Etherton Gallery exhibits works by influential Mexican photographer Gabriela Iturbide
A calf disturbing a flock of birds in India, self-portraits, an angel in the Sonoran desert — all have been subjects of the lens of influential Mexican photographer Graciela Iturbide.
The University of Arizona's Center for Creative Photography and the Etherton Gallery will be hosting Iturbide for a free-to-attend artist talk at the opening of the exhibit "Sueños, Símbolos y Narración" - which translates to Dreams, Symbols and Storytelling. Iturbide will share her experiences from her 50-year career.
People planning to attend the talk should arrive at least 30 minutes early, said Daphne Srinivasan of the Etherton Gallery.
Iturbide was born in Mexico City in 1942 and studied cinematography at the Centro Universitario de Estudios Cinematográficos in the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. She was mentored by Manuel Álvarez Bravo, a modernist, while she worked as his assistant. She won the 2008 Hasselblad Award and the 2015 Cornell Capa Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Center for Photography.
The Hasselblad Foundation said Iturbide is "one of the most important and influential Latin American photographers of the past four decades."
Her work is stark, mostly black and white. She is conscientious with angles and how the environment around her interacts with her presence and camera.
One of the most distinguished pieces to be displayed is "Mujer ángel" which focuses on a Seri woman dressed in traditional garments as she walks through the desert landscape carrying a boombox.
Terry Etherton, director of the gallery, said he is proud to "present the first significant exhibition of her work in Tucson."
Twenty-nine of Iturbide's photographs will be shown, running alongside the Cuban Collection.
The pieces will be displayed from Sept. 20 through Nov. 26. Visiting the gallery is free and the doors are open Tuesday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Iturbide will attend the gallery's opening reception, Saturday, Sept. 24 from 7-10 p.m.
Bianca Morales is TucsonSentinel.com’s Cultural Expression and Community Values reporter, and a Report for America corps member supported by readers like you.