In 1979 she was invited by the artist Francisco Toledo to photograph the Juchitán people who form part of the Zapotec culture native to Oaxaca in southern Mexico. Iturbide’s series that started in 1979 and runs through to 1988 resulted in the publication of her book Juchitán de las Mujeres in 1989.

Between 1980 and 2000, Iturbide was variously invited to work in Cuba, East Germany, India, Madagascar, Hungary, Paris and the US, producing a number of important bodies of work.

She has enjoyed solo exhibitions at the Centre Pompidou (1982), San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (1990), Philadelphia Museum of Art (1997), Paul Getty Museum (2007), MAPFRE Foudation, Madrid (2009),Photography Museum Winterthur (2009), and Barbican Art Gallery (2012), between others. Iturbide is the recipient of the W. Eugene Smith Memorial Foundation Award, 1987; the Grand Prize Mois de la Photo, Paris, 1988; a Guggenheim Fellowship for the project ‘Fiesta y Muerte’, 1988; the Hugo Erfurth Award, Leverkusen, Germany, 1989; the International Grand Prize, Hokkaido, Japan, 1990; the Rencontres Internationales de la Photographie Award, Arles, 1991; the Hasselblad Award, 2008; the National Prize of Sciences and Arts in Mexico City in 2008; an Honorary Degree in photography from the Columbia College Chicago in 2008; and an Honorary Doctorate of Arts from the San Francisco Art Institute in 2009.In 2014 the National Council of the Arts in Mexico organized a National Homage for her achievements in photography, which was accompanied by an Academic degree at the Art Academia of the Arts.

Interview with Graciela Iturbide

Foto Féminas: How did you become a photographer?
Graciela Iturbide: When I was a girl my father, a photography aficionado, used to constantly take our photos. I always loved looking at the prints that he used to keep inside a wardrobe. Later on, when I was eleven, he gave me a Brownie Camera as a gift and from then I started to take photographs of everything around me.

FF: What motivates you to make photographic projects?
GI: What motivates me are the surprises I know I am going to discover. The camera is a means of knowing the culture and customs of every place.

FF: Is there something specific that inspires you about Latin America?
GI: Simply to always know its culture.

FF: What was your first photographic project?
GI: My first photographic project was Juchitán de las Mujeres (The Women’s Juchitán). Francisco Toledo, a great artist, invited me to do some work in this place. The first photos I took were taken back to a cultural house so the people of Juchitán could see them. Little by little I kept returning until Toledo suggested we make a book out of these photographic works.

FF: What led you to photograph so many birds throughout your career?
GI: I have always been interested in the flight of birds, especially in literature and the ability to capture birds photographically during flight. San Juan de la Cruz, the mystical poet, said: “There are five qualities a bird possesses; first, they go the highest; second, they don’t suffer from company, although it is their nature; third, they go with their beaks in the air; fourth, they do not have a specific colour; fifth, they sing sweetly.”

FF: What do you aim to explore in your self-portraits?
GI: They are photographs that I take in an intuitive manner; maybe I make them to explore my unconscious.

FF: Describe your experience of photographing Frida Kahlo’s bathroom? 
GI: My work on Frida’s bathroom was a coincidence. I was in the museum photographing other things when I saw that they had just opened the bathroom. I asked the director, Hilda Trujillo, for permission to take photographs and she gave her consent immediately. The next day I entered the bathroom with my camera. The room smelt really bad as it had been closed for fifty years. It was very emotional to find these objects marked with pain. I took photographs, interpreting it in my own way. It was a very powerful experience.

FF: Do you consider your work to be autobiographical? Please explain your answer to us a little.
GI: All work is autobiographical in some way. One discovers a path that surprises and simultaneously provokes investigation. I find the places where I work intriguing  and, little by little, this enriches the work.

FF: Tell us a little about your process in making a book or a publication.
GI: My process is lengthy. I examine the negatives and print small photographs from them. I then generally edit my work with someone who I feel is on the same wavelength as me; the same thing goes for any text. I prefer that poets and writers look over this work.

FF: Do you still photograph with rolls of film?
GI: Yes, I continue to work with analogue, for me this has always been a great ritual.

FF: Nowadays, in a photographic era more digital than analogue, how do you view Latin American photography?
GI: Latin America photography is very interesting; I can say the same for Spanish and English photography etc. etc. Everything depends on who is behind the camera. Every photographer has the right to photograph what they desire, by whatever means, from using a cardboard box and constructing it into a photographic apparatus to using a digital camera. The important thing is the result.

Awards

indígena del país. Iturbide decidió fotografiar el pueblo Seri, un grupo de pescadores nómadas en el desierto de Sonora al noroeste de México y cercano a la frontera con Arizona.

En 1979 fue invitada por el artista Francisco Toledo a fotografiar el pueblo de Juchitán, el cual forma parte de la cultura zapoteca en Oaxaca, en el sureste mexicano. La serie iniciada en 1979 y continuada hasta 1988 tuvo como resultado la publicación del libro Juchitán de las Mujeres en 1989.

Entre 1980 y 2000, Iturbide fue invitada a trabajar en Cuba, Alemania Oriental, India, Madagascar, Hungría, París y los Estados Unidos, produciendo un importante número de trabajos.

Ha expuesto individualmente en el Centre Pompidou (1982), el San Francisco Museum of ModernArt (1990), el Philadelphia Museum of Art (1997), el Paul Getty Museum (2007), la Fundación MAPFRE, Madrid (2009), el PhotographyMuseum Winterthur (2009) y la Barbican Art Gallery (2012), entre otros. Iturbide ha recibido el premio de la  W. Eugene Smith Memorial Foundation, 1987; el Grand Prize Mois de la Photo, Paris, 1988; la Guggenheim Fellowship por el proyecto ‘Fiesta y Muerte’, 1988; el Hugo Erfurth Award, Leverkusen,Alemania, 1989; el InternationalGrand Prize, Hokkaido, Japón, 1990; el premio Rencontres Internationales de la Photographie, Arles, 1991; el premio Hasselblad, 2008; el PremioNacional de Ciencias y Artes, Ciudad de México, 2008; el Doctor honoris causa en Fotografía por el Columbia College Chicago en 2008; y el Doctor honoris causa en Artes por el San Francisco Art Institute en 2009.

Continúa viviendo y trabajando en la Ciudad de México. recientemente fue galardonada el premio Cornell Capa Lifetime Achievement Award.

Para saber más sobre el trabajo de Graciela, aquí.

Premios y Becas