Box of Visions (Caja de Visiones), from Photographs by Manuel Alvarez

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Box of Visions (Caja de Visiones), from Photographs by Manuel Alvarez

Artist Manuel Alvarez Bravo (Mexican, 1902-2002)

Date1930s (printed 1977)

DimensionsOverall: 7 1/2 x 9 1/4 in. (19.1 x 23.5 cm)

MediumGelatin-silver print

ClassificationPhotographs

Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. Eugene S. Cohen in honor of Susan Cohen Barnebey and Dr. Howard S. Barnebey

Object number

1982.111

Not on View

Label TextFrom a portfolio of 15 Alvarez Bravo photographs published by Acorn Editions Limited. This photograph was printed by Manual Alvarez Bravo in Mexico City, Mexico in 1977. Lola Alvarez Bravo, the wife of the artist and an amazingly gifted photographer in her own right, looks from under a dark cloth as she emerges from a ‘box of visions’. Working as documentary photographers for Mexican Folkways, the couple traveled throughout Mexico, photographing the culture of each distinctive area. During one of those trips they discovered this carnival attraction. The three stereoscopic openings at the bottom of the shrine-like structure probably functioned like a peep show, as the operator would lift the lid of the box allowing light to illuminate the photographs held within.