EXHIBITION: 

 SEQUENCED IMAGES

ARGENTINE WOMEN PHOTOGRAPHERS 1930-1990

18.06.2021 - 12.10.2021

Curators: Tamara García and María Laura Rosa

 Annemarie Heinrich. La manzana de Eva, 1953

Sequenced Images. Argentine Women Photographers 1930-1990 is a photographic journey through this country guided by these renowned women professionals. Some of them were pioneers, others carried out a markedly independent practice. All of them created visual sequences that are essential when it comes to forming a narrative in the history of Argentine and international photography.

The first of these reflects the questioning of the traditional female model, outlined in the decades from 1930 to 1960: the domestic bourgeois woman, for whom marriage and the formation of a family were presented as the main alternatives when it came to projecting a life. These women photographers challenged this pattern with their independence and freedom, as they travelled through cities and countries to capture the social and historical complexities of their lives with their cameras. This generation has been called the New Woman, or Neue Frau, a sociological phenomenon that referred to the large presence of women —mostly from the enlightened bourgeoisie— in the professional and artistic fields after the First World War. Argentina was home to several Neue Frau inextricably linked to the Germanic world: Grete Stern, Annemarie Heinrich, Lisl Steiner and Ilse Fusková.

The second generation, comprising Alicia D’Amico, Alicia Sanguinetti, Julie Weisz and Adriana Lestido, worked during controversial moments in Argentina’s history, specifically the military dictatorship that affected the country between 1976 and 1983, which left an indelible mark on that period. Some of these women photographers continued the documentary legacy of Grete Stern, Annemarie Heinrich, Lisl Steiner and Ilse Fusková. The 1970s also witnessed the emergence of the first feminist groups, representatives of the second wave of the women’s movement who enunciated the concept of the New Woman to indicate those who questioned both the mandates of domesticity and female constructions in the media and defended gender equality in all aspects of life. They thereby questioned the concept of the new man enunciated by the left. Women photographers participated in political resistance and the struggle against the dictatorship, as well as in democracy, and they became involved in human rights movements.                      

 MAIN THEMES:  

Lisl Steiner. Chico en Buenos Aires, 1957

The exhibition has therefore been divided into 5 main themes:

The possible Self
Women reveal themselves through portraits and self-portraits and use photography as a tool for reflecting on their own identity. Self-portraits and portraits open the game to possible subjectivities, to all Self(s) in their complexity(ies).

Flâneuses
This French term defines women photographers as those who stroll and wander through the streets with cameras on their bodies, in search of images. Those of the first generation, with bourgeois origins, were able to afford study trips. Professional women became involved in political events in the 1960s, their images bearing witness to social changes and the struggles of human rights and feminist movements. Their presence in the streets in adverse situations demonstrated the ethical and aesthetic commitment assumed by each of them.

Other nudes
Technical and conceptual research into the genre of the nude, previously forbidden to women, came to the fore from the 1930s onwards. They provided new interpretations of the body and used this genre to question the heteronormative system in its representation of the female body. Some photographers explored lesbian desire. Others broke away from the ideas of beauty and youth, as well as proposing unconventional forms of representation of the male body.

Sequences that would have been…
The fragility of survival also responds to the failure of the political, social and economic projects in the Latin American region, those that condition our lives and our desires. The interest of several photographers in exploring these complex areas of existence in their most vulnerable aspects led them to focus particularly on two key moments of life: childhood and adolescence.

The craft of documenting
Many combined the demands of more personal assignments with reports abroad, an option that led them to become involved in political and social events. Argentina’s last military dictatorship and its human rights violations left an indelible mark on the country. Culture during these years sought to organise spaces of resistance and one of these was Teatro Abierto [Open Theatre], documented by Julie Weisz.

EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES:  

Free guided tours:

Sundays

5.30pm in Basque / 6.30pm in Spanish

Limited places

Prior booking is required by calling 943 3251937, at the Sala or writing to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

PUBLIC PROGRAME: 

Online seminar

7 September: Talk Life through the lens by María Laura Rosa, exhibition curator.

9 September: Discussion with Narcisa Hirsch and Daniela Muttis.

14 September: Discussion with Alicia Sanguinetti.

28 September: Discussion with Adriana Lestido.

1 October: Talk Parallel paths: Feminism, sexual liberation and photography in Latin America and Spain by Juan Vicente Aliaga.

All activities will commence at 6pm and can be followed on the Zoom platform or our YouTube channel.

Film season in collaboration with Tabakalera-Discussions with Imágenes secuenciadas

18 June, 7pm
Ama-Zona. Narcisa Hirch. Argentina (1983), 11’
Bloody Daughter. Stéphanie Argerich, France (2012), 95’

8 October, 7pm
Juguetes. María Luisa Bemberg. Argentina (1978), 12’
Naomi Campbell-No es fácil convertirse en otra persona. Nicolás Videla and Camila José Donoso. Chile (2013), 85’

Tickets available at Tabakalera’s usual points of sale.

 BROCHURE: 

Discard here the brochure of the exhibition:

CATALOGUE:

SEQUENCED IMAGES

ARGENTINE WOMEN PHOTOGRAPHERS 1930-1990

Basque, Spanish and English ediotion.

Price: € 35 € (VAT included)

#SequencedImages

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