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Unknown Guillermo Kahlo's work in the photography world

Except in Mexico in art history from the lens and specialized publications in the early twentieth century the name of the photographer Guillermo Kahlo Kaufmann (1871-1941), father of painter Frida Kahlo, unnoticed.

To give a talk at the Studio Museum Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, German researchers from the University of Nürnberg Frango Gaby and Rainer Huhle specified that only this country was recognized as the first official photographer of the Porfirio Diaz era.

They recalled in this regard that in 1904 the government of Porfirio Díaz (1877-1880 and 1884-1910), through its finance secretary, Jose Yves Limantour, hired him to document the rich architectural, civil and religious buildings, of the country.

"When you read the great stories of photography and see the chapters of modernism, is not to Khalo, in Mexico itself, but in the world did not happen the same," said Rainer Huhle.

He added that "in encyclopedias, magazines, does not appear. Their peers, such as Graciela Iturbide, Manuel and Lola Alvarez Bravo, Tina Modotti, among others, were known in Europe and the United States, but it happened. "

The German specialist said that it was not until the mid-80s when this situation changed, but "was previously known as the pope who took pictures of Frida."

He even said that what they did not know the origins of Kahlo is reveals in his book "Guillermo Kahlo, the father of Frida," in which he talks about his arrival at the port of Veracruz, at age 18 , Borussia in the boat, which had sailed from Hamburg in 1890.

Comentaron que en tierra azteca sus primeros trabajos fueron para registrar la construcción de ciertos edificios comerciales, industriales y públicos con estructuras de acero, como la Casa Boker, el nuevo Teatro Nacional, el Correo y otras obras porfirianas.

Because of the success achieved in 1904 the federal government commissioned him to photograph Mexican churches, owned by the State of the XVI to XIX.

His work, noted Huhle, is a display of unique technical sophistication and has been forced referring to the scholars of architecture and art from the viceregal period.

In recent times it has been revalued by the balance in your images that create spaces rarefactos and compositions that brushed abstraction from the geometric elements.

During the conference, both Germans had a small selection of images of Khalo, which include structures of hospital buildings, monuments and artistic facade of religious temples in the early twentieth century.

"Kahlo is not interested in the movement, the most important thing for him was the structure of the image. During the course of his life the trend of abstraction is very fascinating and unique, in comparison with other photographers of that era, who made abstract images. Kahlo sought the aesthetics of abstraction, "he said.

For Huhle, Kahlo was a very complete photographer, as well as photographs of architecture, which is the sign of staff and better known, was an artist of industries, landscapes and, above all, an excellent portraitist.

Frango and Huhle said their interest in exploring Guillermo Kahlo began to discover in the Latin American Institute in Berlin a valuable collection of previously unpublished photographs on the Tabacalera Mexicana and the factory of the Central matches.

In this regard, Huhle announced that the Latin American Institute in Berlin is preparing a major exhibition of William and Frida Kahlo, on the occasion of the commemoration of the bicentenary of the Independence of Mexico.

"We are preparing an exhibition for 2010 in Berlin, which present a total of 100 photographs, but very representative, on all the lines of the work of the photographer," he concluded.

Via Mundo Hispano

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