Patricia Albers on Tina Modotti

The Great Women Artists

Katy Hessel

Arts

4.8 • 944 Ratings

🗓️ 26 April 2022

⏱️ 51 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In episode 85 of The Great Women Artists Podcast, Katy Hessel interviews the esteemed writer Patricia Albers on TINA MODOTTI! Tina Modotti (1896–1942) was a trailblazer. Born in Italy, she found herself at the centre of Hollywood in the 1920s, the post-Revolution era of Mexico, in the midst of Communism with the Muralists, the latter of which she captured through raw images, using her camera - her tool - to engage with political and social issues. Nothing short of a revolutionary, Modotti documented the spirit of era. Her own life was never far from drama. Raised in Italy, in1913 she migrated to the US to join her father. Adored for her striking looks, she soon began work as a model, then an actor, starring ina string of Hollywood silent films. Taking up photography, in 1923she moved to Mexico City to join the cultural avant-garde and experimented with intimate, hazy studies of close-up wilted flowers and light-filled architectural environments – some of the earliest examples of abstraction in photography. As the 1920s progressed, and her involvement in the Communist movement deepened (officially joining the party in 1927), Modotti turned her lens towards social documentary, photographing empathetic, yet I think triumphant, portraits of locals and labourers, and took her camera to anti-fascist, leftist rallies (with friends Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera). However, following the assassination of her then-lover, the Cubist revolutionary Julio Antonio Mella, she was forced to leave Mexico and abandon photography entirely. Fleeing Mexico for WeimarBerlin, Soviet Russia and then Spain, in 1939 she returned to MexicoCity, but died three years later in the back of a taxi... Some still question the cause of her death, viewing it with suspicion due to her ardently leftist politics!!!! ONE OF THE GREATEST STORIES IN ART HISTORY! ENJOY! Patricia is the author of Shadows, Fire, Snow: The Life of Tina Modotti and curator of the formerly travelling exhibition, Tina Modotti and the Mexican Renaissance, a show and a book focussing on one of the greatest photographers of the early twentieth century: Tina Modotti. F ollow us: Katy Hessel: @thegreatwomenartists / @katy.hessel Sound editing by Nada Smiljanic Research assistant: Viva Ruggi Artwork by @thisisaliceskinner Music by Ben Wetherfield https://www.thegreatwomenartists.com/

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, great woman artist listeners. It's Katie here. And just before we get to today's episode,
0:05.5	I want to tell you, I have written a book, which is out this September. The story of art without
0:11.8	men aims to retell art history with pioneering non-male artists whose spearhead movements and
0:18.8	redefine the canon. It is available to pre-order now from Amazon, Waterstones and more,
0:24.6	and I have linked to the book in the show notes.
0:27.1	But in this series, I am so excited to be continuing my partnership
0:30.6	with the brilliant Alleghiary jewellery,
0:33.3	who have been supporting the GWA podcast for the past two years.
0:37.7	Allegieri creates fragmented talismans of imperfection,
0:41.6	handcast in London's Hatt and Garden from recycled silver and gold.
0:46.2	The brand was founded by Rosh Matani to guide her through a dark time.
0:50.6	Each piece has a story and invites you to unlock your own.
0:54.8	Alighieri has entered and reinvented the world of gemstones, and I am so excited to tell you
1:01.0	about drop two of their garnet series from their latest Autumn Winter, 2022 collection.
1:06.9	The second trio in the series takes the garnet to new heights of deep red from the mesmerising cocktail ring to a pool of energy set in the molten gold amulet.
1:17.1	This series celebrates the force of Garnet with the dark red gemstones set in Alighieri's signature molten gold.
1:24.8	For all of you in London or visiting this year, I encourage you to go and meet the
1:29.3	wonderful Allegory team in their showroom in Hatt and Garden. Here you can enter their creative oasis,
1:35.8	enjoy in a pair of teeth and discover your next modern heirloom with a personal styling appointment.
1:42.0	Sign up to their newsletter online to be the first to hear about their showroom events
1:46.2	happening this summer and to be welcomed into their VIP shopping evenings.
1:51.1	You can visit the full collection at www.
	...

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