This letter by Antonio Martorell (b. 1939) evidences the manifold nature of ties between artists; it mentions not only art projects, but also personal matters (Martorell’s recent return to his country, his children, a move), political ideology, and professional concerns (the fruits of Martorell’s trip through Latin America). Martorell discusses the feasibility of holding a show of the Club de Grabado de Montevideo in Puerto Rico, while mentioning what, in his view, are the ideological nuances of the institutions that might house such an event—which venues are leftist and pro-independence (the Museo de Grabado, which he describes as a “kind of escape valve . . . [and] refuge”) and which are conservative (the Museo de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, Río Piedras campus). While Martorell mentions his preferred members of the club, such as Rimer Cardillo (b. 1944), Haroldo González (b. 1941), and Mingo Ferreira (b. 1940), he says that he has total confidence in the selection that Leonilda González (1923–2017), the club’s secretary, might make. Martorell expresses enthusiastic support for the club’s publications; he intends to pursue something similar on the Island of Enchantment. This letter attests to the existence of Latin American art circuits in the sixties and seventies, networks bound by ideological debates and aspirations in which art and politics came together and by the pursuit of new audiences not limited by borders between nations. Indeed, all of that was at the center of the discursive constellation of much of the Latin American left. [For further reading see, in the ICAA digital archive, the following texts by Antonio Martorell: “El arte de sobrevivir en el Caribe o cómo sobrevivir al arte en el Caribe” (doc. no. 822579), “Con Marta” (doc. no. 825003), and “Fue la década” (doc. no. 822177). See as well the following texts published by the Club de Grabado de Montevideo: “Concurso de grabado para edición” (doc. no. 863481), “13 años de actividad de Club de Grabado de Montevideo” (doc. no. 1183571), “El arte correo en el Uruguay” (doc. no. 1191850), “Boletín N° 7 Club de Grabado de Montevideo” (doc. no. 1182833), “Club de Grabado compra su casa” (doc. no. 1192649), “Club de Grabado de Montevideo 22 Aniversario 1953 - Agosto 1975” (doc. no. 1183514), “Club de Grabado de Montevideo a la población de Montevideo” (doc. no. 1183124), “Cuando el Tercer Mundo se mira a sí mismo. II Bienal de La Habana” (doc. no. 1184459), “De los grabados de ayer a las ediciones actuales” (doc. no. 1191787), “Definiciones / Uno” (doc. no. 1189065), “Entrevista a Luis Mazzey” (doc. no. 1186991), “Entrevista a Óscar Ferrando” (doc. no. 1186747), “Entrevista a Óscar Ferrando [segunda parte]” (doc. no. 1186802), “Fundamentos a propósito de su 22 aniversario” (doc. no. 1182640), “Mini Grabado Internacional de Cadaqués. España” (doc. no. 1191135), “La necesidad de la imaginación” (doc. no. 1190793), “Nuestra institución” (doc. no. 1182010), “Los nuevos movimientos de las artes” (doc. no. 1182868), “Opiniones (I)” (doc. no. 1185411), “Palabras de clausura para un año de apertura” (doc. no. 1191167), “Referencias sobre identidad, cultura y arte en Latinoamérica” (doc. no. 1183641), “Reflexiones en torno a la supuesta crisis de las artes plásticas” (doc. no. 1185539), and “Sobre el papel de la crítica” (doc. no. 1187071)].
