IDENTIDADES 1 ENGLISH IDENTIDADES 7 ENGLISH | Page 96

But, as always, something curious is the
fact that art was ahead of the predictions,
and in this particular area of art promotion and exhibition, the majority of artists were waiting to see what happened
when the Cuba-U.S. relations were normalized, with or without the embargo.
Many of the works on exhibit alluded to
all the vents in the relations between the
two countries over more than fifty years,
not only sociopolitical ones, but also
regarding artistic concepts and aesthetic
sensibilities. Yet, there was something
more: most of the creators already had
their representatives, merchants, or dealers in charge more of the artistic production’s commercialization than its promo-

tion or curating. Many improvised experts in this for-profit business knew
very little about the artists’ work, and
concentrated only on getting sales. This
formally presupposes the de rigueur
commission the owner has to pay the
person who promoted the sale, as in the
old saying about the Neocolonial Republic’s second president: “Tiburón se moja
pero salpica” [The President Steals but
Offers Opportunities], or the most common of today’s sayings: “Live and Let
Live.” Furthermore, the allowable action
of getting the payment without interference by a third party, makes us think of
the best one of all: “Troubled waters,
fisherman’s gain.”

Andy Rivero. Closing the Distance/ Mixed Technique

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