La Comanchera, Laura Aguilera, Talpa, NM (1995)
Photograph
Miguel Gandert (b. 1956)
Albuquerque
Capitol Art Selection Committee Purchase
Capitol Art Collection, Capitol Art Foundation
Miguel Gandert considers himself a documentary or ethnographic photographer. He has been making powerful images of various unique aspects of contemporary Hispanic culture in New Mexico for over twenty years. The Indo-Hispano ancestry he shares with many of his subjects allows him access to rituals, family life, prison life, gang life, and other subcultural activities denied to most other photographers.
He has earned the acceptance and trust of his subjects through his continued discretion, integrity, and genuine appreciation and preservation of culture through his imagemaking. Closeness and intimacy are important, but more importantly, Gandert states:
“Even if it’s just for that moment, love your subject.”
Gandert believes that tradition and ritual are essential to cultural survival and preservation. They are the means by which people affirm their lives. He explains:
“It’s important to look at these rituals to try to understand the profoundness of the cultures in New Mexico. This is my reaffirmation, my learning about my roots. I was born in Española. I watched them take the cobblestones out of the plaza in Santa Fe and I watched them put the cobblestones back in the plaza. I am of this place.”
About the Artist: Miguel Gandert
Born in Española, New Mexico in 1956, Miguel Gandert is a distinguished documentary photographer and filmmaker. He received a Bachelor of University Studies from the University of New Mexico in 1977 with an emphasis in journalism, and later earned a Master of Arts in Photography from UNM.
Since 1983, Gandert has worked as a freelance photographer, filmmaker, and videographer for prominent publications and networks including Time, Newsweek, Sports Illustrated, New Mexico Magazine, ABC News, Cable News Network (CNN), and PBS. He has also taught and lectured on photography and video at institutions such as the Smithsonian Institution, the International Center for Photography in New York, and the Boston Museum School.
Gandert’s work has been exhibited widely in the U.S., Mexico, Norway, and Russia, and is held in numerous public collections. His lens continues to bear witness to the lived experiences, resilience, and rituals of New Mexico’s Indo-Hispano communities.
