Tina Modotti: Women, Mexico and Freedom
Tina Modotti, an Italian photographer, activist and actress, has left an indelible mark on the history of contemporary photography.
Her famous shots, which make up the collections of the most important museums in the world, are the symbol of an emancipated and modern woman, whose photographic art is inextricably linked to her social commitment.
Poor and forced to emigrate, Tina could have followed the career of an actress, and take advantage of her rare beauty for the easy obtaining of economic comforts but her choice of freedom leads her instead to the study and deepening of her innate artistic skills. Tina expressed her idea of freedom through photography and civil commitment especially in Mexico, a country that had welcomed her and of which she became an icon, but soon crossed the borders of the Americas, to be recognized on the world art scene.
During her short life, together with her companion Vittorio Vidali, she worked at the forefront of a freer and fairer humanity, to bring relief to civilian victims of conflicts such as the Spanish War.
She will never be able to return to her beloved native land because of her anti-fascist activities and an untimely death at the age of 46, to which artists such as Picasso, Rafael Alberti and Pablo Neruda paid tribute to her, who dedicated a famous poem to her.
As part of the 2020 schedule of the Municipality of Milan “I talenti delle donne”, the exhibition offers a hundred photographs, original prints with silver salts from the seventies, letters, documents and videos that will bring the public closer to this free spirit that she went through misery and fame, art and political passion, arrests and persecutions, but which aroused admiration for the full and constant respect for herself, her thought and her freedom.
Curated by Biba Giacchetti, the exhibition (and its catalog) is an interesting and fascinating journey through the Latin American country, through the images of the Italian photographer, activist and actress, a symbol of emancipation and modernity, whose art is inextricably linked to social commitment.
The volume, which accompanies the exhibition at Mudec Photo and is also introduced by the essays by Paolo Ferrari and Claudio Natoli, allows not only to have a complete overview of Modotti’s artistic research but also to understand what Mexico was, politically and socially, of the first decades of the twentieth century.
TINA MODOTTI: Women, Mexico and freedom
May 1st / November 7th, 2021
Mudec Musem, Milan, Italy
