Beating Hearts
Love is love, everywhere.
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Beating Hearts are part of the Arroz con Popote collection by Vicente Ortiz Cortez.
Arroz con popote is a Mexican phrase synonymous with male homosexuality. Meaning to eat rice pudding through a straw, it is a euphemism used with or without any intention to offend: "Ricky Martin likes arroz con popote."
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Referencing Mexican culture through his signature use of rice and thorn-like straws, Vicente reinterprets an iconic symbol of life and love through a queer-cultural lens. In this collection, he uses the colors of various flags to highlight the sense of universality that a heartbeat can evoke across borders. The collection encourages audiences to reflect on the shared rhythms of life, to consider the things we have in common, rather than those that split us apart
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His work is in the collections of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in NYC, the William Way LGBT Community Center in Philadelphia, and The Beach Museum in Alagoas, Brazil, among others. Exhibitions include the National Liberty Museum in Philadelphia, and the Czong Institute for Contemporary Art (CICA) Museum in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. A grant recipient from the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures, Vicente conceived Beating Hearts as a 2021-2022 Silver Art Projects Artist-in-Residence at the World Trade Center in New York City.
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