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Play, download and edit the free video EEUU America, 2019.

Vicente Ortiz Cortez
EEUU/America, 2019
Arroz con Popote Series
Performer, red hand-dyed rice, straws
Originally performed by Neimyiah Whittley at Leonard Pearlstein Gallery, Philadelphia, USA
4 minutes, 30 seconds
Video Edition of 20

Awards
2019 14th Annual Juried Art Exhibition Award, Juror: James Claiborne, William Way LGBT Community Center, Philadelphia, PA

Artwork CV
2020 Artists for Black Lives Matter: The Pandemic Alliance Edition, Artists for Black Lives Matter, 1310 Gallery, Fort Lauderdale, FL (virtual)
2020 Noche de Película, Film Festival, PDX Latinx Pride, Portland, OR (virtual)
2020 In 24-Hours: Desirable Feelings, Online Exhibition, The Wall Space Gallery, Scotland, UK (Curated by Ayshia Taskin and [SHIFT:ibpcpa]) (virtual)
2019 14th Annual Juried Art Exhibition, William Way LGBT Community Center Gallery, Philadelphia, PA (Juror: James Claiborne, independent curator and Public Programming Manager, African American Museum, Philadelphia)
2019 215 | 610 CONTEMPORARY: Juried Exhibition of Regional Emerging Artists, Art Gallery, Delaware County Community College, Media, PA (Juror: Jodi Throckmorton, Curator of Contemporary Art, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Museum)

Work Statement
I explore themes of sexuality, identity, and anthropocenic anxieties.

EEUU/America is part of a series of work which pays homage to my Mexican heritage. My choice of materials, rice and straws, comes from the euphemistic expression arroz con popote (to eat rice pudding with a straw/phallus). It's Mexican slang used to describe that someone is homosexual, with or without any intention to offend. "He likes arroz con popote."

EEUU/America further explores issues of injustice in the USA, where I've lived for over a decade. This piece brings together my heritage with the culture I'm now surrounded by. The original performer, Neimyiah Whittley (b. Milwaukee, WI), also a queer person of color, was invited to use this performance opportunity as an outlet to reflect on injustices he himself has faced in an increasingly toxic sociopolitical climate.

Email or DM for Exhibit/Screen Request:
studio at ortizcortez dot com
instagram.com/ortizcortezstudio

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