PHOTOGRAPHY IN SOUTH AMERICA
In 1833, Hercules Florence, a Frenchman living in
Brazil, invented a silver nitrate image-producing pro-
cess that he calledphotographie. Due to the vicissi-
tudes of the invention process and his geographic
location, Florence’s achievement went unrecognized
at the time, and photography’s ‘‘invention’’ is gen-
erally credited to developments in Europe and spe-
cifically to Louis Daguerre in 1839. Until recently,
most developments in Latin American photography
have continued to be overlooked. Peter Yenne, a
photographer engaged in a project to preserve a
Peruvian archive, recently wrote:
Peru ́remains terra incognita for most photographic his-
torian...this comes as no surprise given the scholarly
oblivion to which Latin American photography has his-
torically been consigned.When one examines the record, oblivion is an
unmerited fate. Beginning in 1840, native and for-
eign-born photographers assiduously engaged in
the business of portraiture and later began to
record distinctive and ‘‘exotic’’ aspects of their na-
tional cultures and landscape. As the nineteenth
century ended, prominent photographers like Ale-
jandro Witcomb (Argentina), Benjamin Rivade-
neira (Ecuador), and Max. T. Vargas (Peru ́)served
as transitional figures between the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries. By the 1920s, their students,
influenced by avant-garde ideas, had branched out
beyond formal portraits and panoramic views. A
number of younger photographers were, according
to photographer and critic, Fernando Castro,
‘‘imbued with the spirit of modernity.’’ As an exam-
ple, the Peruvian brothers Carlos and Miguel Var-
gas ‘‘produced bromoils of romantic nocturnes in
which the automobile was featured prominently.’’
Castro notes that avante-garde iconoclasm in South
America did not come from European post-World
War I angst but ‘‘came by way of intellectual expec-
tations and social upheaval.’’ During the 1910s and
1920s, enterprising photographers and publishers
used panoramic images and lavishly illustrated
city books depicting buildings and parks to gener-
ate national pride and motivate potential investors.
Images of modern capitals were juxtaposed with
postcard images of ‘‘Tipos’’ (native types) and pre-
Columbian sites. Postcards, which were in their
heyday between 1900 and 1930, served like their
predecessors the stereoview and carte de visite
had—to disseminate images of ‘‘exotic’’ people
and locations. Thus, photographic genres that
emphasized urban development and prevailing
notions of exoticism obscured the aesthetic inclina-
tions of Latin American photographers. Postcolo-
nial discourse intent on resisting hegemonic
incursions cannot avoid the essentialist ‘‘national
character’’ debate. Thus, in discussing photogra-
phy, art historian Max Kozloff has asserted that
there is a ‘‘Latin American aura,’’ a notion that
others strongly take issue with. Another debate
centers on whether photography is a sociohistorical
document or an aesthetic statement. Cuban writer
Edmundo Desnoes suggests that due to sociopoliti-
tical pressures, Latin American photography
‘‘shares a political content and a didactic intent’’
that must be placed in the service of social change.
Fernando Castro and others argue that an over-
emphasis on the ideologies of exoticizing and poli-
ticizing have discouraged and ignored the
experimental, artistic photography that neverthe-
less has always existed in Latin America. The over-
whelming number of political and documentary
images selected for the Primer Coloquio Latinoa-
mericano de Fotografı ́a held in Mexico City in 1978
provide a salient example. The Coloquio marked
the first time that a large number of photographers,
critics, and researchers interested in Latin American
photography had come together. In spite of contro-
versy over ideology, the traveling exhibitionHecho
en Latinoame ́ricasucceeded in opening interna-
tional doors to Latin American photography. In
1981, the major exhibitionFotografie Lateinamer-
ikawas held in Zurich, and in 1992, a third was held
at the Houston FotoFest. Both these latter exhibi-
tions were accompanied by major books. The his-
tory of photography in Latin America contains the
visual record of more than 20 diverse countries,
which are best examined, not as a unified entit —
Latin America—or even South America indepen-
dent from Central America, Mexico, and the Car-
ibbean, but as individual entities that both share
similarities and have distinct historical and cultural
traditions. As a basis for further research on the
region’s photographic history, relevant names,SOUTH AMERICA, PHOTOGRAPHY IN