Graciela Iturbide
Mexican, born 1942Centinela, 2002
Not on view
Photogravure on paper
Dimensions33 1/8 × 30 1/2 in.
Image: 23 5/8 × 22 5/8 in.
Gift of Dr. Robert and Deanna Harris Burger, 2006.18
Graciela Iturbide is often considered a second-generation Mexican surrealist photographer. Born in Mexico City in 1942, Iturbide studied filmmaking but began taking photographs in 1960 to cope with the death of her six-year-old daughter. Traveling through Mexico, Ecuador, Venezuela, Panama, and the Mexican community of east Los Angeles, California, Iturbide documented the complex relationship between urban and rural life. Her black-and-white photographs are always taken from her handheld camera while she is on the move; she never uses a tripod or special lighting techniques. In images like Centinela, Iturbide uses the natural contrast, texture, and shapes of the landscape to produce a hauntingly serene image.
