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Mexico's Modern Masters of Photography
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16119 |
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Section : |
THE ARTS
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| Issue
Date : |
6 / 1989 |
2,198 Words |
| Author
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Mark Holston
Mark Holston writes about Latin American issues for Américas,
Seis Continentes, Hispanic, and other international
publications. The author wishes to thank InterContinental
Hotels in S‹o Paulo and Rio de Janeiro for their assistance in
making this report possible. |
Among the earliest instance of photography in Mexico is an eloquent frame form the camera of Francois Aubert. A pioneer in the art form, he was present when Emperor Maximilian was executed by a revolutionary firing squad in Queretaro in 1867. Thus Aubert documented the aftermath of the unlucky emperor's last heroic moment of life, focusing on his bullet-tattered coast and vest. Today, this simple composition is a comment on the early role of photography in the world's most populous Spanish-speaking nation and on the theme of death, a theme profoundly bonded to Mexico and its artist.
"Mexico is a country especially rich in images," notes Leonor Ortiz Monasterio, director of the National General Archives in Mexico City. "The desire of Mexico to incorporate itself into the modern era just when photography was being discovered determined that photography would develop rapidly here," Ortiz observes. "Suddenly the camera replaced the paintbrush. The photographic plate fixed a broad panorama of images that would arouse great cultural and commercial interest in other countries."
That Mexican photography would grow into an internationally admired movement is not surprising once the full scope of the nation's tradition in visual art is taken into account. Twentieth-century master painters like Diego Rivera, Jose Orozco, David Siqueiros, and Rufino Tamayo have long been testimonial to Mexico's secure and admired position as a producer of major artistic talent, a country imbued with a universally recognized aesthetic and blessed by original national characteristics. Today, a new generation of artists who have replaced the paintbrush with the camera is ensuring--through the power of their compelling contributions to photojournalism and serious
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