Helen Levitt Mexico City (Helen Levitt, James Oles) [PDF Scan]

Helen Levitt: Mexico City
by Helen Levitt (Author, Photographer), James Oles (Author)

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File Format: PDF
File Size: 16.05 MB
Publication Date: October 1997



A collection of sixty-seven photographs of the urban and semiurban areas of Mexico city taken in 1941

Movement, or more specifically, cinematic movement, the moving camera, is what Levitt's work suggests (see also her classic A Way of Seeing [1965]). Her images of Mexico City in 1941, a time when Mexico was at a historical crossroads, are quietly stunning. Whether the subject is merchants at market, beggars on street curbs, children making a game out of garbage, or well-heeled individuals strolling through a park, Levitt's lens seems to have captured more than the eyes can absorb. Like stills from a Bunuel film that was never made, Levitt's work isn't sentimental but is more exacting; she does not seek out but also does not shy away from brutal realities. Art historian James Oles' succinct and informative introduction, which reappears in Spanish after the plates, places Levitt's Mexico City images in context. This handsomely produced album is a worthy addition for the sake of Mexican history as well as photography. Raul Nino


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