Opening Friday 26th October_ 6.30 PM
Queens Building. 97 William Street CBD (corner with Murray St.)
Photography Exhibition_ Juan Rulfo
True to the old saying «a picture speaks a thousand words», these stunning images tell raw, human stories that will transport the viewer to distant lands. The festival will feature this incredible exhibition that explores the work of Juan Rulfo, a prolific and genuinely iconic Mexican writer and photographer, who captured the spirit and history of a nation through his camera lens.
Juan Rulfo’s exhibition is an unprecedented opportunity in Australia and only happening thanks to the trust, support and generosity of Juan Rulfo Foundation, La Media Luna Productions and Fitzgerald Photo Imaging.
See photos below_
Juan Rulfo. Danzantes de la representación Los Negritos en Tlahuitoltepec, Distrito mixe, Oaxaca, México, 1955. Fundación Juan Rulfo.
Rulfo Vivo
«But there is something»
by Jimena Tena and Paulina Millán_
Within the landscape of universal literature, Mexican creator, Juan Rulfo is without a doubt one of the most iconic, loved and innovative writers of 20th century Latin America. His work has been translated into 100 languages and his literary legacy has influenced some of the most celebrated authors of the region, including Nobel laureates Mario Vargas Llosa and Gabriel García Márquez.
Rulfo burst onto the literary stage after the publication of The Burning Plain (1953), a collection of short stories about the hardships of rural life in the aftermath of the Mexican revolution, and the novel Pedro Páramo (1955) about a man’s quest to find his tyrannical father in the ghastly town Comala.
Rulfo is renowned for his ability to capture «Mexican idiosyncrasies in the backdrop of universal humanity» (Shundalyn, 2017). Indeed, Rulfo’s work vividly voices a distinctive representation of Mexico’s land and people, however, the worldwide appeal of his narrative is due to his treatment of the classic tropes of literature, such as; the human tragedy, the search for identity, the consequences of desire, and the inevitability of death, all of which transcend a multitude of cultural barriers and historical contexts.
Although Rulfo is mainly known for his literary work, he was also a skilled and avid photographer. Art historian and Rulfo scholar, Paulina Millán points out that «Photography is a central element of Rulfo’s creative output» (Millán, 2016). He left behind a legacy of more than 6000 negatives, which have earned him a special place in the history of Mexican photography and continue to inspire interest worldwide.
«I can recite Pedro Páramo by heart…
Rulfo’s books paved the path for mine»
Gabriel García Márquez
Through the lens of his Rolleiflex, Rulfo captured the Mexican landscape, architecture and people at a pivotal moment in time, as Millán explains «Through his photography of scenes from the 30s, 40s and 50s, Rulfo depicts a changing Mexico which is undergoing a shift from a rural to urban way of life&hellipa Mexico that is no longer the same by 1960s.»
Like his literary work, Rulfo’s photographs are rich in texture and detail. He manages to capture the movement of water; the texture of wood, plants, leaves and rocks. In fact, Millán sustains that «the detailed descriptions of his narratives are the result of a person who had a vast knowledge of photography.»
«I was thinking of you Susana. Of the
green hills. Of when we used to fly kites
in the windy season. We could hear the
sounds of life from the town bellow.
We were high above the hill, playing
out sting to the wind. Help me Susana»
Pedro Páramo, J. Rulfo’s novel
It is in his role as a photographer that Rulfo arrives to Perth’s Cine Vivo Festival. He will be celebrated with the projection of the documentary Las Imágenes de Rulfo, directed by Juan Carlos Rulfo, the artist’s youngest son. The documentary follows Juan Carlo’s journey to examine his father’s photographic legacy while he attempts to recreate some of his most iconic photos.
The documentary will be accompanied by an exhibition of Rulfo’s images. It is worth noting that this will be the first time that Rulfo’s photographic work will be shown in Australia. The fourteen images, which have been lent to the festival by the Rulfo Foundation, belong to the series Danza’s mixes (1955). They were taken during the filming of the documentary Danzas mixes directed by the German filmmaker Walter Reuter and for which Rulfo wrote the script. Danza’s mixes was ordered by the Papaloapan Commission, the goal of the documentary was to establish contact Mixe communities, to describe their way of life and the hardships they endured to survive. The result of this journey is a series of photos that depict a pluriethnic Mexico, therefore the series is not only important for its aesthetic value but for its historical importance.
It would be impossible, to sum up in a few pages the importance of Rulfo’s legacy in the Mexican cultural landscape. He was a man that wore many hats but above all, he was an artist who managed to capture the spirit of his country through words and pictures.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS_
Paulina Millán is currently completing her doctorate at UNAM and, with the support of the Fundación Juan Rulfo, has been involved in a number of significant projects. She has previously worked as a teaching assistant at the Facultad de Filosofía y Letras at UNAM. In 2011, she curated «Juan Rulfo — 23 Fotografías» in Guadalajara. Her research focuses on the importance of photographic documentation in the Papaloapan Commission and this work builds on her M.A. thesis «Las fotografías de Juan Rulfo» en la Comisión del Papaloapan 1955–1957. She acted as co-curator and guide for the «México: Juan Rulfo, fotógrafo» exhibition and presented a paper on Rulfo’s photographic work in Oaxaca entitled «Los mixes de Juan Rulfo».
Jimena Tena is a linguist, Teacher and language learner enthusiast. She completed her M.A in Linguistics in 2015, and she has a B.A in Hispanic literature and language. She has previously worked as a teaching assistant at the Escuela Normal de Estudios Superiores, UNAM. She currently works for the Department of Education in her hometown of Morelia, Mexico.