3.08.2019

LatAm f100: Eva Lépiz and Iaritza Menjivar

From the series "Penitentes" © Eva Lépiz

fototazo has asked a group of 50 curators, gallery owners, blog writers, photographers, academics and others actively engaged with Latin American photography to pick two photographers whose work deserves recognition.

This project aims to highlight great work being made in the region today and also to provide a starting point in both English and Spanish for exploring contemporary Latin American photography. LatAm f100 is a collaboration between fototazo and the photographer and educator Jaime Permuth.

Today we continue the series with selections by Stella Johnson. Her biography follows his selections.

fototazo ha invitado a un grupo de 50 curadores, galeristas, escritores, fotógrafos, y académicos - entre otros individuos seriamente comprometidos con la fotografía latinoamericana - a escoger cada quién dos fotógrafos cuya obra sea merecedora de mayor reconocimiento.

Este proyecto es una manera de celebrar el gran trabajo que se lleva a cabo en la región. Asimismo, busca proporcionar un punto de partida bilingüe en inglés y en español a las audiencias que deseen explorar la fotografía contemporánea en Latinoamérica. LatAm f100 es una colaboración entre fototazo y el fotógrafo y educador Jaime Permuth.


Hoy continuamos la serie con selecciones aportadas por Stella Johnson
Encontrará su biografía al final del texto.
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Eva Lépiz is photographing the changes of one of the most ancient cultures in Oaxaca, in Teotitlan del Valle, which maintains its traditions; however, migration and globalization are transforming the current generation which is reconsidering these strict yet sacred traditions. 

She teaches photography to the children and thus has close relationships with the families of the village. She combines her curiosity and knowledge of this culture with great visual skill thus creating a poetic archive of Teotitlan del Valle in transformation. This is a life-long project that transcends the actual image and asks questions of the viewer and of the participants.

Eva Lépiz está fotografiando los cambios de una de las culturas más antiguas en Oaxaca, en Teotitlán del Valle, el cual mantiene sus tradiciones; sin embargo, la migración y la globalización están transformando la generación actual que está reconsiderando estas estrictas aunque sagradas tradiciones.

Ella enseña fotografía a los niños y por esto tiene estrechas relaciones con las familias del pueblo. Ella combina su curiosidad y conocimiento de esta cultura con grandes habilidades visuales, así creando un archivo poético en transformación de Teotitlán del Valle. Este es un proyecto para toda la vida que trasciende la imagen actual y hace preguntas al espectador y a los participantes.


From the series "Penitentes" © Eva Lépiz


From the series "Penitentes" © Eva Lépiz


From the series "Penitentes" © Eva Lépiz


From the series "Penitentes" © Eva Lépiz


From the series "Penitentes" © Eva Lépiz


From the series "Penitentes" © Eva Lépiz


From the series "Penitentes" © Eva Lépiz


From the series "Penitentes" © Eva Lépiz


From the series "Penitentes" © Eva Lépiz


From the series "Penitentes" © Eva Lépiz


From the series "Penitentes" © Eva Lépiz
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Iaritza Menjivar has been photographing the immigrant experience of her family and its impact on first-generation Americans such as herself and her cousins. It is timely and important imagery that is intimate and universal and a real look at what this experience is. We see her aunt waiting for the 5am bus to go to work; we see the children with their hopes and dreams, unaware of the political drama unfolding around them; and we root for the first gens who are the first in their families to graduate from college. The photographs are empathetic, yet unflinching in their authenticity. This work negates the narrative about immigrants that the current White House espouses. It is important, loving and tough imagery. It needs to be shown and seen by a diverse audience.

Iaritza Menjivar ha fotografiado la experiencia inmigrante de su familia y su impacto en americanos de primera generación tales como ella y sus primos. Son imágenes oportunas e importantes que son íntimas y universales, y son una visión real de lo que es esta experiencia. Vemos a su tía esperando el autobús de las 5 am para ir a trabajar; Vemos a los niños con sus esperanzas y sueños, sin darse cuenta del drama político que se desarrolla a su alrededor; y apoyamos a los de primera generación que son los primeros en sus familias en graduarse de la universidad. Las fotografías son empáticas, pero inquebrantables en su autenticidad. Este trabajo niega la narrativa sobre los inmigrantes que defiende la actual Casa Blanca. Son imágenes importantes, amorosas y duras. Necesitan ser mostradas y vistas por un público diverso.

© Iaritza Menjivar


© Iaritza Menjivar


© Iaritza Menjivar


© Iaritza Menjivar


© Iaritza Menjivar


© Iaritza Menjivar


© Iaritza Menjivar


© Iaritza Menjivar


© Iaritza Menjivar


© Iaritza Menjivar
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Stella Johnson is a photographer and educator known for her passionate and honest documentary projects. She received a Core Fulbright Scholar Grant to photograph in Mexico in 2003, and Fulbright Specialist grants to teach in Mexico in 2006 and in Colombia in 2018. The University of Maine Press published her monograph, Al Sol: Photographs from Mexico, Cameroon and Nicaragua in 2008. Johnson’s photographs have been widely exhibited in the United States and internationally.

A dedicated educator, Johnson holds teaching positions at Boston University and Lesley University College of Art and Design. She also teaches workshops in Greece, Cuba, Colombia and Mexico. She was a 2013 finalist for the Massachusetts Cultural Council Artist Fellowship, Photolucida Critical Mass Top 50, twice and a nominee for the Boston Foundation’s Brother Thomas Fellowship. Johnson’s work has received numerous honors including a New England Foundation for the Arts Cultural Collaborative Artist-in-Residence Grant and Julia Margaret Cameron Award.

Johnson holds a BFA from The San Francisco Art Institute and an MS in Journalism from Boston University. Her work is held in public collections including The DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park, The Haggerty Museum of Art, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, The Portland Museum of Art and The Southeast Museum of Photography, among others. 
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This series also includes responses from Molly RobertsMariela SancariAlonso CastilloPaccarik OrueKatrin EismannDina MitraniDon Gregorio AntonCristina De Middel, Arturo SotoCecilia Fajardo-HillGuillermo Srodek-HartYorgos EfthymiadisLivia AnimasJuanita BermúdezSusana Raab, the pairing of Victoria Holguín and Daniella BenedettiEmiliano ValdésMuriel HasbunGeorge SladeMarta DahóElizabeth AvedonJorge PicciniRodrigo OrrantiaSujong SongNelson Herrera YslaOliva María RubioJonathan BlausteinPatricia MartinJosé Luis CuevasZully SoteloAlfredo De Stefano FaríasGonzalo GolpeJulián BarónJames RodríguezMisha VallejoMusuk NolteCintia DuránAlasdair FosterEder Chiodetto and Erik van der Weijde.