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Photography in Mexico at SF MOMA  

‘Photography in Mexico’ at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art spans a century of photographic history, including Mexican photographers as well as outsiders’ visions of Mexico. Opening with the work of Tina Modotti and Edward Weston in the 1920s, the exhibit traces how photographers responded to cultural and political changes in the country. The show devotes substantial space to luminaries like Manuel Alvarez Bravo and Graciela Iturbide, but includes a number of lesser known artists as well. On a recent visit, I was especially intrigued by the final two rooms of the exhibit. As the layout follows a roughly […]

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The Past is Not What it Used to Be  

The walk to the Centro de la Imagen, on the Plaza de La Cuidadela in central Mexico City, took me past 20-foot-high temporary steel barricades and hundreds of police in riot gear, in preparation for a massive protest the same day. The main exhibition, titled Presencia Flagrante, showcases the work of contemporary photographers Marcos Lopez and Ruben Ortiz Torres. While I’m already a fan of Lopez’ colorful staged scenes, commenting on consumerism and Latino stereotypes, Ortiz Torres’ work was new to me. This body of work, titled “El pasado ya no es lo que era,” focuses on archeological treasures the […]

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