:46 sec.




Have you written art criticism?

 

SELF-CONFIDENCE: 1:18 min.




You were swept into the upper echelon of the art world at a young age. Did you try to sustain that level of celebrity?

 

SERENDIPITY:   2:20 min.




How did you come to spend most of your adult life in Jamaica?

 

OVERCOMES CHALLENGES TO SUCCEED:  3:11 min.




Describe your life in Jamaica.

 

OPEN TO CHANGE, FLEXIBILITY:  3:26 min.




Describe how you continue to make art in Jamaica. What was your interaction with the rest of the world while living there?

 

INSIGHT & INSPIRATION:  1:41 min.




Do you watch people looking at your work?

 

CREATIVE FLEXIBILITY:  1:42 min.




What has been the role of serendipity in your work and career?

 

OVERCOMES CHALLENGES TO SUCCEED:  2:38 min.




Describe a challenging situation with a successful outcome.

 

SERENDIPITY:  2:02 min.




How did you get involved with the Miami art community while living in Jamaica?

 

INSIGHT & INSPIRATION:  1:12 min.




What is the future for Caribbean art?

 

INSIGHT & INSPIRATION:  2:16 min.




Talk about the evolution of your work addressing climate change and sea level rise.

 

CREATES A UNIQUE PERSONAL BRAND:  1:48 min.




Is it too late to prevent a huge negative impact from climate change?

 

CRITICAL THINKING:  2:15 min.




What role should a university play in the development of artists?

 

 

GoRembrandt. Oil and casein on canvas.  51 x 52 inches.  2013.

 

THE BACKSTORY:  2:44 min.




GoRembrandt. Oil and casein on canvas. 51 x 52 inches. 2013.

 

 

Rembrandt’s Last Laugh. Oil and casein on canvas. 58 x 54 inches. 2011. Exhibited at the Jamaica Biennial 2012, National Gallery of Jamaica

 

THE BACKSTORY:  2:47 min.




Rembrandt’s Last Laugh. Oil and casein on canvas. 58 x 54 inches. 2011. Exhibited at the Jamaica Biennial 2012, National Gallery of Jamaica.

 

THE BACKSTORY: 1:09 min.




“Eranbrandt.”  Oil & casein on canvas.  58 x 48 inches.

 

 

Lion Heart. Oil and casein on canvas. 36 x 36 inches. 2019.

 

THE BACKSTORY:  1:28 min.




Lion Heart. Oil and casein on canvas. 36 x 36 inches. 2019.

 

Hanub Ku. Oil and casein on canvas. 48 x 54 inches. 2017.

 

THE BACKSTORY:  1:31 min.




Hanub Ku. Oil and casein on canvas. 48 x 54 inches. 2017.

 

 

Remembrandt 2012. Oil and casein on canvas. Triptych: each panel 54 X 30 inches. Total 54 X 96 inches. Exhibited at the Beijing Biennial 2012.

 

THE BACKSTORY:  3:14 min.




Remembrandt 2012. Oil and casein on canvas. Triptych: each panel 54 X 30 inches. Total 54 X 96 inches. Exhibited at the Beijing Biennial 2012.

 

THE BACKSTORY: 1:00 min.




“Dukanoo Danae.” Oil, casein, and gold leaf on canvas. 2014. Exhibited at the Jamaica Biennial 2014, National Gallery of Jamaica.

 

SHEKKINAH SCROLLS: 2:07 min.




“Shekkihah Scrolls.”