A Sad Decision

In Hunter Drohojowska-Philp’s article on Salomon Huerta (“This Painter Reveals by Disguising,” Oct. 8), the author ends the piece by allowing the artist to muse over his recent success and his upcoming shows in New York and London: “You’ve got to do whatever it takes. Especially for people of color, you only get one shot, so you better be ready.”

Given Huerta’s decision to systematically purge his art of the emotion, iconography and especially the color that he believes would “ghettoize” him and limit his career, the irony of his self-identification as a person of color is a poignant statement about the accommodations Chicana/o artists must make in order to be exhibited in America’s most prestigious museums and galleries.

I am happy to hear of Huerta’s success and believe that his choice was a wise one. Still, I could not help but feel saddened by what this says about American society in general and the condition of people/artists of color in particular.

JOSE OROZCO

Alhambra