Anunciation (Annunciation) 1942

Curator: It looks like a Renaissance painting rendered in black and white, a photographic interpretation. Editor: Exactly. This intriguing photograph is titled "Annunciation," captured in 1942 by Antonio Reynoso. Curator: The high contrast emphasizes texture and form. The swirling smoke juxtaposed with the solid structures and earthy tones makes the photo both ethereal and grounded, yet somewhat grainy. Editor: Reynoso was a key figure in Mexican photography, deeply involved in capturing the social and cultural landscapes of his time. You see the contrast starkly reflected in Mexican society between rural communities and urban ambitions in the way the children interact with their environment. Curator: There's something disquieting about it too, no? This sense of uncontrolled power in their joyful reactions that seems amplified, and somewhat sinister, by the swirling clouds of smoke surrounding them. The girls, nearly centered, are enacting, but it is still hard to grasp why they act as if receiving some message from this natural chaos. Editor: It’s compelling how Reynoso uses a traditional art historical subject, usually painted by Renaissance masters in churches, but translates it into a street scene with vernacular architecture and, in so doing, connects us to different perspectives and questions notions of reverence and wonder in everyday life. How the local is made eternal, or something along those lines... Curator: This almost looks posed; nonetheless, Reynoso is challenging these notions, suggesting that the sacred or extraordinary can be found in the most unexpected places and people. Even the quality of the image; you notice the scratches, its "lived" presence? Editor: A point that speaks of his craft, his eye. But in turn, perhaps also speaking to a past, a history made of struggle and perseverance... I’m glad to be able to pause and really meditate upon the visual, emotional weight, and potential contextual stories this photograph contains.