“The camera is an excuse to share the life of the people, the rhythm and simplicity of festivities, to discover my country. While using my camera I am, above all, an actress participating in the scene taking place at the moment, and the other actors know what role I play. I never think of my images as a project, I simply live the situations and photograph them; it is afterwards that I discover the images. ”
–Graciela Iturbide
Today in my photography class we went on a field trip to the GAM art museum. We all met in the classroom and then took the subway. The elaborate public transportation system here makes everything so much easier! Once we arrived at the museum and entered the exhibit, the first photographs I saw where taken inside Casa Azul in Coyoacรกn, Mexico City; the former home of Frida Kahlo. The site is private, but Graciela Iturbide was given special permission from Frida Kahlo’s family. There were photos of her bathtub, her braces, and there was even one photo of Frida Kahlo’s hospital gown that was stained with paint and blood, as the artist continued to paint ever through her hospitalisations.As the exhibit continued there were ‘autorretratos’, or self portraits, with different animals in each photo. There were also photos with cactuses set against a classic Mexican landscape. The final set of photos were by far my favourite, for sure. They featured androgynous characters and other people caught in the moment. The theme played upon ‘Death as Birth’ concepts that are popular in Mexican culture.
Im so grateful to have been able to witness this fascinating exhibit by one of Mexico’s most beloved photographers, Graciela Iturbide.