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11/9/2000

Tina Modotti

Helsinski City Art Museum, Helsinki

The Mexican Renaissance
An exhibition of photographs by the Italian-born Tina Modotti will open to the public at the Helsinki City Art Museum's Tennis Palace galleries on September 12, 2000. The exhibition will focus on the period from 1923 to 1930 when Modotti lived in Mexico, and will therefore continue the Art Museum's series on the art and culture of Mexico. Tina Modotti (1896-1942) was a factory worker, bohemian beauty of the jazz era, silent-screen actress, artists' model, muse for both Edward Weston and Diego Rivera, devoted communist, revolutionary and first-generation modernist photographer. Her wide and cosmopolitan circle of friends included Frida Kahlo, Manuel Alvarez Bravo, Julio Antonio Mella, Pablo Neruda and Sergey Eisenstein.

Tina Modotti's career as a photographer began in Mexico in the 1920s. This was the time of the Mexican Renaissance, when artists explored Mexico's Indian cultures and traditions in search of an authentic and original Mexican identity. Modotti's photographs of peasants and workers demonstrate a deep sensibility that is complemented by their simple materials and clear form. She was a member of the Communist Party and her photos were published in Mexican left-wing magazines such as El Machete and Mexican Folkways and also in international left-wing and Avant-Garde magazines.

In 1930 Modotti's life took a dramatic turn when she was expelled from Mexico on false pretences. In the 1930s she lived in Germany and the Soviet Union, was a spy in France and fought in the Spanish Civil War. Although she stopped photographing in 1931 to dedicate her time and efforts to the Communist movement and politics, her images continued to be published in, for example, the Soviet press. Despite her rather brief career, Modotti is considered one of the principal early modernist photographers. To the legendary photographer Manuel Alvarez Bravo, Tina Modotti was an idol.

Exhibition curated by Patricia Albers and Sam Stourdzé. Produced by NBC. Supported by Anna-magazine.

For further information, please contact: Chief Curator Maija Tanninen-Mattila, tel. +358-(0)9-310 87005 / Assistant Curator Susanna Santala, tel. +358-(0)9-310 87018 / Educational Curator Kirsi Väkiparta, tel. +358-(0)9-310 87007 / Press Secretary Karri Buchert, tel. +358-(0)9-310 87004 (press material)

Guided tours are arranged free of charge to the public in Finnish on Wednesdays at 18.00 and on Saturdays and Sundays at 14.00, and in Swedish on the first and third Sunday of each month at 13.00. For price information on guided tours at other times and for bookings, please call +358(0)9-3108 7003.

Helsinki City Art Museum / Tennis Palace Open: Tue-Sun 11 a.m - 8.30 p.m Admission: FIM 25/20. Admission is free for children under 18.

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