- May 4, 2024
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“El ojo fino” showcases the work of nine woman photographers from Mexico who combine personal and often visionary responses to the social realities around them.
The women featured in “El ojo fino” share many influences, but one stands above the rest: Italian photographer Tina Modotti, whose life and work had a lasting impact on Mexican women photographers. During her years in Mexico, Modotti worked as an independent freelance photographer — one of the first women to do so.
“These women are trailblazers, female artists breaking out of a male-dominated art world,” said Kim Hover, of the Southeast Museum of Photography, in Daytona Beach, where the photography exhibit will hang.
Three generations of Mexican women photographers are represented in this traveling exhibition from the Wittliff Collections at Texas State University, which was curated by Connie Todd.
Lola Álvarez Bravo is the most prominent of the first generation of Mexican women photographers and the first to follow Modotti’s lead as a freelancer.
Bravo is credited with being an honest observer, but establishing herself as a professional did not come easy.
Early in her career, Bravo stated, “I was the only woman that ran around the streets with a camera, at sports events and the Independence parades, and all the reporters made fun of me. That’s how I got tough.”
Kati Horna began her professional career in Paris in the 1930s, and she continued as a photojournalist during the Spanish Civil War, immigrating to Mexico in 1939. She met Bravo soon after her arrival and, like her, became a freelance photographer and a strong career role model.
Mariana Yampolsky rounds out the first generation. Another immigrant, arriving in Mexico City from the United States in the late 1940s, Yampolsky was drawn to Mexico after graduating from the University of Chicago by Modotti’s work and the vivid Mexican colors. Beginning as an engraver, Yampolsky later studied photography with Bravo.
As Modotti had mentored them, this generation — Bravo, Horna and Yampolsky — became mentors and teachers and influenced the second generation featured in the show: Graciela Iturbide, Flor Garduño, and Yolanda Andrade, who took the stage in the 1960s, 70s and 80s.
Iturbide’s images have been said to blur the boundaries between photojournalism, called “anchored fictions and elusive documents.”
On the other hand, Garduño’s images of landscapes and indigenous people closely follow in the tradition of her mentors, through strong composition and sensitive portraits.
The third of this generation, Andrade, became part of the contemporary Mexican photography movement as a documentarian, walking the streets of Mexico City photographing people engaged in public events, ceremonies, festivals or activities of everyday life.
The third generation represented in “El ojo fino,” Alicia Ahumada, Ángeles Torrejón and Maya Goded, found new territory for future generations of women to explore. Goded and Torrejón focused on the people — particularly the women — of Mexico, and Ahumada captured people, landscapes and architecture.
“Each with a camera and exquisite eye, these photographers share a finely tuned way of seeing the truths, visions and enigmas of their beloved Mexico,” Todd said. “Their connections are revealed by a discreet homage, a borrowed element, or by overlapping spiritual territory.”
Hover said the museum is excited to show the work of these nine women who played such an important role in the development of photography and woman’s role in it.
“The wonderful thing about this museum is that we’re bringing in a higher level of work that would normally never be seen in this area,” Hover said. “What we’re offering is something beyond local.”
The show opens with a reception and a talk 6-8 p.m. Feb. 28 and will hang through May 25.
IF YOU GO:
What: “El ojo fino” (The Exquisite Eye) photography exhibit
When: Opening reception and talk, 6-8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 28; the show will hang through May 25: Museum hours are 11a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesdays, and 1-5 p.m. on the weekends
Where: Southeast Museum of Photography, Daytona State College, 1200 International Speedway Blvd., Daytona Beach
IF YOU GO: Film Series
The Southeast Museum of Photography is also presenting a film series to coincide with the “El ojo fino” photography exhibit. The Classics of Mexican Cinema series presents important classic films from the ‘golden age” of Mexican cinema in the 1930s until mid-century.
What: "Aventurera" (Adventuress) Directed by Alberto Gout (Mexico, 1950) 101 min.
When: 7 p.m. March 6
What: "Vámonos con Pancho Villa!" (Let's Go with Pancho Villa) Directed by Fernando de Fuentes (Mexico, 1939) 92 min
When: 7 p.m. March 20
