One of the leading artists of the 1980s in Cuba, Arturo Cuenca develops a critical conceptual work in the art of this decade. Modernbundo embodies the imprint of conceptualism in his poetics and evidences the artist’s interest in deconstructing the photographic language. In this work, José Martí standing on a podium seems to reincarnate in the gesture of Fidel Castro, in a transgressive, ambiguous representation accentuated by a distorted, grainy image. Antonia Eiriz’s controversial work A Tribune for Democratic Peace (1968) appears to be a conceptual reference for this gloomy, expressionist vision, in which the artist recreates the grotesque figure of the leader erected on a tribune in front of a nonexistent audience. The title uses subtle and biting humor by incorporating a play on the words “modern” and “dying”—a neologism created by the artist to allude to the misunderstandings or exchanges that arise between word and image. The work proposes a reflection on the role of expression and discourses in forming revolutionary ideology, also referring to the tensions and ambiguities that underlie the art/ideology and politics/ society relationships in this context. Having studied painting at the Academia Nacional de Bellas Artes San Alejandro, Cuenca specialized in literature at the Escuela Nacional de Instructores de Arte (1979–82). His work encompasses painting, printmaking, photography, and graphic and costume design.