Latinx Photography in the United States: A Visual History

Review\n"[A] discerning and timely illustrated history...this revealing volume will appeal to scholars and anyone with an interest in Latinx art.""―Publishers Weekly\n"Ferrer's thoroughly researched text situates Latinx photographers as prominent practitioners in the medium's history and as key to its development, and every single image sings."―Booklist\n"[A]n impressive and urgenty needed survey to launch a conversation about Latinx people's role in visually chronicling the United States."―PopMatters\n"Ferrer presents a concise history of the ways in which Latinx artists have been quintessential to the development of the medium."―ARTnews, Best Art Book of 2021\n"[A] groundbreaking survey of Latinx photography."―Choice\n"A remarkable feat that reveals the incredible richness, diversity, and abundance of photography produced by Latino artists. This is a timely and necessary contribution to the literature on Latino art in the United States, and one that is long overdue."―Colin Gunckel, University of Michigan\n"Makes perfectly clear that we cannot understand the visual history of the United States without centering the work of Latinx photographers. This essential resource should revolutionize how we teach art history."―Arlene Dávila, author of Latinx Art: Artists, Markets, and Politics\n"This is a foundational survey of the field. Ferrer has broken out of the East Coast/West Coast binary to investigate the vibrant contributions of photographers in many other parts of the country, thus deepening our understanding of the work of artists of Latin American heritage throughout the United States."―Edward Sullivan, New York University\nWhether at UFW picket lines in California's Central Valley or capturing summertime street life in East Harlem Latinx photographers have documented fights for dignity and justice as well as the daily lives of ordinary people. Their powerful, innovative photographic art touches on family, identity, protest, borders, and other themes, including the experiences of immigration and marginalization common to many of their communities. Yet the work of these artists has largely been excluded from the documented history of photography in the United States.\nThrough individual profiles of more than eighty photographers from the early history of the photographic medium to the present, Elizabeth Ferrer introduces readers to Latinx portraitists, photojournalists, and documentarians and their legacies. She traces the rise of a Latinx consciousness in photography in the 1960s and '70s and the growth of identity-based approaches in the 1980s and '90s. Ferrer argues that in many cases a shared sense of struggle has motivated photographers to work purposefully, driven by a deep sense of resistance, social and political commitments, and cultural affirmation, and she highlights the significance of family photos to their approaches and outlooks. Works range from documentary and street photography to narrative series to conceptual projects. Latinx Photography in the United States is the first book to offer a parallel history of photography, one that no longer lies at the margins but rather plays a crucial role in imagining and creating a broader, more inclusive American visual history.\nBook Description\nShowcases the exceptionally diverse photographic work of Latinx artists