Archives in Dialog. Contemporary Re-readings of Historical Photographs on Workers and Popular Types

Abstract

This article proposes an approach to the work of two pioneers of professional and commercial photography in Latin America: Martín Chambi (Peru, 1891-1973) and Harry Grant Olds (United States, 1869-1943) and to the analysis carried out by two contemporary photographers: Juan Manuel Castro Prieto (Spain, 1958) and Alfredo Srur (Argentina, 1977). The essay will focus on worker-subject and the popular classes as their primary objective. We will observe the reinterpretation that Castro Prieto and Srur made of the historical archives, taking them as a starting point for the creation of their own work. His readings are not limited to recognizing or replacing the evoked referent. They question the image presenting its materiality and forcing its meaning.