Sachgebiete

Beschreibung:

149 S.; zahlr. Illustr. (auch farbig); 28 cm. Originalleinen mit farb. illustr. Schutzumschlag.

Bemerkung:

Gutes Ex.; Umschlag berieben u. stw. etwas bekratzt. - Englisch. - ... These striking portraits of Indians dressed in richly ornamented clothing and posed in front of brightly painted backdrops record the ongoing Guatemalan folk tradition of itinerant photography. Because the itinerants' techniques are crude and because their role is to supply cheap prints to a great many people, few examples of their work have survived over time. The authors traveled with itinerants during a period of several years, and Ann Parker's photographs- taken, in a sense, over their shoulders-speak for them and their little-known world. The book also includes several photographs taken by the itinerants themselves. To the rural Indians, picture taking is a serious business and the camera an instrument of magic. These extraordinary images possess a solemn intensity that is reminiscent of early daguerreotypes. The text, based on hundreds of interviews with the photographers, reveals their personalities and their photographic techniques. It vividly describes the hard and eventful life they lead as they traverse the length and breadth of Guatemala to attend fairs, markets, and religious festivals searching out customers. ? (Verlagstext) // ? The tradition of the itinerant photographer still flourishes in Guatemala, but in future decades it is sure to become another of the countless victims of economic progress. Already in many parts of the world where itinerants once roamed there are now only occasional park photographers, working without backdrops or props, photographing city dwellers on Sunday outings, to remind us of a lost, romantic past. Their subject matter pales before the exotica that continue to grace itinerants' lenses in the Guatemalan highlands. If there existed a copy of every photograph taken by Guatemalan itinerants over the past few decades, if the photographers had been better trained and equipped, and if their pictures had not soon faded and yellowed, curators and social historians would have a significant archive from which to edit a collection of singular beauty. None of these "ifs" can be realized. The role of the itinerant photographer is simply to supply cheap photographs to the great majority of people who do not have access to and could not afford any other way. More is neither asked for nor received. In a kind of partnership with the itinerants, I have acted as their photographic spokesman to record, in a more lasting way than they are able to, the essence of their world. I brought to the task my vision, my photographic knowledge and equipment, and my firm belief in the importance of recording this folk tradition. Avon Neal offered his skill as a writer, his patient research, and his constant companionship and encouragement, without which I might often have become disheartened. The photographers not only produced the environments and directed the events, but also extended their acceptance, their cooperation, and their warmth. The subjects, unaware of the part they were playing, gave the beauty of themselves. ? (Ann Parker) ISBN 0262160862