Born in Havana in 1947, Mario Algaze is master of his craft, on par with such giants as Andre Kertesz, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and the legendary Manuel Alvarez-Bravo. In 1960, Algaze and his family were exiled from their native land, just one year after the end of the Cuban Revolution.
Algaze remembers, “I never understood that at the age of thirteen, when my mother and father flew from Havana on the Pan Am flight, it would be forty years until I would see my homeland again, or that I would be leaving the Communist revolution and entering a cultural one instead.”
The family relocated to Miami. Algaze recalls, “During those early years as an exile I was trying to find my place in a new world. This affected me deeply; it’s a time when a boy starts to become a man, and I felt like an outsider, always seeking…something.”
That something came to him, and it set him free. Algaze later studied art at Miami Dade College. Learning photography in 1970 opened up his world, as Algaze began traveling extensively in Central and South America, seeking a connection with his cultural roots. For decades, Algaze traversed the landscapes of Latin America, documenting sixteen different countries including Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and his native Cuba.
The result is A Respect for Light: The Latin American Photographs/1974-2008 (Glitterati Incorporated), Algaze’s magnum opus. The book showcases Algaze’s deep appreciation and understanding of the nuances of light—sunlight pouring in through church windows, illuminating a pair of teacups on a café table, casting late-afternoon shadows on a cobblestoned street.
As Algaze describes in the book foreword, “The most important ingredient in my photographs is a very early morning light, a magical light, which on most days only allows you about an hour to work. There’s a certain quality before 9:30 in the morning, where light hits at a 45-degree angle and there are long shadows and soft light. The space is lit like a Bertolucci movie. If I could, I would light every scene, but I can’t. I have to rely on Mother Nature.”
Opening November 14, 2014, History Miami will present a retrospective exhibition in time with the release of the book.It is Curated by History Miami deputy director Jorge Zamanillo, “A Respect for Light: The Photography of Mario Algaze” is a comprehensive exhibition highlighting Algaze’s work in Latin America. The 4,000 s.f. exhibition, which will be on view through January 18, 2015, features over 150 black-and-white photographs from the book.
Algaze reflects on the production of the book. “It was easy peasy. The first time I met Marta Hallett, it was at the train station when she came to see me and edit the work. We started at noon and finished by 2:00 p.m., having also had lunch and a bottle of wine. If the work is there and the people surrounding the effort are professional, everything is easy.”
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