Photographers and Researchers will Examine Images of the Mexican Revolution

MEXICO CITY.- From iconic images of the war to daily life outside the battlefield, multiple images of the Mexican Revolution where the faces of the leaders, of the decadent aristocracy and of the common people, will be analyzed by renowned photographers and researchers on October 21st and 22nd 2010, during the 11th National Encounter of Photo Libraries.

Different factors resulted in the armed movement being one of the most photographed social uprisings during the 20th century. Most images shot by photojournalists during the period were concentrated in the Casasola Fund, which represents the most important collection of the period guarded by the National Photo Library of the National Institute of Archaeology and History (INAH), located in Pachuca, Hidalgo.

Juan Carlos Valdez Marin, director of the National Photo Library, who hosts the annual encounter that in 2010 will be dedicated to “Revolution and Image”, mentioned that at least 30,000 of the 365,000 pieces that integrate the Casasola Fund, are part of the Revolutionary period, capturing the social, economic, cultural and political life that continued in spite of the struggle between the opposing sides.

At least half of the Casasola images have been published by different media in the last 15 years, helping to draw interest to the history of photography during the Revolution.

Advances on this regard will be studied during the first forum of the 11th National Encounter of Photo Libraries. Researchers Rebeca Monroy, Miguel Angel Berumen and Bernardo Garcia will talk about the “Photographic document in the Mexican Revolution”.

“Experts will refer to the role of photography during the period as an element of credibility, but mainly to the way it got integrated to the collective imagery (images like the Soldadera, as well as portraits of Zapata and Villa)”.

Juan Carlos Valdez calculated that images from the historical moment between 1910 and 1917, other than recalling heroes and leaders of the struggle, refer as well to people’s daily activities, to be studied during the second forum “The other gaze: photographic production during the Revolution”.

Specialists Jose Antonio Rodriguez, Claudia Negrete and Carlos A. Cordova will shatter the “generalized idea of Mexico living a war without quarter. Political, economic and cultural life never stopped, and photographs are the proof”, declared Valdez.

“The revolution of the image: New visual paradigms” is a round table discussion that aoms to explore the photographic panorama of the current times, which open a way to new visual register forms. Acknowledged photographers Pedro Meyer, Francisco Mata Rosas, Gerardo Montiel Klint and Ricardo Garibay will participate.

These forums will take place at the hotel located in Blvd. Everardo Marquez 100, Colonia Cuesco, Pachuca, Hidalgo. The medal to Photographic Merit will be presented this year to Julio Mayo Souza, Pedro Meyer, Walter Reuter (in memoriam) and “Manuel Toussaint” Photographic Archive of the UNAM (National Autonomous University of Mexico) Institute of Esthetic Investigations.

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