Exhibit: Mexico at the Hour of Combat at Maxwell Museum of Anthropology

Date: September 18, 2015 - January 2, 2016

Location: Maxwell Museum of Anthropology, University of New Mexico

Address: The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131

Opening Reception Friday September 18, 6-8pm

Gun and camera were intimately connected during the Mexican Revolution. Worldwide attention was drawn to both sides of the conflict by imagery from non-combatant photojournalists who portrayed scenes of drama, celebration and tragedy. A collection of images by Sabino Osuna, photographed from 1910 to 1913 are currently on display at the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology.  

The Mexican Revolution began in 1910 with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime dictator Porfirio Díaz. The Revolution is generally considered to have lasted until 1920, although the country continued to have sporadic outbreaks of warfare well into the 1920s. It gave birth to the Mexican Constitution of 1917.

A nascent generation of photographers documented the struggle. Sabino Osuna was among the photographers who appeared on the scene, and was able to get close to the action. The images he produced cover primarily the early years of the Revolution, in particular the Decena Trágica, the ten days in February 1913 when the Madero government was overthrown and the old order briefly restored. As nonpartisan observers, photographers covered the events and enjoyed the liberty of moving freely among the rival troops. They carried no weapons and posed no threat to the warring factions.

The fifty-six images selected for this exhibition come from the Osuna Collection of 427 glass negatives that are held in the University of California Riverside Libraries Special Collections & Archives. The Osuna collection is both historically important as well as visually impressive and coherent, presenting one ­person’s point of view. The exhibition of the photographs is augmented with objects, historic and contemporary, related to the Mexican Revolution­.

In addition to the opening celebration, Friday September 25, the Symposium: Talkin’ Bout a Revolution: The Mexican Revolution Outside of a National Context will take place at 1:30 p.m. at the Hibben Center, and on Wednesday, October 28, at 4 p.m., Ayotzinapa: From the Revolution’s Commitment to Education to the Massacre of 2014, lecture O'Neill Blacker-Hanson.

Mexico at the Hour of Combat is supported by the Consulado de México en Albuquerque, UNM Chicana/Chicano Studies, Global Education Office, Latin American & Iberian Institute, the Ortiz Center for Intercultural Studies and Univision.

The Maxwell Museum of Anthropology is located on the west side of the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque.  Parking restrictions will not be in affect at the opening reception.