Introduction
PHOTOGRAPHERS
Demonstrating the depth and vitality of the photojournalistic tradition in Mexico today, Testigos de la historia / Witnesses to History showcases the Wittliff Gallery's important permanent collection of modern and contemporary Mexican documentary photography.
The exhibition runs August 22, 2005 through February 12, 2006 at the Wittliff Gallery of Southwestern & Mexican Photography, located on the seventh floor of the Alkek Library at Texas State University in San Marcos. The exhibit reception and a special program featuring a discussion of documentary photography by Estela Treviño and Alfonso Morales, two photo historians from the Centro de la Imagen in Mexico City will be held the evening of Saturday, October 8 to coincide with Hispanic Heritage Month.
Among the almost 13,000 images now held in the Wittliff Gallery's permanent archives is a significant collection tracing the development of photojournalism from early giants Manuel Álvarez Bravo, Héctor García, Nacho López, and Rodrigo Moya to the intrepid inheritors of this great artistic tradition: Yolanda Andrade, Marco Antonio Cruz, Maya Goded, Graciela Iturbide, Eniac Martínez Ulloa, Francisco Mata Rosas, Raúl Ortega, and Antonio Turok.
"The 59 photographs we've chosen for this exhibition reveal the essence of twentieth-century Mexico, yet transcend mere documentary photography to stand alone beyond their agenda," said curator Connie Todd. "Mexican documentary photographers have maintained an unflagging interest in what is in front of the lens and have never shifted away from concerned documentary
communication of political, social, and human truths in Mexico or abroad. The great ones, however, have managed to elevate their craft to high art while working within the parameters of the genre. It is transcendence of genre that makes an image collectable for the Wittliff."
Testigos de la historia / Witnesses to History exhibition
Wittliff Gallery of Southwestern & Mexican Photography
Alkek Library, Texas State University, San Marcos
Photo by Tara Spies
