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Parábola óptica [Optical Parable], from Fifteen Photographs by Manuel Álvarez Bravo, 1974
Parábola óptica [Optical Parable], from Fifteen Photographs by Manuel Álvarez Bravo, 1974

Parábola óptica [Optical Parable], from Fifteen Photographs by Manuel Álvarez Bravo, 1974

Primary (Mexico City, Mexico, 1902–2002)
Printer
NationalityMexican, North America
Date1931
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsSheet: 9 3/8 × 7 1/8 in. (23.8 × 18.1 cm)
Additional Dimension: 19 13/16 × 14 3/4 in. (50.3 × 37.5 cm)
Credit LineBlanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, Archer M. Huntington Museum Fund, P1975.18.1
Rights Statement
Collection AreaLatin American Art
Object numberP1975.18.1/15
On View
On view
Locations
  • exhibition  BMA, Gallery, A6 - Glickman Galleries
Label Text
Manuel Álvarez Bravo captured images of everyday life in Mexico City with a keen eye for the ironic and the uncanny. "Parábola óptica" (1931) shows an optician’s storefront, where modern advertisements give us an unsettling sense of being watched. Álvarez Bravo heightened the surreal quality of the photograph by printing it backwards. His carefully composed images reveal his modern sense of aesthetics.
Exhibitions