February 2000 a travelling exhibition Americas Society 680 Park Avenue (at 68th Street) 212-249-8950 Until April 16, 2000 Tues-Sun., 10:00 am-6:00 pm www.americas-society.org José Domingo Noriega. "Ladina disfrazada de mariposa." s.f. "Ladino woman in butterfly costume." n.d. In the last twenty years the field of History of Photography has been changing and expanding rapidly: in the 1950s historians who were themselves European or North American usually ignored the rest of the world and included only Western Europe and North America as the major players in that field. But gradually, as other fields emerge, our knowledge becomes much more complex and sophisticated: Mexico, Africa and the Middle East and Eastern Europe among others have been the subject of recent exhibitions in New York. Picturing Guatemala, the first survey of Guatemalan photography ever to be presented here, is an important addition to the photographic field and brings in fresh, beautiful and impressive material, never seen in the US before. In the last two years the exhibit has circulated al through Central America. It is also on view at the Museo Latino in Los Angeles and will go on to Brazil and Spain later this year. In over 100 images from the CIRMA Archive, one of the most important funds in all of Central America and one that maintains an independent political perspective, the exhibition, curated by Valia Garzon Diaz, explores the development of photography in Guatemala and offers us a view of the nation's cultural history. The 19th century portion opens with rows of carte de visite portraits. Some of them represent middle and upper-class families. Others that feature artisans, sailors, peasants and indigenous people have often been shot by foreign anthropologists and used for the contruction of typlogies based on race. However as we see them in this show's context we can freely focus on the variations of costumes, from the simple indigenous dress to the Europeanized costumes of the middle-class and individual expressions, thoughful, shy, proud , inquisitive and even ironic in certain cases. Portraits in natural environments are at first rare. The pictures are often shot in European-style studios with painted backgrounds which make for surreal contrast (see for instance the 1940 picture by Zanotti of two men from Quetzaltenango leaning on a ornate bronze rococo pedestal) the personality of the subjects shines through. Especially striking is, for instance, a portrait by Valdeavellano of a Maya Woman from Mixco,dating back to 1895, which evokes Mexican portraits by Graciela Iturbide, while an anonymous shot of Maya-Lacandon women makes us think of Gertrude Blom's portraits. Rare large format landscapes and urban views from photographic albums by Muybridge, who went to Guatemala in 1875, are also prominently displayed together with an album depicting the Guatemalan pavilion at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1889. "Campesinos arbenzistas capturados depués del derrocamiento de Arbenz" 1954 "Arbenzista peasants captured after overthrow of Arbenz" 1954 Original - Familia/Family E. Taracena de la Cerda While early twentieth century photographers such as Yas, Noriega and Zanotti still use the posed portraits, as of the 1920s the Guatemalan and foreign photojournalists become more attuned to international style: action shots, such as the ones taken in the 1917 earthquake in Guatemala City are more common. But even in the 20th century some photographers carry on the tradition of the large-format, as in funerary portrait where the groupings and poses often evoke black photographer Van der Zee. The exhibition also features a wealth of contemporary photographers such as Daniel Cauche, Marria Cristina Orive, Roberto Eichenberger, Mitchell Denburg, Sol Liebsohn, Patricia Goudvis. Together with some colleagues that remain anonymous, they have covered everyday life, religious rituals and political events in Guatemala's chaotic history. All of the work is in black and white. Some photographers have been working in a photojournalistic style but others have interestingly combined the interest in their country' present with the tradition of anthropological portrait. MORE PICTURES FROM CENTRAL AMERICA: For twenty-five years, photographer and editor Maria Cristina Orive , whose work is featured in Picturing Guatemala has been running La Azotea Editorial Fotografica, an independent publishing house that features the best in Guatemalan and Central American photography. Among the most recent titles, some of them re-publications of out-of-print titles are: - Pablo Neruda by Sara Facio: an intimate and tender portrait of the great Chilean poet where a series of 150 photographs are associated with quotes fom him or from his works. - Foto de Escritor by Sara Facio. A friend of many writers since the 1960s, Facio assembled in-depth portraits of artists such as Asturias, Borges, Silvina Ocampo, Alejo Carpenter and many others. Also a writer, Facio often added her comments or quotes from the writers next to their pictures. - Luis Gonzales Palma: Palma is probably the only Guatemalan photographer to date who has been exhibiting regularly in New York for the last eleven years. His large-format installations are deeply rooted in the religious mythology of his country. - Fotografia Argentina Actual (two volumes) is an overview of twenty young Argentinian photographers working in their country or abroad. - Foto de Escritor by Sara Facio is on sale at Amazon.com All other books can be obtained directly from La Azotea through their website: www.laazotea.com.ar or from their distributor in California, photoeye.com. Once ordered the books will be dispatched by airmail from Buenos Aires. The price of postage is already included in the quote obtainable from La Azotea.