Diagonal Camera: Photographic Perspectives from Mid-Century Mexico

This exhibition centers upon the work of four Mexican artists who established major careers as art photographers in the mid-20th century: Manuel Álvarez Bravo, Lázaro Blanco, Mariana Yampolsky, and Rafael Doníz. 

Following a path pioneered by Álvarez Bravo, each of these artists framed both urban and rural life in Mexico through using compositions that rendered typical Mexican iconographies as into abstract form. 

This exhibition looks closely at the visual thinking of these artists, focusing on compositions that powerfully dramatize Mexican subjects by framing them along the photograph’s diagonal. Taken together, these photographs from the collection of the Margolis Foundation evoke the artistry of Mexican photography, a key body of work in the history of Latin American art.

Credit: Overview from museum website

Image Credit: Manuel Álvarez Bravo, 

Ventana a los Magueyes

, 1974, gelatin silver print. Collection of Dr. Ronald and Mrs. Katherine Margolis.