A PICTURE THAT'S WORTH MORE ...Byline: Fred Shuster Staff Writer In a country known for revolutionaries, it's fitting Mexico would produce a genre-busting photographer - Manuel Alvarez Bravo. As Mexico's most significant master of the art, Bravo frequently turned his lens on the poorest of his countrymen and the most ordinary details of life. Throughout eight decades, he interpreted modern Mexican culture in a visual language that moved from literal to highly stylized styl·ize tr.v. styl·ized, styl·iz·ing, styl·iz·es 1. To restrict or make conform to a particular style. 2. To represent conventionally; conventionalize. to emotion driven. The enigmatic titles of many of the photographs, including ``Suspended Fish,'' ``Fable fable, brief allegorical narrative, in verse or prose, illustrating a moral thesis or satirizing human beings. The characters of a fable are usually animals who talk and act like people while retaining their animal traits. of the Dog and the Cloud'' and ``The Black Grief,'' add to their mystique as such familiar things as hands, books or hair become part of a symbolic dreamlike landscape. More than 100 rare pictures celebrating this master of 20th-century photography are now on view at the J. Paul Getty Jean Paul Getty (December 15, 1892 – June 6, 1976) was an American industrialist and founder of the Getty Oil Company. Biography Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, into a family already in the petroleum business, he was one of the first people in the world with a Museum in ``Manuel Alvarez Bravo: Optical Parables.'' Also included are photos by such contemporaries as Edward Weston, Tina Modotti and Paul Strand, who worked in Mexico in the 1920s and 1930s and are considered major influences. ``Bravo has opened more eyes to the potential of photography as a work of art than any other living artist in all the Americas,'' said Weston Naef, the museum's curator of photographs, adding that the artist boasts a unique power to ``observe the totally unexpected in his surroundings.'' Bravo, who turns 100 on Feb. 4, emerged as part of a generation of artists with ties to the avant-garde in post-revolutionary Mexico. A self- taught intellectual and philosopher, Bravo began shooting during Mexico's creative ferment ferment /fer·ment/ (fer-ment´) to undergo fermentation; used for the decomposition of carbohydrates. fer·ment n. 1. of the '20s and '30s when post-war idealism was rampant in the wake of 10 crippling years of social and political turmoil. ``His work clearly has a social and political bent at times,'' said Mikka Gee Conway, curatorial assistant in the Getty's photography department. ``And while he never considered himself a surrealist, he influenced the French surrealists.'' Some of Bravo's most stirring works, in fact, explore such surrealist themes as sleep, dreams, death and the sensual. Those interests are reflected in the Getty's display of Bravo's ``Good Reputation Sleeping,'' a 1938 picture of a woman wrapped in strips of white bandages. ``He never aligned himself with any movement,'' Conway explained. ``He would say, 'I'm just making pictures.' He's part of the pantheon that includes Weston and Strand of artists with a very important social aspect.'' Along with the Getty exhibit, which runs through Feb. 17, Bravo's work will be featured from Feb. 2 at RoseGallery at the Bergamot Station Bergamot Station is a facility housing many art galleries in Santa Monica, California, USA. History The name "Bergamot Station" dates back to 1875 when it was a stop for the Pacific Electric rail system which served the Los Angeles area from 1875 to 1953. Arts Center in Santa Monica Santa Monica (săn`tə mŏn`ĭkə), city (1990 pop. 86,905), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on Santa Monica Bay; inc. 1886. Tourism and retailing are important, and the city has motion-picture, biotechnology, and software industries. . ``MANUEL ALVAREZ BRAVO: OPTICAL PARABLES'' Where: J. Paul Getty Museum, 1200 Getty Center Getty Center, art museum complex in Brentwood, Calif. operated by the J. Paul Getty Trust. It consists of six buildings on 124 acres (50 hectares) located on a spectacular promontory overlooking Los Angeles. Drive, Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . When: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday through Feb. 17; closed Mondays and major holidays. Tickets: Admission is free. Parking is $5 per car. No parking reservations needed on weekends or after 4 p.m. weekdays. Information: (310) 440-7300 or www.getty.edu/museum. CAPTION(S): 5 photos Photo: (1) ``AUTORETRATO EN EL RETROVISOR (SELF-PORTRAIT IN READ-VIEW MIRROR,'' 1996 (2) ``MUCHACHITA! (DAUGHTER OF THE DANCERS),'' 1933 (3) ``TEHUANA PEINANDO A ISABEL Isabel, 1846–1921, princess imperial of Brazil; eldest daughter of Pedro II. She acted as regent in her father's absence. Her marriage to the comte d'Eu added to her own unpopularity and probably contributed to the growing republican sentiment of her time. (TEHUANA WOMAN COMBING ISABEL VILLASENOR'S HAIR),'' NEGATIVE 1935, PRINT 1990s (4) ``CRUCE DE CHALMA (CROSS OF CHALMA),'' 1942 (5) ``CORONADA DE PALMAS Palmas may refer to:
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