Image: No vale mano negra / Cheating Is Not Allowed (detail), 1990, Pablo Ortiz Monasterio. Gelatin silver print. Getty Museum. Gift of Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser. © Pablo Ortiz Monasterio
A Getty program will bring together photographers George Rodriguez, Pablo Ortiz Monasterio, Reynaldo Rivera and Yolanda Andrade for a discussion on photographic representations of Los Angeles and Mexico City. Titled ‘Picturing Los Angeles and Mexico City,’ the panel is scheduled for Tuesday, September 1, at 7 p.m. at the Getty Center in Los Angeles, with online participation available through Zoom.
The event is connected to two exhibitions: ‘Every Minute Is History: Five Views of Los Angeles’ and ‘Instante/revelación: Moments in Mexican Photography.’ According to the Getty’s program description, the exhibitions address representations of Chicano/a communities in Los Angeles and the cultural and artistic dialogues that have shaped Mexico’s photographic history.
Elizabeth Ferrer will moderate the conversation. Ferrer’s role places the discussion within a broader curatorial and critical framework, while the participation of four contemporary photographers gives the program a direct connection to photographic practice in both cities. The panel is set to examine the challenges, opportunities and implications of working across Los Angeles and Mexico City rather than treating the two locations as separate photographic subjects.
The program’s themes extend from community representation to the histories that photography has helped construct in Mexico. The Getty describes the discussion as addressing Chicano/a communities in Los Angeles, Mexico’s photographic history, and the practical and interpretive challenges involved in working between the two urban settings. No individual artist statements or advance remarks were provided in the event announcement.
A work by Ortiz Monasterio, ‘No vale mano negra / Cheating Is Not Allowed’ from the series ‘The Last City,’ is featured in the Getty’s event material. Made in 1990, the work is a gelatin silver print in the Getty Museum collection, where it was acquired as a gift from Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser. The inclusion of the photograph connects the panel’s discussion of Mexico City to a specific work and to the material history of photographic collecting.
The event will be conducted in English, with a Spanish-language livestream available. The Getty lists the program as free and directs attendees to register in advance. The panel will take place at the Getty Center and online on September 1 at 7 p.m.; the announcement does not identify a separate venue or date range for either exhibition.
