KBr FUNDACIÓN MAPFRE PRESENTED TINA MODOTTI’S EXHIBITION

Tina Modotti’s life was influenced by some of the most important historical events of the 1920s and ’30s. A citizen of the world—as many have considered her—Modotti’s work and her life has been surrounded by uncertainties that have only been resolved after in-depth study, although some gaps still remain.

Her nomadic life and agitated political militancy forced Modotti to abruptly flee many of the countries which she lived in. Consequently, as pointed out by the show’s curator Isabel Tejeda, this circumstance “decontextualizes and disorients her production, making it impossible to date many of her images with precision”. Nevertheless, most of her photographic work was produced between 1923 and 1930. During her time in Mexico, Modotti evolved from the perfection of abstract forms to a different and more personal gaze that was conditioned by her outlook on life and her notable attraction to human beings and social injustice. She went on to portray the precarious conditions of workers, inequalities, and misery in urban areas. Likewise, she focused on women and their role within the community as well as the forms and symbols of working-class emancipation. In her eagerness to promote awareness, Modotti produced images denouncing injustice, while honoring the dispossessed; some had propagandistic purposes and were intended for publications and magazines.

The exhibition being presented at Fundación MAPFRE is the most comprehensive show dedicated to Tina Modotti to date. Thanks to the work of Isabel Tejeda, viewers can contemplate a large number of the artist’s originals that have been assembled through the curator’s research. Nearly 240 photographs (predominantly vintage prints) have been grouped chronologically into four sections. Furthermore, a wide range of documentary materials will be on display along with the projection of one of the Hollywood films Modotti featured in.