Vintage Photograph Exhibition Will Ask Museum Visitors to Play the Role of Detective
“Huarache Makers at Oaxaca” by Kenneth Forbes, 1936, photograph, Collection of John Nichols Gallery. Courtesy photos.
SANTA PAULA – The Santa Paula Art Museum’s latest offering is an exciting whodunit detective story-turned-exhibition through June 11 — The 1936 Mexican Snapshot Mystery,
Over 900 vintage photographs – captured by three different photographers while on a 1936 trip through central Mexico – were recently discovered in an estate in Santa Paula, California. The journey to discover the truth behind these historic snapshots forms the basis for the upcoming exhibit, and museum visitors will be invited to play the role of detective alongside the show’s curators. Admission is $10.00 for museum members, and $15.00 for the general public.
The snapshots – most of which have never been seen before – were commissioned in 1936 by Bess Adams Garner, director of the Padua Hills Playhouse in Claremont, California. She and several colleagues traveled to Mexico to collect inspiration for costumes and choreography for the “Mexican Players,” a popular performance troupe established at Padua Hills. Garner credited photographer Kenneth Forbes with capturing most of the images taken during their trip. Forbes was a Claremont citrus rancher and a photo-finish photographer at Santa Anita racetrack. While in Mexico, he also created 16mm documentary film footage of authentic dances, ceremonies, and everyday scenes. Forbes’ original films, on loan from The Pierson Family Archive at Claremont Heritage, will play alongside his still images.
“Untitled” by Kenneth Forbes, 1936, photograph, Collection of John Nichols Gallery
All of the photographs in the exhibition come from the estate of industrialist and philanthropist Garfield Merner. Merner founded the Allied Arts Guild, a cooperative art space near Stanford University, in 1929. He was the second of three photographers to join Bess Garner’s 1936 Mexican tour. Many of Garfield’s photos are described and dated on the reverse, which will allow exhibit visitors to follow Merner’s travel itinerary exactly as he did. One riddle that remains to be solved is the identity of the third photographer included in the collection. It is a question that curators still hope to answer when they open the show to the viewing public.
More than just a captivating mystery, The 1936 Mexican Snapshot Mystery is also an extraordinary depiction of everyday life in 1930s Mexico. Images of daily life in Mexico from that period are seldom found. Most contemporaneous photographs are professionally posed portraits of wealthy individuals. The snapshots in this exhibition, however, are incredibly candid and show honest portrayals of ordinary people and customs. The artistic black-and-white images will be accompanied by additional maps, illustrations, and decorative objects to help complete the collection’s story. Visitors can experience the mystery through June 11, 2017.
The Santa Paula Art Museum, Jeanette Cole Art Center is located at 117 North 10th Street in beautiful downtown Santa Paula. The Museum features rotating exhibitions of vintage and contemporary art, educational programming for children and adults, artist talks and demonstrations, a gift shop, and more. The Museum’s regular hours are Wednesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and Sundays from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Regular admission is $4.00 for adults, $3.00 for seniors, and is free for museum members and students. For more information, please contact the Museum at (805) 525-5554.