Martin Chambi Photographs, 1920-1950
As the world has awakened to the enormous riches of historical and contemporary Latin American art, renewed interest has been sparked in the extraordinary work of Peruvian photographer Chambi (1891-1973). Of Indian descent, Chambi was born in a small village in the Andes. After moving to Arequipa and apprenticing for nine years in the studio of Max T. Vargas, Chambi traveled to Cuzco and opened his own studio. Between the early 1920s and the 1950s, Chambi documented Cuzco's substantial cultural heritage. As a photographer, he "laid bare all the social complexity of the Andes," says Vargas Llosa in his foreword, with images that "place us in the heart of highland feudalism, in the haciendas of the large landholders, with their servants and concubines" and "in the colonial processions of contrite and drunken throngs." Standouts among these beautiful photographs include an eerie May-December wedding portrait; a breathtaking mountain shot of Macchu Picchu; a Dickensian beggar child; and the lighthearted Mestizo Woman Drinking Chicha. With informative, insightful introductions by Ranney and Mondejar, this is a volume not to be missed.Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.