We are lucky to have a beautiful collection of prints by photographer Manuel Carrillo on view now in our lower levels. Stop in to see them this weekend between 10 and 5!

Manuel Carrillo was one of Mexico’s most notable photographers of the mid Twentieth Century. Carrillo’s personal, refreshing, and natural take on photography led him to become widely popular and awarded him the nickname “El Maestro Mexicano”. In post-Revolutionary Mexico, Carrillo, a Mexico City native, knew national Mexican identity and culture were in dire need for a unifying voice. It was at this time that the “voice of the common people” was heard through Carrillo’s inspired work. Carrillo’s photographs serve as a form of visual language that has become a critical artifact in understanding national Mexican identity and culture in the twentieth century.

At first glance, Manuel Carrillo’s work aims to capture the daily life of the Mexican rural lower classes, which included street merchants, farmers, women and children. Looking closer, Carrillo’s intent for these photos is to liberate their subjects rather than romanticize them; he did this as a tribute and celebration of the human spirit. Carrillo’s commitment to his people and culture is seen in his first international exhibition, titled “Mi Pueblo'' (My people). This exhibit was held at the Chicago Public Library in 1960, launching his photographic work to mass popularity within Mexico, North America, and the world. Carrillo spent much of the last decade of his life worrying about what would become of his work after his death. He wrote to friends in El Paso a year before his death: “I always hoped that my work would go to some institution in the United States because I know it will continue circulating”. Since 1975, Carrillo’s work has been seen in 209 individual exhibitions and 27 group exhibits around the world. His photographs have been published in a variety of photographic anthologies and journals. In 1989 at the age of 83 Carrillo passed away in Mexico City, leaving behind his photographic work to speak for the culture of his

people.