Que chiquito es el mundo (How small the world is)

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Que chiquito es el mundo (How small the world is)

Artist Manuel Alvarez Bravo Mexican, 1902-2002

Date1942

DimensionsOverall: 7 5/16 x 9 9/16 in. (18.6 x 24.3 cm)

MediumGelatin-silver print

ClassificationPhotographs

Credit LineGift of John Marvin

Object number

1982.218O

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Label TextFrom a portfolio of 15 Alvarez Bravo photographs published by Acorn Editions Limited. This photograph was printed by Manual Alvarez Bravo in 1980. The long lines of drying linens, stretched across the horizon of this photograph, suggest a multitude of people behind the massive wall that isolates the two figures on the sidewalk in the foreground. There is a tension between the man and woman and although they are in sunlight, the dark clouds in the background suggest an imminent storm. Isolation amongst an urban backdrop was one of Manual Alvarez Bravo's primary photographic themes. Linked to the Surrealist movement, especially after a major exhibition of his work by a founder, André Breton, Alvarez Bravo’s work always transcended the limitations set by others. He was not concerned with the inner world of the individual, but rather his vision was focused on the inner world of an entire country and culture and how it could be visually communicated. "My calling is with Mexico's exterior, or rather with capturing that exterior to explore all the complicated layers beneath it."