Lourdes Grobet
Encyclopedia
Lourdes Grobet Argüelles (born 25 July 1940 in Mexico
- ) is a contemporary Mexican
photographer, best known for her photographs of Mexican Lucha libre
wrestlers.
and graphic design
and photography
in England
at Cardiff College of Art and Derby College for Higher Education. She has had more than a hundred individual and joint exhibitions, including at MoMA
in New York
and San Francisco and festivals such as PhotoEspaña
in Madrid
.
Much influenced by Mathias Goeritz
, the Polish
sculptor from Gdansk
(Poland
) and by Arceves Navarro
, a Mexican master of art murals, who were her teachers, Lourdes Grobet worked on pictures of El Santo, one of the most important Mexican wrestlers, and a hero of Lucha libre
who starred in more than 50 films. Since 1975, she has published more than photographs of the sport, including those on the sport in the United States
since the 1930s
, and as an important part of Mexican popular culture, adopting a sociological
attitude. The sport involves many costumes and masks, leading it to a sport-carnival air which is much appreciated by Mexicans
. She has published a number of books: Lourdes Grobet: Lucha Libre (2005), Espectacular de Lucha Libre (2008), Lucha libre mexicana (2008).
In 1975, for the exhibition Hora y media, she transformed a gallery into a photographic laboratory. She developed the photographs, but without fixing them, and displayed them on three walls. While the public looked at the photographs, the lights from the gallery meant that they disappeared.
In 1977, she presented Travelling, an exhibition of photography on an escalator.
Among other works, she took: Paisajes pintados, Teatro campesino, Strip Tease.
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
- ) is a contemporary Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
photographer, best known for her photographs of Mexican Lucha libre
Lucha libre
Lucha libre is a term used in Mexico, and other Spanish-speaking countries, for a form of professional wrestling that has developed within those countries...
wrestlers.
Biography
Lourdes Grobet studied plastic arts at the Universidad Iberoamericana in MexicoMexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and graphic design
Graphic design
Graphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience...
and photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
at Cardiff College of Art and Derby College for Higher Education. She has had more than a hundred individual and joint exhibitions, including at MoMA
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and San Francisco and festivals such as PhotoEspaña
PHotoEspaña
PHotoEspaña, the International Festival of Photography and Visual Arts of Madrid, began in 1998 and has now evolved into a celebrated photography forum....
in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
.
Much influenced by Mathias Goeritz
Mathias Goeritz
Mathias Goeritz - August 4, 1990 in Mexico City) was a well-known Mexican painter and sculptor of German origin...
, the Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
sculptor from Gdansk
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
(Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
) and by Arceves Navarro
Gilberto Aceves Navarro
Gilberto Horacio Aceves Navarro is a Mexican painter.- Biography :Aceves studied painting at "La Esmeralda" under Enrique Assad, Ignacio Aguirre and Carlos Orozco Romero after 1950...
, a Mexican master of art murals, who were her teachers, Lourdes Grobet worked on pictures of El Santo, one of the most important Mexican wrestlers, and a hero of Lucha libre
Lucha libre
Lucha libre is a term used in Mexico, and other Spanish-speaking countries, for a form of professional wrestling that has developed within those countries...
who starred in more than 50 films. Since 1975, she has published more than photographs of the sport, including those on the sport in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
since the 1930s
1930s
File:1930s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: Dorothea Lange's photo of the homeless Florence Thompson show the effects of the Great Depression; Due to the economic collapse, the farms become dry and the Dust Bowl spreads through America; The Battle of Wuhan during the Second Sino-Japanese...
, and as an important part of Mexican popular culture, adopting a sociological
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
attitude. The sport involves many costumes and masks, leading it to a sport-carnival air which is much appreciated by Mexicans
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. She has published a number of books: Lourdes Grobet: Lucha Libre (2005), Espectacular de Lucha Libre (2008), Lucha libre mexicana (2008).
In 1975, for the exhibition Hora y media, she transformed a gallery into a photographic laboratory. She developed the photographs, but without fixing them, and displayed them on three walls. While the public looked at the photographs, the lights from the gallery meant that they disappeared.
In 1977, she presented Travelling, an exhibition of photography on an escalator.
Among other works, she took: Paisajes pintados, Teatro campesino, Strip Tease.
Works
- Se escoge el tiempo (We choose the time), (1983)
- Luciernagas (Lucioles) (1984)
- Bodas de Sangre (Drops of blood) (1987)
- Santo y Seña de los Recintos Históricos de la Universidad de México, Éd. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (1996) ISBN 9-6836-4630-1
- Lourdes Grobet, Turner, (2004). ISBN 8-4750-6620-2
- Lourdes Grobet: Lucha Libre, Editorial Trilce (2005) ISBN 1-9330-4505-1
- Espectacular de Lucha Libre, Editorial Trilce (2008) ISBN 9-6890-4416-8
- Lucha libre mexicana, Editorial Trilce (2008) ISBN 9-6890-4417-6