La Vida Nortena

Fülszöveg

MEXICO/PHOTOGRAPHY
"La vida nortena" is a frugal yet fruitful way of life that may be vanishing as fast as the very desert and thorn scrub habitats on which it is based. It is also a way of seeing, a way of recognizing beauty and utility in the often meager resources of a land known for its "hunger weather." And, as David Burckhalter demonstrates in this visual testimony rich with the many indigenous and Catholic ceremonies of Sonora, it is a way of finding the spirit in the materials and matters closest to home. Burckhalter's work attests to the notion that Sonoran spirituality is not other-worldly—not an awkward transplant from another clime and time. Instead, it is a dramatization of the struggles between good and evil, between modesty and excess, between darkness and light, between bounty and poverty, that take place in and around rancherías (scattered settlements) everywhere within the region. Somehow, Burckhalter has captured that spirit in his photographs. It rises from... Tovább

Fülszöveg

MEXICO/PHOTOGRAPHY
"La vida nortena" is a frugal yet fruitful way of life that may be vanishing as fast as the very desert and thorn scrub habitats on which it is based. It is also a way of seeing, a way of recognizing beauty and utility in the often meager resources of a land known for its "hunger weather." And, as David Burckhalter demonstrates in this visual testimony rich with the many indigenous and Catholic ceremonies of Sonora, it is a way of finding the spirit in the materials and matters closest to home. Burckhalter's work attests to the notion that Sonoran spirituality is not other-worldly—not an awkward transplant from another clime and time. Instead, it is a dramatization of the struggles between good and evil, between modesty and excess, between darkness and light, between bounty and poverty, that take place in and around rancherías (scattered settlements) everywhere within the region. Somehow, Burckhalter has captured that spirit in his photographs. It rises from them like a Spanish mustang out of a dust cloud found on a shimmering desert noon. —from "Sonora Querida" by Gary Nabhan
For the last quarter century, David Burclchalter has photographed the diverse peoples, cultures, and landscapes of Sonora, México. These fifty-two black-and-white plates are a representative cross-section of Burcldialter's massive body of images of Sonora's Indians, Hispanos, and mestizos who, for hundreds of years, have lived in isolation in Sonora's high mountains, elevated valleys, desert plains, and coastal beaches. Burcldialter's familiarity and empathy with the Sonoran people is reflected in their relaxed, friendly faces. His subjects—Seris, Yaquis, Mayos, cowboys, fishermen, farmers, musicians, tavern keepers and patrons, merchants, weavers, basketmakers, and pilgrims—reveal an intimacy reserved for those accepted as family and close friends.
Essays by Gary Nabhan and Thomas E. Sheridan describe the unique, vivacious cultures of Sonora and explore the significance of Burckhalter's photography. Vissza