Tina Modotti (Phaidon 55's S)

The life and work of Italian-born photographer Tina Modotti is magnificently portrayed in this generously illustrated volume by expert Margaret Hooks. It is a detailed study of an extraordinary life, from her early years in Italy to her time as a Hollywood actress, her first steps as a photographer with Edward Weston, her stay in Mexico with Diego Rivera and her twenty years as an active communist in Mexico, Spain and Moscow, during which she risked her life to carry funds to political prisoners in Romania and endured deadly bombings in Madrid and Barcelona. 'Modotti's famous portraits of celebrities and common people, her journalistic photography depicting poverty and political turmoil and her abstract compositions of flowers and objects are all included in this superb book. Tina Modotti (Italy, 1896 - Mexico, 1942), although often overshadowed by her lovers Edward Weston and Diego Rivera, is undoubtedly one of the most important women photographers of the twentieth century. She is considered a pioneer of critical photojournalism in Mexico as her work reflected her commitment to the underprivileged and their social struggle. Some of her photographs have reached record-setting prices in auctions Illustrated throughout… (more)