Los Angeles based photographer Simone Lueck is a transplant from the Twin Cities who knows how to locate and celebrate the vibrant and the off-beat. Her latest book. Cuba TV, is a prime example, as she tells here:

It happened by chance. In 2000, I tagged along with a good friend on a two-week trip to Cuba. I took my 35mm camera and a bunch of film. The first thing I noticed in Havana was that the city was dark at night. There were no streetlights, porch lights or living-room lamps. It was pitch black except for the faint colorful glow spilling out of open doors everywhere, and it came from the TVs. The light captivated me. For the next two weeks I wandered around, slipping in and out of strangers' living rooms. Each time I came across an open door and a TV set, I asked if I could take a picture of it. The answer was always yes. Nobody seemed to think it was an odd request and it was usually accompanied by a Cuban coffee or rum.

The TV sets themselves are outdated, pre-revolution relics imported from America or sets from Russia over fifteen years old; green-hued beats jimmy-rigged with ancient computer parts and fantastically adorned like religious altars. In Cuba, television is a national pastime. The government controls all media, including the three main newspapers as well as the four television stations. The stations broadcast news reports, baseball, educational programs, soap operas, and Hollywood movies. Whether used for information or as a background for socializing and drinking rum, during broadcast hours, all TVs in Cuba are ON.

Cuba TV by Simone Lueck remains on view at Kopeikin Gallery through August 27^th. 2766 S. La Cienega Blvd., Culver City, CA. 90034. On September 21^st, it opens with a book signing at Cliq Gallery, 255 Centre Street, NY, NY. Cuba TV (Mark Batty 2011) is available online.

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