UNDER THE MEXICAN SKY: Gabriel Figueroa—Art and Film On view March 4, 2015 – June 27, 2015 Educator Resource Guide Dear Educator, We are excited to present UNDER THE MEXICAN SKY: Gabriel Figueroa—Art and Film. From the early 1930s through the early 1980s, Mexican cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa (1907–1997) helped forge an evocative and enduring image of Mexico. Among the most important cinematographers of the so-called Golden Age of Mexican Cinema, Figueroa worked with leading directors from Mexico, the United States and Europe, traversing a wide range of genres while maintaining his distinctive and vivid visual style. This exhibition features film clips, paintings, photographs, prints, posters, and documents that help us learn about Figueroa’s work. It includes work by other artists and filmmakers from his period. We invite you to join us in exploring his career and discover one of the most influential cinematographers of his time. We hope you will use the educational materials provided in this guide as a resource to support different areas of study in the classroom and to help prepare your students for a visit. To help you plan your lessons and units, we have included contextual information, extension activities, a glossary, and resources for further study. We look forward to having you join us for a visit to El Museo del Barrio this season! The Education Department El Museo del Barrio Table of Contents About the Exhibition About Figueroa Preparing for your visit to El Museo del Barrio Extending your visit to El Museo del Barrio: Classroom Activities Works Cited About the Exhibition From the early 1930s through the early 1980s, the Mexican cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa (1907–1997) helped forge an evocative and enduring image of Mexico. Among the most important cinematographers of the Golden Age of Mexican Cinema, Figueroa worked with leading directors from Mexico, the United States and Europe, traversing a wide range of genres while maintaining his distinctive and vivid visual style. These exhibition features film clips from Figueroa, paintings by Diego Rivera, Jose Clemente Orozco, Manuel Rodriguez Lozano and José Chavez Morado, photographs, prints, posters and documents, many of which are drawn from Figueroa’s archive, the Televisa Foundation collection, the collections of the Museo de la Estampa and the Museo Nacional in Mexico. In addition, the exhibition includes work by other artists and filmmakers from the period such as Luis Buñuel, Sergei Eisenstein, Edward Weston, and Tina Modotti that draw from the vast inventory of distinctly Mexican imagery associated with Figueroa’s cinematography or were heavily influenced by his vision. Figueroa’s filmography can be understood as a chronicle of the invention of modern Mexico. A journey through worlds both real and imagined, this exhibition is above all a confirmation that there are many Mexicos, and that many of them are but an effect of the seductive power of imagery. For more information please visit our website at http://www.elmuseo.org/under-the- mexican-sky/ About Figueroa1: Gabriel Figueroa Mateos (April 24, 1907 – April 27, 1997) was a Mexican cinematographer who worked both in Mexican cinema and Hollywood. He became an emblematic figure in Mexico through his work as a studio portrait photographer, still photographer, lighting artist, camera operator, and cinematographer. His mother died after giving birth to him. His father, unable to cope with the loss of his wife, left Gabriel and his brother Roberto to be cared for by their aunts. He grew up in a family of liberal writers, sympathizers of different Revolutionary leaders and determined widows. He studied painting at the Academia de San Carlos, and at the age of 16 he became interested in photography thanks to José Guadalupe Velasco. He later befriended other photographers, such as Gilberto Martínez Solares and Raúl Martínez Solares, and these three would then move on to cinematography. Figueroa made his entry in the movie industry in 1932 as a photographer of stills for the film Revolución by Miguel Contreras Torres. He was later one of the twenty cinematographers hired for the Howard Hawks’ film Viva Villa! After a few jobs, he obtained a scholarship to study in the United States, where he learned from the established director of photography Gregg Toland. Back in Mexico, his first film was Fernando de Fuentes's Allá en el Rancho Grande (1936), which would become one of the most popular films in Mexico and Latin America, and gave him his first award at the Venice Film Festival. His filmography consists of over two hundred films. In them he displays his technical skill, careful handling of composition and lighting, affinity for the aesthetics of other artists, and ability to keep in step with a rapidly changing art form that was at once entertainment and industry. His talent was recognized at the world’s premier film festivals and sought out by directors as distinguished as John Ford, Luis Buñuel, and John Huston. Some of his most notable films include Los Olvidados by Luis Buñuel, The Night of the Iguana by John Huston, The Fugitive by John Ford, and Río Escondido by Emilio “El Indio” Fernández. 1 http://televisafoundation.org/gabriel_en.html Preparing for Your Visit to El Museo del Barrio The following preparation is intended to support teachers in integrating the exhibition UNDER THE MEXICAN SKY: Gabriel Figueroa—Art and Film from El Museo del Barrio into their curriculum. Use the discussion questions and activities outlined in the guide before and after your visit to continue the conversation with your students. In the guide you will also find text boxes with some technical information related to cinematography for teachers. Due to the content of the show and the size of the galleries the exhibition is recommended for grades 4 through College. Feel free to come with the material you create at school to the museum or send us pictures to [email protected]. We will try to include your work in your visit. What is a cinematographer? The cinematographer works closely with the director to compose the images that are captured on film. The cinematographer’s job is to help the director realize what is in his or her head. The cinematographer creates a consistent look for the film and makes images that help tell the story. He or she is in charge of framing the images and lighting the scenes to get the mood right - getting images that push the story along and keeps the audience engaged with the film. Sometimes the cinematographer needs to retouch the images after filming to convey the atmosphere the director wanted. While some cinematographers operate the camera, most of them supervise a team that includes one or more camera operators, who do the actual filming, and camera assistants, who load the film, mount the cameras, and focus the lenses. Ø Activities for Elementary, Middle and High School Students: Research Project: Ask your students to research on the following cinematography concepts and share their findings with the rest of the class. They can create a presentation with visual examples of their discoveries for their classmates. These concepts will help them have a better understanding of Figueroa’s work, the exhibition, and the activities they will do before, during, and after their visit to El Museo del Barrio. Concepts: - Framing - Set - Lighting - Shooting - Scene - Retouching Framing: The placement of the subject in relation to other objects in a picture Lighting: The use of light to create effects Scene: Part of the film’s action in a single location Set: One of the locations of the movie Shooting: The act of filming a movie Retouching: Transforming a photograph into a desired image Photography Exploration: Gabriel Figueroa’s relationship with images started early in his life. He was not yet twenty years old when he got his first job as a photographer in a studio. By 1931 Figueroa was participating for the first time in a film project. Hired as a still photographer, his work consisted of using a photo camera to capture certain scenes of the movie in order to promote it during its distribution and screening phase. He was also in charge to record what went on behind the camera during the making of the film itself. Still Photograph and Camera Angle Exploration: Separate your students in groups to work as still photographers. Start by asking them to select a story they want to work on, or pick up a story you have been working on together. Then ask them to imagine that they are the still photographers of a movie based on that story. Together, they will create scenes which clearly express the narrative through images. Have your students start the process by deciding which scenes of the movie they would like to capture. When they have their selection, they will have to create the scene in order to photograph it. They can use different objects, toys, or themselves to recreate the scene. When the recreation is ready, ask them to take 4 to 5 photographs. After the first few photographs, encourage students to explore the possibilities of capturing an image from different angles and seeing how the results change. How does the scene change when you shoot from above or below? What about up-close, or far-away? With a camera they can create very different effects by varying the angle — or point of view — of the photograph. Once they have their photographs, they can share them with the rest of the class. Without revealing the story they chose, encourage the rest of the class to guess what the movie is about. Have the students discuss and reflect together on how their photographs captured their story.They can repeat the activity after the feedback.