AIC's 52nd Annual Meeting

In collaboration with the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona (CCP) and the Lens Media Lab at Yale University’s Institute for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage, this research focuses on characterizing the prints of Lola Álvarez Bravo and her contemporaries to identify trends and influences shared between photographers. The project also highlights the breadth and diversity of the collection at the CCP and underscores the impact of interpersonal relationships on an artist’s oeuvre.

Born Dolores Martínez in Lagos de Moreno, Jalisco, Mexico, Lola Álvarez Bravo captured ordinary, quotidian details that exemplified Mexican life and culture in the mid-20th century through her photographs and photomontages. Spending most of her career in Mexico City, Álvarez Bravo associated with some of the most influential photographers working in Mexico at the time including Tina Modotti, Edward Weston, and Manuel Álvarez Bravo.

The CCP acquired Álvarez Bravo’s archive in 1996; it consists of almost 200 gelatin silver photographs. In a comprehensive study of this group of prints, gloss, color, thickness, and texture measurements were taken at the CCP and subsequently analyzed and contextualized by colleagues at the Lens Media Lab. Following the characterization of Álvarez Bravo’s works, the parameters of the research project were expanded to include the photographs of Tina Modotti and will eventually include a selection of prints by Edward Weston.

The relationships between artists known to have practiced together for a period of time are explored through the physical characterization of photographs by Álvarez Bravo, Modotti, and Weston. Beyond the stylistic and aesthetic trends that can be identified through visual comparison, the gloss, color, thickness, and texture measurements have the potential to reveal further, data-driven similarities and patterns of material use.