Images of the Spirit

The title of Aperture's new book, Images of the Spirit does not do justice to the resounding photographs of Graciela Iturbide. There is nothing ethereal about this work. Iturbide deals heartily with the issues of sameness and difference. Sun-cracked earth contrasts with playing children, stark walls with elaborate alters, everyday life with special celebration. These oppositions represent deeper conflicts in the nature of land and body. Although the work is black-and-white, beautifully printed in duotone, the bright red of sacrificial blood, the colorful skirts, and murals seem to appear in full color.