Photography during the Mexican revolution

Lately I've been reading México: fotografía y revolución by Miguel Ángel Berumen, and Mexico at the Hour of Combat: Sabino Osuna's Photographs of the Mexican Revolution. The latter was brought to my attention by an exhibit at the Marriott Library by Artes de México en Utah.

In Fotografía y revolución, Laura González Flores says that the format preferred by most Mexican war photographers of the time was a 4 x 5 or 5 x 7 inch glass plate. Even though nitrocellulose film had become widely available at that time, the glass plates were better for commercial contact printing and had high enough image quality for photomechanical reproductions. By the early 20th century, exposure times were short enough and cameras were light enough that they could be used to capture action on the battlefield. Because it occurred so early in the 20th century, photos of the Mexican revolution are some of the first live-action photos of war (as opposed to images of dead soldiers). Although by this time photography was accessible to the middle class, most of those photographing the revolution were professionals, not amateurs.

Mexico City photographers, c. 1910.
Image from Fotografía y revolución.

Camera ad, from an early 20th century magazine for Mexican photographers.
Image from Fotografía y revolución.

I think the reason I've pored over these two books so much is that I love the peek into everyday life they give of civilians, especially women, and the photographers themselves. Osuna seems to have had a lot of access to the Madero family, especially his wife. I want all her outfits. Note that the rest of the images in this post are from Mexico at the Hour of Combat.

Do you peep that white dress? This is Madero's family.

Sra. Madero

Sra. Madero again

a nurse

A market by damaged buildings

When I saw this photo all I could think about was how jealous I am of the printer who
owned all that wood type, with accents. But, erhm, the important historical event documented here is in fact a prison break, not type.

Battalion of Yaquí Indians

Makeshift barber shop for soldiers

Compared to the other photographs detailed in Fotografía y revolución, Osuna's photos are technically better and I would say they go beyond documentary. The photography museum at UC Riverside holds the Osuna negatives and they have a great permanent history of photograph display too! And a little room that is a camera obscura! One of my favorite things about Mexico at the Hour of Combat is that it has an index of the entire collection, with thumbnails.

My favorite details are the little boy in the lower left hand corner and the brass band

Zapata eating dinner

Infographics in 'Studies in Primitive Looms'

One time after work I wandered down the call numbers for Home Economics looking for a vegetarian cookbook and found Studies in Primitive Looms by H. Ling Roth. It is a survey of hand looms from around the world. Today hand-weaving isn't the primary way of producing textiles, but in some parts of the world these ages-old loom types are still widely used (e.g. the Andes). For craft weavers, I imagine non-western looms would have a lot of appeal because they would be easier to afford and store than traditional European looms.

The infographics in the book are clear and detailed. In the preface to my 1981 copy, it pays "grateful acknowledgement to ... the Council of the Royal Anthropological Institute for the gift of the [printing] blocks" but doesn't say who the illustrator (or printer) is. Now on to the pretty pictures.

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This diagram illustrates the basics of how a loom works and is presented at the beginning of the book. It helps readers understand almost every other graphic in the book.

This diagram could just have been written, but how much less clear would it be without the pictures?

Love the 3/4 views going on here. 

There are a couple of gorgeous illustrations of warped looms with a woven pattern that aren't as informative as some of the warping diagrams below. But I think they're actually more informative than photos: if I were trying to reconstruct this loom, I'd prefer this drawing to a photo. Another reason these illustrations may have come into existence is that most of the looms they are based on are held in British museums--I doubt the museums are able to warp and display every loom. At the museum, this loom may only exist as a bundle of sticks (hopefully in archival storage). 

This map of Africa reminded me of Edward Tufte's insistence on the clarity black and white graphics.

These are my FAVORITE diagrams in the whole book. They show how the loom is warped and the resulting pattern. 

This image reminds me of a favorite Edward Curtis photo. One question that comes to mind when I see outdoor looms like this is 'and if it rains?' but perhaps people only weave outdoors in very dry climates.

Visiting the University of Texas / Visita al museo Blanton de la Universidad de Tejas

Charles W. White, Awaken from the Unknowing, 1961

Elizabeth Catlett, Homage to My Young Black Sisters, 1968

Coincidentally, my two favorite works in this show at UT were both by artists who worked with the People's Printshop (Taller de Gráfica Popular). 

One of the reasons I love Robert Rauschenberg's work is because he frequently blurs the line between painting and printmaking. Next to the Rauschenberg in the exhibit was this quote--I include it here because it fits with the TGP's goals if not its methodology, which was more propagandistic. 

"I've never thought that problems were so simple politically that they could, by me anyway, be tackled directly. But every day by consistently doing what you do with the attitude that you do it ... if you feel strongly, it's going to show there." 

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Ambos artistas de estas dos obras (vistas en esta exposición) trabajaron en el Taller de Gráfica Popular. 

También en la misma exposición se expuso una obra de Robert Rauschenberg, con esta cita al lado. Parece que Rauschenberg compartía algunas de las metas del TGP, aunque no seguía una metodología tan activista. 

"Nunca había creído que los problemas políticas eran tan sencillos que yo las podía tratar. Pero en hacer lo que haces, de tu manera, todos los días ... lo que opinas va a mostrarse."