The LOOK3 Festival of the Photograph was in full swing last week in the artsy college town of Charlottesville, Virginia. Taking over the helm this year, Mary Virginia Swanson offered an exciting variety of programming and exhibits from morning ‘til night. To reflect the range of presentations, I’ve selected three to tell you about this week – a rare appearance by a venerable emerita, an A-list photographer making the international rounds, and two scorching hot newbies with divergent views sharing an exhibit space.
“Angel Woman, Sonoran Desert, 1979” by Graciela Iturbide (courtesy of the artist).
First up, Graciela Iturbide, the Mexican photographer now in her seventies whose medium format B&W film photographs span a career that began with the mentorship of her fellow countryman Manuel Alvarez Bravo in the 1970’s and extends to the present day. She garnered world attention for her frank and evocative imagery depicting the daily life and rituals of Mexico’s indigenous cultures in bold and sensuous silver gelatin prints.
“Nuestra Senora de las Iguanas, Juchitan, Oaxaca, 1996” by Graciela Iturbide (courtesy of the artist).
Her portraits are especially striking, focusing equally on the suffering and joy surrounding rituals of celebration and remembrance. As her fame enabled her to explore other countries and as her focus has shifted away from people toward landscape and still-life, her graphic compositions and textural sensuality has remained consistently stunning.
Graciela Iturbide (right) on stage at her artist talk during LOOK3 Festival, with projected image of “Magnolia, Juchitan, Oaxaca” (photo by Elin Spring).
During her “Legacy Artist Talk”, Iturbide presented a retrospective slide show of her work during an interview conducted in Spanish with English translation – I’ve included a few snapshots I took from that talk. She has a selection of landscape photographs from “Naturata” (1999-2015) on view at Neal Guma Fine Art in Charlottesville, Virginia through July 22, 2016.
To explore further, go to: http://www.gracielaiturbide.org/en/
And also: http://www.look3.org/2016-events/artist-talks/graciela-iturbide
Feature Image: Graciela Iturbide on LOOK3 stage with projection of early self-portrait (photo by Elin Spring).
Installation view of “Naturata” exhibit of Graciela Iturbide’s landscapes at Neal Guma Fine Art in Charlottesville, Virginia through July 22, 2016.
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