Customer Reviews

Flor Garduño: Witnesses Of Time

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Flor Garduno is a mystical artist. She travels about the Americas pausing to observe and conserve rituals of the sacred and profane nature as embodied in the native peoples of Mexico,
Guatemala, Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador. At times her photographs may seem stark or frozen in time or posed to minimize interaction with the surrounding landscape/homescape, but this technique only adds to the mystical element Garduno celebrates.

There is something timeless in these moments of ancient ritual, as though Garduno wants us to revere the passage of time as reliquaries for 'lost' civilizations. Yet her subjects and objects are extant: there is no gathering of elements from museums to authenticate these images. These are people and places that time passes by with respect and with reverence.

Some of the beauty of this portfolio is Garduno's concentration on the landscape as an equally important component of her travels. She captures the land of these remote regions in a manner that regards its holiness, its sanctity, its durable presence despite the shift of the winds and the ravages of weather.

This is a book for contemplation. The photographs are accompanied by an illuminating essay by none other than the brilliant Mexican novelist Carlos Fuentes. This is a book that is highly recommended for personal libraries as well as for deeply thoughtful gifts. Grady Harp, March 05

This is a good photo book. I liked the technique and subject material. I have great respect for one who can create great photographs with limited surroundings. Her talent shows.

This is a useful backfill to knowledge of FG. If you have seen her fotos at galleries in the southwest and need a cheap way to more become familiar with her oeuvre, this is a good book for you. She is another of Alvarez Bravo's assistants (including Graciela Iturbide and Lola Alvarez Bravo). The fotos in this book are heavily reminiscent of those of Alvarez Bravo. The brief essay by Carlos Fuentes doesn't add much beyond name-weight to the work.

The book is a great book...however, my complaint and disapointment was that a 4 X 6 card inserted either from the seller or distributor was in the book which then became imprinted on 1/3rd of the pictoral/photograph pages.

Very, very disapointed about that choice.
Jerilynn Hanson