Manuel Rivera-Ortiz

Manuel Rivera-Ortiz

Manuel Rivera-Ortiz, Paris, France, 2009
Born December 23, 1968 (1968-12-23) (age 43)
Pozo Hondo, Guayama, Puerto Rico
Nationality Puerto Rican
American
Notable credit(s) 2004: En Foco New Works Photography Award. 2007: Artist of the Year, Arts & Cultural Council for Greater Rochester
Official website

Manuel Rivera-Ortiz (born December 23, 1968 in Pozo Hondo, Guayama, Puerto Rico) is an American documentary photographer of Puerto Rican descent, the author of several photographic collections and the recipient of a number of awards.[1] He is best known for his documentary photographs of people's living conditions in less developed countries.[2] Rivera-Ortiz lives in Rochester, New York, in New York City and in Zurich.

Contents

Early life

Rivera-Ortiz was born into a poor family in the barrio of Pozo Hondo, outside Guayama on the Caribbean coast of Puerto Rico, the eldest of ten children (including four half-siblings and two stepsisters).[3] He grew up in a corrugated tin shack with dirt floors without running water.[4][5] His father hand-chopped sugar cane in the fields of Central Machete and Central Aguirre in the declining days of the Puerto Rican sugar industry, and, following the Zafra or sugar-harvesting season, labored as a migrant farm worker in New England and the Mid-Atlantic states.[6]

When Rivera-Ortiz was 11 years old, his parents separated and his father moved with the children to the US mainland in Holyoke, Massachusetts. The separation from his mother whom he has not seen since then marked Rivera-Ortiz for his life. He attended classes at Mt. Holyoke and Springfield colleges as part of the Massachusetts Migrant Education summer program, where he was offered his first courses in photography and film development. The family later moved to Rochester, New York. Even though Spanish is his first language, Rivera-Ortiz graduated from East High School (Rochester, New York) with Regents and AP English and other language classes. At East High School Rivera-Ortiz shared a homeroom with Kim Batten for four years where they became friends. He then worked as a journalist. In 1995, Rivera-Ortiz graduated cum laude with a B.A. degree as an English major from Nazareth College, and in 1998 he received his Master's degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Following his graduation he worked as a journalist for newspapers (e.g. Democrat and Chronicle) and magazines (e.g. Elle), but soon turned to photojournalism and documentary photography. In 2001, he began traveling as a freelance photographer with an emphasis on social issues and has exhibited his work in photographic exhibitions.[3][7]

Photographic career

Rivera-Ortiz is noted for his social documentary photography of people's living conditions in less developed nations.[8][9] Traveling widely, his photography focuses on humanitarian issues often ignored by mainstream media. His work is represented in the permanent collections of several museums, including George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film and the Museum of Fine Arts Berne.[10][11][12] In 2004, he received En Foco's New Works Photography Award,[13][14] and in 2007 the Artist of the Year Award of the Arts & Cultural Council for Greater Rochester.[15] In 2002, he photographed Cuba, comparing the conditions he found there to the Puerto Rico of his youth.[16] He has exhibited photographs showing the dignity of the Dalit ("Untouchable") Caste of India [3][17] and the Aymara living in the arid altiplano of Bolivia.[18] He has also photographed people from Kenya to Turkey to Thailand.[6] The University of Puerto Rico, in conjunction with the Museum of Art of Puerto Rico (Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico), featured Rivera-Ortiz' work in courses on contemporary photographers. His work has been featured in the April 2008 issue of Rangefinder.[4] In 2010, Rivera-Ortiz visited Dharavi and Baiganwadi and took pictures of daily life in these two Mumbai slums. In 2011, he was selected by French photography organization 24h.com to document the September 11 Commemorations in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.[19]

Manuel Rivera-Ortiz can be classified as a social realist with his focus on social issues and the hardships of everyday life.[20]

Rivera-Ortiz' photographs have been accorded a place in galleries and museums alongside fine art photography.[7]

Quote

"The irony about my photography is that making these pictures constantly reminds me of my past. But life continues without regard for my own struggles growing up. It is for this reason that today I make these pictures to lend the voice I have been given to those who like me then, are still living in poverty today." [21]—Manuel Rivera-Ortiz

Exhibitions

Selected solo exhibitions

Selected group exhibitions

The Manuel Rivera-Ortiz Foundation for International Photography

The Manuel Rivera-Ortiz Foundation for International Photography
Type Charitable foundation
Purpose/focus Photography
Founder Manuel Rivera-Ortiz

The Manuel Rivera-Ortiz Foundation for International Photography is a non-profit private operating foundation headquartered in Rochester, New York. The Foundation was established in 2010 by Rivera-Ortiz to support underrepresented photographers, in particular from less developed countries, in four specific program areas: book publications, traveling exhibitions, awards and grants, and educational programs.[32][33][34][35]

Publications

Collections

See also

Puerto Rico portal
Biography portal

References

  1. ^ Austin, Josh. "Famous Documentary Photographers". Photography Arts Cafe. http://www.photography-art-cafe.com/famous-photographer-list.html. Retrieved 2010-12-04. 
  2. ^ "The next Manuel Rivera-Ortiz?". The Esther Benjamins Trust. http://www.ebtrust.org.uk/news/doc_photo_workshop.html. Retrieved 2010-07-28. 
  3. ^ a b c Low, Stuart (2006-12-17). "Poverty's portrait". Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. pp. C.3 (cover story, Section C). http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/democratandchronicle/access/1748102681.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Dec+17%2C+2006&author=Stuart+Low&pub=Rochester+Democrat+and+Chronicle&edition=&startpage=C.3&desc=Poverty%27s+portrait. Retrieved 2010-12-29. 
  4. ^ a b Rivera-Ortiz, Manuel (April 2008). "A Journey of Self-Discovery". Rangefinder, the Magazine for Professional Photographers. pp. 126. http://www.rangefindermag.com/storage/articles/Apr08_122.pdf. Retrieved 2010-04-10. 
  5. ^ Glennie Seychew, Christa (January 2007). "An Interview with Photographer Manuel Rivera-Ortiz". Buffalo Rising. http://archive.buffalorising.com/city/archives/2007/01/an_interview_with_photogr.php. Retrieved 2010-03-07. 
  6. ^ a b "Picturing My Life". New York Foundation for the Arts. http://www.nyfa.org/level3.asp?id=403&fid=6&sid=17. Retrieved 2010-01-27. 
  7. ^ a b Malo, Alejandro. "Documentary Art". ZoneZero. http://www.zonezero.com/zz/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1157&catid=14. Retrieved 2010-12-18. 
  8. ^ Democrat & Chronicle April 3, 2005, pg C1
  9. ^ Metropolitan Magazine; Arts & Cultural Council, Rochester NY, cover story Spring 2007
  10. ^ a b c "2006 Annual Report". George Eastman House. pp. 9. http://www.eastmanhouse.org/media/annual-reports/2006.insert.pdf. Retrieved 2010-01-24. 
  11. ^ ConXion Magazine, interview February 2007, pg. 10-11
  12. ^ The collection in the museum of fine arts Berne
  13. ^ a b c "Manuel Rivera-Ortiz". En Foco. http://www.enfoco.org/index.php/photographers/photographer/rivera_ortiz_manuel/. Retrieved 2010-10-14. 
  14. ^ Nueva Luz Magazine, Vol. 11, No. 2, pgs. 2-9, 2006.
  15. ^ Arts & Cultural Council "Arts Awards Recipients". Arts and Cultural Council for Greater Rochester. http://www.artsrochester.org/AAL/PastHonorees.htm Arts & Cultural Council. Retrieved 2010-01-27. 
  16. ^ ConXion Magazine cover story, August 2004
  17. ^ a b c d "Kodak Presents Manuel Rivera-Ortiz Exhibit of India". Imaging Info. http://www.imaginginfo.com/web/online/Industry-News/Kodak-Presents-Manuel-Rivera-Ortiz-Exhibit-of-India-and-Corresponding-Works-on-Canvas-/4$2499. Retrieved 2010-03-07. 
  18. ^ ConXion Magazine cover story August 2005, pgs. 10-11
  19. ^ 24h.com Manuel Rivera-Ortiz
  20. ^ Artcyclopedia
  21. ^ "Quotations from the World of Photography". PhotoQuotes.com. http://www.photoquotes.com/showquotes.aspx?id=1069&name=Rivera-Ortiz,Manuel. Retrieved 2010-05-09. 
  22. ^ Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, July 30, 2004, p. I.61 (Insider Section)
  23. ^ En Foco Exhibitions
  24. ^ "Manuel Rivera-Ortiz images to grace City Hall Link Gallery". City of Rochester. November 20, 2006. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1165854931.html. Retrieved 2011-11-27. 
  25. ^ Artvoice
  26. ^ Democrat & Chronicle, August 27, 2004, page 24, Section I
  27. ^ "Hardships shape his images". Democrat and Chronicle. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/democratandchronicle/access/1804489531.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Aug+27%2C+2004&author=Tim+Karan&pub=Rochester+Democrat+and+Chronicle&edition=&startpage=I.24&desc=Hardships+shape+his+images. Retrieved 2010-09-27. 
  28. ^ "Longwood Art Gallery Past Exhibitions And Events". Bronx Council on the Arts. http://www.bronxarts.org/lag_exhibits.asp. Retrieved 2010-12-04. 
  29. ^ "VIAJEROS: North American Artist/ Photographers' Images of Cuba". Lehigh University Art Galleries. http://www.luag.org/pages/viewfull.cfm?ElementID=192. Retrieved 2011-09-06. 
  30. ^ Miami Herald, April 5, 2007
  31. ^ "Art Off the Main 2007". http://lacasadelatrio.com/slideshow/gallery/past/3/. Retrieved 2010-11-20. 
  32. ^ Manuel Rivera-Ortiz Foundation Press Release November 2010
  33. ^ "Manuel Rivera-Ortiz". Luminous-Lint. http://www.luminous-lint.com/app/photographer/Manuel__Rivera-Ortiz/A/. Retrieved 2010-12-27. 
  34. ^ Manuel Rivera-Ortiz Foundation Press Release February 2011
  35. ^ La Lettre de la Photographie
  36. ^ Simon & Schuster description
  37. ^ Fotografia Colombiana
  38. ^ a b c "Manuel Rivera-Ortiz", in Lori Marie Carlson, ed., Voices in first Person: Reflections on Latino Identity (New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2008; ISBN 1416906355); available here at Google Books.

External links