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The concept of territory is particularly unstable in Latin America.
Cities present another sort of instability: Exponential growth.
At the start of the 20th century, Mexico City had 350,000 inhabitants.
Today, more than 20 million.
In Latin America, 80% of the population live in cities.
The city is a central theme for these photographers,
a way for many of them to question the world around them.
Many artists shown here aren't really photographers.
This is true for Bill Caro, a Hyperrealist painter,
whose work was particularly brilliant in the '70s.
In his quest for realism, he took photos of what he wanted to paint
to achieve the greatest possible detail.
The few black-and-white photos in this group
have handwritten annotations by Bill Caro.
In black-and-white photos, he noted the colours,
red, yellow, green, to be added to his painting later.
Facundo de Zuiviría is a pioneer in colour in Latin America.
He started using colour photography in the early '80s,
but curiously, only for personal shots.
Numerous photographers of his generation bowed to the diktats
of socially-engaged photography
which exposed the population's miserable living conditions
but curiously, that kind of photography was in black-and-white.
Only black and white was fitting for such work.
However, his colour photos are an extension of his black-and-white work,
destined for galleries and exhibitions
as they showcase the popular iconography so present in Buenos Aires
as well as his characteristic irony.
Siesta argentina is particularly emblematic,
the most famous series by Facundo de Zuiviría.
In 2001, Argentina chose to default on its debt.
In the wake of this, the economy collapsed
and Facundo de Zuiviría illustrates this collapse
with these shuttered storefronts,
these mom-and-pop shops which have closed
due to lack of clients.
Rosario López is a young Columbian artist.
Like many artists of her generation, rather than depict poverty,
she uses other means to portray it.
Here, for example, in downtown Bogotá,
she photographed corners on the streets where homeless often take shelter.
Local residents fill them in with concrete
to keep the homeless from sleeping there.
It's also a direct reference to American Minimalist art
yet it also expresses deeper social issues
in a deeply critical manner which is characteristic,
I believe, of these Latin American artists.
Pablo Lopez Luz is the show's youngest artist.
His series is entitled Pyramids. In urban settings,
he sought out patterns overtly or subtly influenced
by pre-Hispanic pyramidal patterns.
It's a way of embracing the pre-Hispanic heritage
as well as a reference to the Kinetic art movement
which was phenomenally popular in Latin America in the '60s and '70s.
Daniel Gonzá*** is an eminent member
of a Venezuelan avant-garde group
of the '60s called El Techo de la Ballena
composed of artists, writers,
and one photographer, Daniel Gonzá***.
This series is a good illustration of the irreverence typical of their work.
He noticed graffiti on some walls on the outskirts of Caracas
and well as in Caracas,
and he sought out these graffiti and photographed them.
These graffiti mock suicide
yet at the same time, glorify it.
Graphic design earns special attention in Venezuela
ever since a generation of designers
from Europe, especially Switzerland, like Gerd Leufert,
emigrated to Venezuela during the economic boom
caused by the soaring oil prices of the '50s,
so a particularly rich generation of graphic artists
moved to Caracas in the '50s.
Among them, Barbara Brändli was better known for her work with the Yanomami
until she was commissioned
to create the book Sistema nervioso , a portrait of the city of Caracas.
She revealed a city in mutation, studded with signs,
full of post-Pop juxtapositions.
Leonora Vicuña, a Chilean artist, founded the FI
uniting over 30 Chilean photographers
who decided, to counter the dictatorship,
to meet and form an association
in order to continue working independently from the Pinochet state.
Her work as a photographer is more dreamlike.
She reused a traditional technique from illumination,
probably as a way to obtain the subdued sadness
so very present in these images.
It's a great source of pride to have Carlos Altamirano in this show.
I believe this is the first time his works have left Chile.
These works are extremely emblematic of Chilean art in the '70s.
Altamirano stopped making art for about 20 years
due to what he considered the "vacuity" of creating art.
Here we can see the premises of his disinterest,
of his distance from the world of art,
as he mocks the canons of art:
Engraving, still life,
three-colour printing, wood printing, diptychs, murals...
Like other artists in the show,
he shows great virtuosity as a photographer
but is also a virtuoso in how and what he builds around
this brilliant material.
English Translation Lynn MASSEY
S O F T I T R A G E C O M