Phoenix Art Museum presents a significant collection of photographs by 20th-century Mexican artists exploring Mexico’s shifting national identity

Nov, 27, 2018

Exhibitions and Special InstallationsPhotography

Phoenix Art Museum presents a significant collection of photographs by 20th-century Mexican artists exploring Mexico’s shifting national identity

Mexican Photographers, Mexican Views features more than 60 works spanning the 1910s through the 1990s that offer a complex portrait of a country’s changing social and political landscape

PHOENIX (November 27, 2018) – Phoenix Art Museum presents Mexican Photographers, Mexican Views from December 1, 2018 through June 9, 2019 in the Norton Family Photography Gallery. The exhibition, with works drawn exclusively from the collection of the Center for Creative Photography in Tucson, features more than 60 photographs created solely by 20^th– century Mexican artists. Works on view include landscapes, portraits, and images of everyday life by such photographers  as Manuel Álvarez Bravo, Lola Álvarez Bravo, and Hugo Brehme, among others. The exhibition explores Mexico’s shifting national identity and showcases the various photographic techniques used by 20^th-century Mexican artists.

“We are delighted to present Mexican Photographers, Mexican Views,” said Amada Cruz, the Sybil Harrington Director and CEO of Phoenix Art Museum. “These works offer an intimate portrait of our neighbor to the south, and we are excited to share this timely and poignant exhibition with our community.”

Spanning the 1910s through the 1990s, the photographs featured in Mexican Photographers, Mexican Views include formal portraits of indigenous peoples, pastoral landscapes, and images of rural life, all created by artists who lived or were living in 20th-century Mexico. Among the photographers are those  who  were  émigrés,  became  citizens,  and spent their lives working in the country. Featured photographers include  Manuel  Álvarez  Bravo  (1902–2002), considered one of the founders of modern photography and the first internationally celebrated photographer from Mexico; Lola Álvarez Bravo (1903–1993), considered one of Mexico’s most important photographers known for her documentation of the country’s people, cities, and villages; and Hugo Brehme (1882–1954), whose photographs explore locally rooted identity and helped to create a new visual mythology of Mexico.

“The exhibition at Phoenix Art Museum invites viewers to see and experience 20^th-century Mexico solely through the eyes of Mexican photographers,” said Rebecca Senf, PhD, the chief curator at the Center for Creative Photography and the Norton Family Curator of Photography at Phoenix Art Museum, who organized the exhibition. “Through their work, these artists have attempted to better know, understand, and represent what is considered authentically Mexican, offering Museum guests an important historical perspective of Mexico that would otherwise be lost.”

About the Exhibition

Mexican Photographers, Mexican Views will be on view from December 1, 2018 through June 9, 2019 in the Norton Family Photography Gallery. The exhibition is organized by Phoenix Art Museum and the Center for Creative Photography. It is made possible through the generosity of donors to the Museum’s annual fund. For more details about the exhibition, please visit phxart.org/exhibition/mexicanphotographers.

Admission is free for Museum Members; veterans and active-duty military and their families; Maricopa Community College students, staff, and faculty (with ID); and youth 5 and younger. Entrance to the exhibition is included in general admission for the general public. During voluntary-donation times, the exhibition is offered to the general public with pay-what-you-wish admission. Voluntary-donation times include Wednesdays from 3 – 9 pm, the first Fridays of every month from 6 – 10 pm, and the second Sunday of each month from noon – 5 pm. For a full breakdown of general admission prices and hours, see bit.ly/VisitPhxArt.

To request interviews and high-resolution photography, contact the Marketing and Communications Office of Phoenix Art Museum at 602.257.2105 or margaree.bigler@phxart.org.

First Friday | December 7, 6 pm

Join us on First Friday to experience Mexican Photographers, Mexican Views and in-gallery programs inspired by the exhibition. This event is open to the public with voluntary-donation admission. Please check phxart.org/events/calendar for updates.

About Phoenix Art Museum

Phoenix Art Museum has provided access to visual arts and educational programs in Arizona for nearly 60 years and is the largest art museum in the southwestern United States. Critically acclaimed national and international exhibitions are shown alongside the Museum’s permanent collection of more than 19,000 works of American, Asian, European, Latin American, modern and contemporary art, and fashion design. The Museum also presents festivals, a comprehensive film program, live performances, and educational programs designed to enlighten, entertain, and stimulate visitors of all ages. Visitors also enjoy vibrant photography exhibitions through the Museum’s landmark partnership with the Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona. To learn more about Phoenix Art Museum, visit phxart.org or call 602.257.1880.

About the Center for Creative Photography

The Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona, is recognized as one of the world’s finest academic art museums and study centers for the history of photography. The Center opened in 1975, following a meeting between University President John Schaefer and Ansel Adams. Beginning with the archives of five living master photographers—Ansel Adams, Wynn Bullock, Harry Callahan, Aaron Siskind, and Frederick Sommer—the collection has grown to include 239 archival collections. Among these are some of the most recognizable names in 20th-century North American photography, including W. Eugene Smith, Lola Álvarez Bravo, Edward Weston, and Garry Winogrand. Altogether there are more than five million archival objects in the Center’s collection, including negatives, work prints, contact sheets, albums, scrapbooks, correspondence, writings, audiovisual materials, and memorabilia.