Product Description

Stunning, magical images by a master Latin American photographer

"Without a doubt, Martín Chambi’s images laid bare all the social complexity of the Andes. Those images place us in the heart of highland feudalism, in the haciendas of the large land-holders, with their servants and concubines, in the colonial processions of contrite and drunken throngs, and in the smoky chicherías. . . . Of Martín Chambi it is enough to say that in those thirty-some years of photographing, there was no corner of the Cuzco universe he did not appropriate or immortalize." —Mario Vargas Llosa, from the Foreword

Martín Chambi is today regarded as one of the most important photographers of the twentieth century. Between 1920 and 1950 he assembled an unprecedented collection of photographs of the people and landscape of Cuzco, the ancient Inca capital that was in his day a cultural center in Peru. His studio was favored by the local elite, whose fiestas, weddings, and portraits he imbued with a unique outsider’s sensibility. Above all, he devoted himself to photographing his own people—the highland Indians whose ancestors built Cuzco—with a keen postcolonial eye.

A campesino of Indian descent born in 1891, Martín Chambi (1891–1973) was a pioneer in twentieth-century photography. Mario Vargas Llosa is an internationally acclaimed novelist, playwright, journalist, and essayist.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #861130 in Books
• Published on: 1993-02-17
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 115 pages

From Publishers Weekly
As the world has awakened to the enormous riches of historical and contemporary Latin American art, renewed interest has been sparked in the extraordinary work of Peruvian photographer Chambi (1891-1973). Of Indian descent, Chambi was born in a small village in the Andes. After moving to Arequipa and apprenticing for nine years in the studio of Max T. Vargas, Chambi traveled to Cuzco and opened his own studio. Between the early 1920s and the 1950s, Chambi documented Cuzco's substantial cultural heritage. As a photographer, he "laid bare all the social complexity of the Andes," says Vargas Llosa in his foreword, with images that "place us in the heart of highland feudalism, in the haciendas of the large landholders, with their servants and concubines" and "in the colonial processions of contrite and drunken throngs." Standouts among these beautiful photographs include an eerie May-December wedding portrait; a breathtaking mountain shot of Macchu Picchu; a Dickensian beggar child; and the lighthearted Mestizo Woman Drinking Chicha. With informative, insightful introductions by Ranney and Mondejar, this is a volume not to be missed.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
This is the first comprehensive book published in the United States on Martin Chambi, a Peruvian campesino of Indian descent active as a studio and landscape photographer in Cuzco between 1920 and 1950. His photographic archive, passed to his heirs and rediscovered and printed by Edward Ranney in the 1970s, has been exhibited at major U.S. and English sites. Introductory essays discuss his contributions to photography and the artistic, cultural, and political context in which he worked. The reproductions are of the highest quality. Most of these highly original images from large-format negatives are posed portraits stylistically similar to works by August Sander and Eugene Atget. His subjects include family groups, weddings, fiestas, religious processions, sports teams, groups of senoritas, children, and campesinos. These photographs are as fine as any North American or European art photography produced during this period, reason enough to revisit his work.
- Kathleen Collins, New York Transit Museum Archives, Brooklyn
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Spanish

Customer Reviews

Chambi Captures The Essence Of Cuzco
I can't stop looking at this book. It is that captivating. Chambi's work helps to preserve one of the world's most fascinating and unique cultures. To look at his photography is to look at Cuzco itself. In the eyes of the people of Cuzco you can see years of desperation yet at the same time a great sense of hope. This collection of photos brings to life Cuzco pre-Machu Picchu tourism boom and does it wonderfully. Chambi was not only Peru's best photographers, he was at the time one of the wolrd's best. It has been said that he showed a perfect sense of balance in his work. Chambi clearly captures moods as is evident in this collection. Among his most well known photographs is "Tristeza Andina" or "Andean Melancholy." This is a haunting but beautiful photograph of a Quechua Indian playing a flute with his llama standing behind him. It is difficult to describe the feelings that this photograph can evoke. This book is easily worth any amount you may pay for it.

Sublime photos
This is a Smithsonian monograph collection of photographs by the Peruvian photographer that portray many facets of Peruvian life... Print quality is excellent. The photographs are amazing and a fascinating look at culture, landscape and society 1920 - 1950.

For those who care about photography and it s power
Unlike so many dedicated photographers of the early 20th century, the talent possessed by M Chambi let him create images that others may only have dreamed of. I work as a photographer today, and cannot explain the depths to which I have been touched by this work. Using a large plate camera, everything manual, teaching himself the craft (as an apprentice), and answering his own questions about 'how do I do this?', Chambi's pictures are singular, powerful, wonderful. More than a few times I have carried this book to my lab, and asked, 80 years after the fact, how can I make a photograph that looks this rich? No answers are forthcoming, but if the viewer enjoys these photographs the way you would savour a glass of good cognac, you may find out for yourself. The secrets lie within, and Chambi has shown us the way. You must own this book