Legacy Prints

Martín Chambi, Peruvian, 1891–1973

Each of these images is a hand-printed, gelatin silver print from the original negative.

The prints are made under the direction of his grandson Teo Allain Chambi, and donations support the work of PhotoAlliance, and the ongoing efforts in Cusco, Peru to reacquire the original Chambi studio building to house the archive of some 30,000 works.

Each of the four prints is $500.

50% of the donation supports PhotoAlliance

50% supports the Archivo Fotografico Martín Chambi  (Martín Chambi Photographic Archive)

http://martinchambi.org/

Four prints are offered.  If you acquire all four Martín Chambi prints, you receive a fifth image as a thank-you:

Linda Connor

Martin Chambi’s Studio Camera, Cuzco Peru, 2010

12x15 

digital archival print.

 About Martín Chambi:

For more than twenty years, Martín Chambi balanced his successful studio business with extensive travels outside of Cuzco to photograph archaeological sites, landscapes, and indigenous communities.

Chambi's early reputation was based on his participation in two distinctly different photographic traditions. His adoption of conventions derived from European art photography, particularly the stylized effects of Pictorialism and natural sky-light in studio portraiture, formed the foundation for his studio's commercial success and his prominence in local salon competitions and industrial fairs of the day.

Chambi quickly came to the forefront in the documentation of his own indigenous culture. He undoubtedly received significant support and encouragement in this work from members of Cuzco's Indigenista movement. In turn, his work and presence, as an artist of direct Indian descent, photographing their meetings and listening to their discussions, surely reaffirmed their intellectual programs and lent a sense of visual authenticity to the movement.

Between 1920 and 1950 Chambi amassed a comprehensive collection of archaeological sites, native peoples, and views of Cuzco that was widely published as well as presented throughout South America.

Many of the most fascinating pictures in his archive were apparently unknown during his lifetime - some because they fell outside the interests of Indigenismo, others because of the limited artistic conventions then in vogue, and many because of their commercial origin.

The Mission and goal of the Chambi Archive:

Mission:

To preserve and make available the images of Martín Chambi, allowing public access for further understanding of his oeuvre. Create opportunities to enhance educational and preservation interests of artistic photographers in their Andean culture and history.

1) To electronically archive the negatives and restore existing vintage prints to exhibit in Museums and loan for traveling exhibitions.

2) To purchase the building which held the original studio of Martín Chambi in central Cuzco and create a museum/gallery for photography and permanent archive collection on the 1st floor; school for photography and cataloguing on the 2 nd floor; and 3rd floor for research and residencies, where the original sky-light was installed by Martín Chambi.

 (from  http://martinchambi.org/)