Collections: Photography: Untitled

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This image is presented as a "thumbnail" because it is protected by copyright. The Brooklyn Museum respects the rights of artists who retain the copyright to their work.

Untitled

Graciela Iturbide was introduced to photography in 1969 by the Mexican photographer Manuel Alvarez Bravo. Working as Alvarez Bravo’s assistant, she developed a new sense of her native Mexico, moving beyond its Catholic traditions to its pre-Hispanic roots, its spirituality and mysticism.

Iturbide’s breakthrough was a poignant photo-essay titled Juchitán of the Women, to which this image belongs. In a documentary style notable for its humanistic grace, the series focuses on the matriarchal structure of the indigenous Zapotec people in the town of Juchitán and their coexistence with modern Mexico. Since 1980, Iturbide has maintained a close relationship with this group, where women dominate all aspects of social life, from the economy to religious rituals. The role of men is limited to hunting and gathering.

In this image, a Zapotec man, framed by the window of a local home, displays the results of his hard work. The wall’s coarse texture of clay and straw poetically relates to the scales of the fish.


• Artist: Graciela Iturbide
• Medium: Gelatin silver print
• Dates: 1981
• Dimensions: Image: 12 x 8 in. (30.5 x 20.3 cm) Sheet: 14 x 10 7/8 in. (35.6 x 27.6 cm)
• Signature: Signed lower right verso "Graciela Iturbide"
• Collections: Photography
• Museum Location: This item is not on view
• Accession Number: 1990.119.38
• Credit Line: Gift of Marcuse Pfeifer
• Image: Overall, 1990.119.38_PS2.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2008
Graciela Iturbide. Untitled, 1981. Gelatin silver print, Image: 12 x 8 in. (30.5 x 20.3 cm) Sheet: 14 x 10 7/8 in. (35.6 x 27.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Marcuse Pfeifer, 1990.119.38 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 1990.119.38_PS2.jpg)