TIJUANA A visual tour of Mexico's architecture as captured by three photographers in different eras is on display at the city's Cultural Center.
The exhibit is called "Journey to Mexico's Architectural Legacy" and presents works from American photographer Henry Greenwood Peabody, Guillermo Kahlo, from Germany; and Mexican Rodrigo Vázquez.
The three photographed religious institutions, colonial and modern government buildings, monuments, public works and urban landscapes at different times: 1898, 1908, and 2010.
"With this exhibit we launch our 30th anniversary program," said the center's director, Virgilio Muñoz. "There's a thousand ways to see this beautiful record."
The exhibit presents Peabody's photos of colonial architecture, while Kahlo's images capture historical buildings in the era of Porfirio Díaz, who ruled Mexico with an iron first for 35 years (1876 to 1911).
Contemporary photographer Vázquez pays tribute to Kahlo (the father of painter Frida Kahlo) by recreating the photographs of historic buildings, taken with the same rigor that the German artist had used more than a century before.
Peabody's nostalgia, Kahlo's meticulous analysis of construction elements, updated by Vázquez, all complement one another in this exhibit, the organizers said.
The exhibit is a journey through 100 years that allows viewers to see from traditional to modern design in buildings located in Mexico City and elsewhere in Mexico, according to its organizers.
The photographs insinuate the presence, sometimes subtly and other times less so, of the permanency of the national identity expressed in the iconic buildings, as well as the relationship between architecture and power, they said.
The exhibit is made up of 74 pieces from the Ricardo B. Salinas Pliego Collection, and it's the first time they are on exhibit outside of Mexico City.
Salinas is a Mexican businessman who is one of the world's richest men. His Grupo Salinas holdings include a bank and telecommunication companies, including the giant television network TV Azteca.
Mercedes García, the director of Cultural Department of Grupo Salinas, said the magnate has a passion for photography, which has led him to collect these kinds of works and share them with the public.
Vázquez, on hand for the inauguration of the exhibit, said that beyond the beauty of the images, the collection aims to raise awareness of the need to conserve this architectural legacy.
omar.millan@sandiegored.com
[sidebar]Where to see exhibit
The exhibit "Journey to Mexico's Architectural Legacy" is comprised of 74 photographs that span 100 years taken by American Henry Greenwood Peabody; Guillermo Kahlo, from Germany; and Mexican Rodrigo Vázquez.
Part of the Ricardo B. Salinas Pliego Collection, it's the first time they are exhibited outside of Mexico City.
Presented in El Cubo gallery at the Centro Cultural Tijuana through April 29.
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