The Edge of Time: Photographs of Mexico

MAY 16 – DECEMBER 11, 2011
THE EDGE OF TIME: Photographs of Mexico by MARIANA YAMPOLSKY

A WITTLIFF COLLECTIONS 25TH ANNIVERSARY EXHIBITION

THE EDGE OF TIME: Photographs of Mexico by Mariana Yampolsky marks the beginning of the Wittliff Collections' 25th anniversary exhibition schedule, with more to come. One of the major figures in twentieth-century Mexican photography, Mariana Yampolsky (1925–2002) played an important role in building the Wittliff’s contemporary Mexican photography archive. In 1994, Yampolsky met with Connie Todd (then Bill Wittliff’s assistant, now director, retired) in Mexico City to discuss Bill’s idea of a Southwestern & Mexican Photography Collection. Yampolsky put them in touch with virtually every outstanding photographer in the country. She also talked to the artists themselves, enthusiastically promoting the project, and in so doing, authenticated what was then a little-known repository to the Mexican photographic community.

This exhibition honors Yampolsky's role in the Wittliff Collections' history with 60 black-and-white photographs of Mexico she created during the 30-year span of 1964 to 1994. Reflecting Yampolsky's lifelong concerns, her images capture rural Mexico and its people with respect and infinite care. They function as works of art and as evidence of moments in Mexico’s history when ways of life that have endured for centuries faced the onslaught of modernization. The Edge of Time: Photographs of Mexico was originally organized by the Wittliff Collections in 1996 and toured with Exhibits USA from 1996 through 1999. It is also the title of the second volume, published in 1998, in our award-winning book series with UT Press. Still in print, it is available for purchase through the Wittliff’s online gift shop.