City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 1996 Tina Modotti's Vision: Photographic Modernism in Mexico, 1923-1930 Sarah Margaret Lowe Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/1702 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] INFORM ATION T O USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. 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Contact UMI directly to order. UMI A Bell & Howell Information Company 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor MI 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TINA MODOTTI'S VISION: PHOTOGRAPHIC MODERNISM IN MEXICO, 1923-1930 by SARAH M. LOWE A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Art History in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The City University of New York 1996 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 9707125 UMI Microform 9707125 Copyright 1996, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ©1996 Sarah M. Lowe All Rights Reserved Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. iii This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in Art History in satisfaction of the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. [signature] InlsA. Date Chair of Examining Committee [signature] Date Executive Officer [signature] - Supervisory Committee THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My experiences working on this project have been truly extraordinary, and throughout the years of my research, just the mention of the name Tina Modotti seemed to charm everyone I met: doors opened, faded memories were recalled, invaluable documents were recovered, and hundreds of photographs have now come to light. I have encountered a well-spring of enthusiasm and support for my work from hundreds of people whom I thank en masse here. Some, however, must be singled out for their gracious cooperation. I have benefited enormously from the work and support of two art historians whose specialties intersected with the many aspects of this book. I would like to acknowledge my debt to Professors Linda Nochlin and Edward J. Sullivan. Professors Carol Armstrong, Rose-Carol Washton Long and Diane Kelder offered critical responses and I thank them for their careful readings. I would like to thank those people who knew Modotti and shared their memories with me: Carolina Amor, Manuel Alvarez Bravo, Lou Bunin, Fernando Gamboa, Leni Kroul, Yolanda Modotti Magrini, Brett Weston, Chan Weston, and Ella Wolfe. Tina Modotti has attracted many scholars and writers, whom it has been my great pleasure to know, and all of Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. V whom generously shared their research and thoughts on her with me. Thanks to Robert D'Attilio for numerous conversations which clarified some of the more byzantine political intrigues that surrounded Modotti; his perceptions of Modotti are always refreshingly original. Amy Conger was exceptionally helpful to me as I began my work on Modotti, and for that I thank her gratefully. Warm thanks to Elena Poniatowska for her gracious hospitality in Mexico and for her devoted encouragement. Christiane Barckhausen's steadfast support and unique perspectives on Modotti have been deeply appreciated. I would like also to thank the following people whose work on Modotti helped me formulate many of my ideas about her: Betsy Cramer Andrade, Mildred Constantine, Gianfranco Ellero, Dee Knapp, Herbert Molderings, Francisco Reyes Palma, Rosetta Porracin, Antonio Saborit, M. Pia Tamburlini, Riccardo Toffoletti, David Vestel, and Peter Wollen. During my six years of work on Modotti, I have been fortunate to have met many people who shared their own insights and interests with me and who contributed to this project in a variety of ways. I would like to especially thank Beth Alvarez, Electa Arenal, Juan Antonio Ascencio, Maria R. Balderrama, Rosamond Bernier, Inge Bondi, Karen S. Chambers, Sarah d 'Harnoncourt, Susannah Glusker, Sam and Gerda Katz, Lawrence Jasud, Ben Maddow, Dan Miller, Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. vi Beatriz Guadelupe Moyano, Beaumont Newhall, Marion Oettinger, Jay Oles, Peter Palmquist, Sylvia Pandolfi, Ross Parmenter, Pilar Perez, Ruth and Lee Pollard, Sara Quintanilla, Carla Stellweg, Dominique H. Vasseur, and Carlos Vidali Special thanks to friends and colleagues upon whose personal support and intellectual insights I have depended and have been enriched: Susan Aberth, Julia Bailerini, Aline Brandauer, Martha Buskirk, Terry Carbone, Monroe Denton, Susan Edwards, Elizabeth Ferrer, Maud Lavin, Terese Lichtenstein, Diana L. Linden, Sarah Moore and Rene Verdugo, Mignon Nixon, Kathy O'Dell, Rosemary O'Neill, Stacy Pies, Virginia Rutledge, Pam Scheinman, Adele Ursone, Anna Veltfort, and Beth Wilson. Among these Susan Fellemen and Luisa Sartori also graciously provided translations for a variety of texts, in German and Italian, respectively. This dissertation began as a catalogue raisonne of Modotti's photographs. Numerous curators at dozens of museums and archives were extremely helpful, allowing me to examine the work in their collections. Among those, I would like to thank Trudy Wilner Stack, Center for Creative Photography; Victoria Blasco, Centro Cultural/Arte Contemporaneo; Luciano Lopez Zamudio and Arnoldo Martinez Verdugo, Centro de Estudios del Movimiento Obrero Socialista (CEMOS); Judith Keller, J. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. vii Paul Getty Center; David Wooters, Janis Madhu and Joe Struble, International Museum of Photography at George Eastman House; Kathryn C. Sherlock, Librarian, Museum of International Folk Art; Susan Kismeric, Nicole Fiedler and Tony Troncale, Museum of Modern Art; Enrique Marifio Reed and Angel Sudrez Sierra, Museo de Arte Moderno; and Aurora Martinez Lopez and Juan Carlos Vadez, Museo del la Fotografia, Fototeca de INAH. Warm thanks to the many private collectors of Modotti's photographs, all of whom were exceptionally accommodating. Keeping track of art work that is continually on the market was helped immensely by, above all, Beth Gates Warren at Sotheby's, who kept me appraised of the movement of Modotti's photographs, as well as Julia Nelson-Gal at Butterfield & Butterfield and Rick Wester at Christies. I would also like to thank David Fahey, Paul M. Hertzmann and Susan Herzig, Edwynn Houk, Alan Klotz, Simon Lowinsky, Nancy Medwell, Jill Quasha, William Schaeffer, W. Michael Sheehe, Spencer Throckmorton and Yona Bacher, Ava Vargas, and especially Tony and Merrily Page. Many institutions provided me with personal assistance above and beyond the call of duty at all stages of my research. The following libraries and archives, and their dedicated personnel were of immense help: the Museum of Modern Art, Clive Phillpot, Janis Ektal, Rona Roob; the Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. V l l l Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona, Tucson: Nancy Lutz, and especially, the unparalleled help of Amy Rule; the Library of Congress, Motion Picture Division, Patrick J. Sheehan; the Los Angeles County Museum, Bruce Davis; the American Italian Historical Association,