Draft:Xavier Tavera Castro
Xavier Tavera Castro (born August 05, 1971) is a professional photographer and artist.[1] He was born and raised in Mexico City[2] where he studied at the Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana. Tavera completed his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography from Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD) in 2014. Tavera received his Master of Fine Arts in Photography and Moving Images from the University of Minnesota in 2017. He has taught photography at Augsburg College (2012-2016) and the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (2016-2021). Currently he is Assistant Professor of Art, Art and Art History at Carleton College.
Early Life and Education[edit]
Tavera showed interest in visual arts from an early age and began taking photography more seriously as an art form when he was sixteen years old.[3] His passion for photography arose from his experiences with his family and friends, many of whom he incorporated into his work. Tavera took particular interest in events that brought together a large group of people, such as reenactments of “La Pasión de Cristo'' and the creation of ofrendas, and he would often capture snapshots with the family camera at these events. Most of his early pictures were portraits of strangers or peculiar things that caught his attention.
Prior to considering photography as his profession, Tavera initially enrolled in law school in 1993, at Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana in Mexico City.[2] In 1996, an invitation to work as an industrial photographer for a company in the United States interrupted this goal.[3] The company offered to cover the cost of tuition at Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD), allowing Tavera to pursue an artistic path. When the company went bankrupt and failed to pay his tuition, Tavera dropped out of MCAD as the outstanding tuition balance required him to seek immediate employment. He later re-enrolled back and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.
Inspirations[edit]
What drives Tavera’s work is his creative nature and physical need to create photographs. Inspiration strikes Tavera during many points of mundane life, but most frequently through his interactions with people.[4] He has a desire to understand people[2], their histories, and their reasoning for why they do the things they do. Tavera is largely a portrait photographer, and his intent with his portraits is to tell the story of those depicted in the confines of the picture, specifically with members of the Latinx community[5]. His goal with his photos is to communicate with the viewer and have them take something away from the piece.[6] Tavera’s work is based in his theory of photographic experience: For him the photographic experience starts when he conceives an idea and continues with many conversations and emails and calls to gain access to spaces or subjects, the experience continues when he must travel to different destinations to meet his subjects, when he arrives, he cherishes the long conversations and encounters that happen, it ends with the image post production. This whole journey is what he is most passionate about. He believes that the final image printed on paper is a byproduct of the whole photographic experience.The camera will take him to places where he doesn’t belong or where he might not be welcomed. But he is grateful to have been granted the chance to understand settings through listening, conversations, storytelling, and his desire to tell the stories of those who are often forgotten.[3]
Major Works[edit]
Veteranas/Veteranos.[edit]
Even as a child, Tavera exhibited great curiosity in Mexico’s 201st Fighter Squadron (Spanish: Fuerza Aérea Expedicionaria Mexicana (FAEM) Escuadron 201), also known as Águilas Aztecas or Aztec Eagles which was a part of the Mexican Expeditionary Air Force that aided war efforts during World War II. Due to a lack of information on Escuadrón 201 and his personal interest in the subject, Tavera began seeking out veterans with the intention of documenting their lives and stories through photography. It was at this time that a friend of his, a journalist by the name of Alberto Luck, mentioned a documentary on which he had been working about Escuadrón 201.[7] Tavera was introduced to Captain Manuel Cervantes Ramos, a World War II veteran who Tavera photographed in his home in Mexico City. This interaction allowed Tavera to get in contact with over a dozen Mexican WWII veterans, that he interviewed and photographed.[8]
With time, the project expanded to a more diverse group that included Chicano/a, Mexican, and Latino/a veterans who served in the United States military during various wars. Tavera gained access to members of VFW Post #5, started by a group of Latino/a veterans who settled in St. Paul, Minnesota.[9] While photographing these veterans along with their military memorabilia, he gained immense respect for their service, particularly moved by their courage and their fear of being forgotten.[10] Tavera placed emphasis on capturing their vulnerability and emotional expression. The portraits often depict the veterans in their uniforms, some displaying alterations to their clothes that represented an aspect of their identity, such as their heritage or their military affiliation. Tavera also recorded some of these meetings which he used to give context to the messages displayed in his photographs.[9] This body of work played a major role in his goal of recording the valuable history of Mexican, Chicano/a, and Latino/a veterans.[8]
From personal interviews to photographs from his work with veterans, Tavera collected a wide variety of information which he sought to preserve through the Minnesota Historical Society. Through the use of a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, Tavera organized all of his photographs, interviews, and general information into a large collection, ready for preservation.[8] After receiving Tavera’s collection, the Minnesota Historical Society took interest in his work and set up an exhibition titled “AMVETS Post #5: Photographs by Xavier Tavera.”[9] The exhibition opened September 23rd, 2017 at the Minnesota History Center and ran for the duration of six months.[11] In the summer of 2020 he was able to publish a book with Cottage Industry, titled Nowhere To Go But Home where compiled all the portraits of the project and two essays by Andrea Lepage and Mike Soto.
Borderlands[edit]
Tavera’s final year of his Masters in Fine Arts at the University of Minnesota coincided with the political turmoil concerning immigration and the Trump administration which inspired a new series of work for Tavera. Prior to starting his last semester, Tavera traveled the whole length of the United States-Mexico border to document the landscape and its inhabitants.[12] Drawing on his own memories of crossing the border and the knowledge that the border exists as a part of everyday life for Latinas/Latinos/Latinx living in the United States, Tavera photographed views from both sides of the border depicting the surrounding landscapes and portraits of people he encountered in the area. Tavera’s intention with Borderlands was in finding the more personal, humane aspect of the region as this resonated deeper with him versus the constant politicization of the land.[3] Drawing on his previous work, he also began photographing deported veterans living on the border--many of whom were Mexican-born and served under various branches of the United States military as undocumented citizens. This aspect of Tavera’s work seeks to bring veterans that have been cast aside to light.[12]
Mascaras[edit]
Mascaras is an ongoing photo series that consists of photographs dedicated to showing the intimate, often unseen, parts of a mask. Tavera photographs masks that are either owned by members from his community in Minneapolis or are kept in museum institutions as artifacts.[13] Tavera’s goal with this project is to document the evidence of the people and the cultures that these masks belong to.[13] He takes photos of the backsides of the masks which would typically be placed on one’s face, often during cultural celebrations. Tavera also documents the structures and serial numbers placed onto the masks by the institutions they are held in which shows evidence of a different type of transformation: personal and intimate object to museum artifact.
Mexicaliens and Vaqueros[edit]
While much of Tavera’s photography features documentary-style portraits of members within his community, he also works constructing and staging photographic images. One of these series is titled Mexicaliens[14] in reference to the Biden administration’s move to replace the word “alien” with “noncitizen” when referencing non-American citizens. The project aims to provide a humorous take on the label and build fantastical characters, or aliens, that have stories and superpowers of their own.[14]
Another part of Tavera’s experimental work is labeled Vaqueras/Vaqueros, and its focus is on reinventing and reimagining the constructed Hollywood concept of the white cowboy as the lonely hero and the brown mustachioed villain. These projects serve as an extra creative outlet for Tavera to construct a fictional world of his own through portrait photography.
El Maciel Solo Exhibition[edit]
One important exhibition focuses on the people of the Hospital Maciel in Montevideo, Uruguay.[15] Tavera spent two weeks photographing over one hundred of the hospital staff. The photos were large scale portraits of the personnel who worked at the hospital.[15] He personally installed the photos of the doctors, administrative workers, nurses, and cleaning staff in one of the atriums of the hospital where the exhibition reception was held. The hospital photo collection had previously held portraits of the hospital directors and doctors, and Tavera aimed to dismantle professional hierarchies within the hospital by showcasing portraits of everyone who personally worked in the hospital.[15]
Exhibitions[edit]
| Year | Exhibition Name | Gallery / Museum | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Being Public / Public Beingsa[16] | Perlman Teaching Museum | Northfield, MN |
| Chicano Latino Studies 50th Anniversary[17] | CLUES Gallery[18] | St Paul, MN | |
| 2020 | The Weight We Carry (solo)[19] | North East Sculpture Gallery | Minneapolis, MN |
| Borderlands (solo)[20] | Kunsthaus Caserne | Friedrichshafen, Germany | |
| 2019 | Cartography of Desire[21] | Catherine G Murphy Gallery | St Paul, MN |
| On the Edge / En el Filo (solo)[12] | Staniar Gallery, Washington and Lee University | Lexington, VA | |
| 2018 | Borderlands (solo)[20] | Projektraum | Friedrichshafen, Germany |
| Memory Spaces[22] | StartUp | Friedrichshafen, Germany | |
| Memories of the Future (solo)[23] | Minneapolis Institute of Art | Minneapolis, MN | |
| Identity | St Margaret’s House | Edinburgh, Scotland[12] | |
| On Purpose (solo)[24] | Katherine E. Nash Gallery, Regis Center for Art[25] | inneapolis, MN | |
| 2017 | Territorio Compartido | Punto de Cultura Federico Ramirez | Concepcion, Chile[12] |
| Wash Heights (solo) | Victoria Theater | Dayton OH | |
| Stills and Motion (solo)[26] | Eide/Dalrymple Gallery, Augustana University | Sioux Falls, SD | |
| Veteran@s (solo)[27] | Minnesota History Center | St Paul, MN | |
| 2015 | Warhol Effect[28] | Weeks Gallery[29] | Jamestown, NY |
| 100+ A Photograph For Every Year MIA[30] | Minneapolis Institute of Art | Minneapolis, MN | |
| 2014 | From Here To There (three person)[31] | Minnesota Museum of American Art | St Paul, MN |
| 2013 | La Alameda (solo) | MIRA Gallery, | Minneapolis, MN |
| Calle Lake (solo)[32] | Augsburg College | Minneapolis, MN | |
| 2012 | Los Cuatro Ases[33] | Franconia in the City | Minneapolis, MN |
| 2011 | El Circo (solo)[34] | Runner Runner Gallery | Minneapolis, MN |
| 2010 | Overexposure 40X5 | Intermedia Arts | Minneapolis, MN |
| 2009 | Day of the Dead[35] | Steam Roller Prints Plains Art Museum | Fargo, North Dakota |
| Farsas (solo show)[36] | Weisman Art Museum | Minneapolis, MN | |
| 2007 | Nuestra Frida[37] | Casket Building | NE Minneapolis, MN |
| No Human Being is Illegal | Center for the Study of Political Graphics | Los Angeles, CA | |
| 2006 | Pingyao International Photography Festival[11] | Pingyao, China | |
| Jerome Resident Printmakers[38] | Highpoint Center for Printmaking | Minneapolis, MN | |
| 2005 | El Otro Americano[11] | Instituto Chileno Norteamercano de Cultura | Valparaiso, Chile |
| Politicos Americanos | Instituto de Cultura Valparaiso | Valpaiso, Chile | |
| 2004 | New Photography: McKnight Photographic Fellows[39] | Duluth Art Institute | Duluth, MN |
| Art on the Plains 7[40] | Plains Art Museum | Fargo ND | |
| Picante | Athens Institute for Contemporary Ar | Athens, Georgia | |
| 2003 | L Factor[41] | Exit Art | New York, NY |
| Franconia Sculpture | Franconia Sculpture Park | Shafer, MN | |
| 2002 | A Day with the Dead on Lake Street[42] | Chicago and Lake | Minneapolis, MN |
| 2001 | Frontera Lake Street[43] | The Minneapolis Institute of Arts | Minneapolis, MN |
References[edit]
- ↑ "Xavier Tavera". In Progress. Retrieved 2021-03-26. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Zuege, Unsie (2020-01-23). "Minnesota Landscape Arboretum's Reedy Gallery showcases Latinx artists". SWNewsMedia.com. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Rupersberg, Nicole (2019-01-02). "Photographer Xavier Tavera Documents the Latinx Community from One Border to the Other". Creative Exchange.
- ↑ "MN Original - Xavier Tavera". Twin Cities PBS. 2013-04-27. Retrieved 2021-09-07. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Martin, Liv (2021-04-14). "Three George Floyd Square Billboards Ask Us to Remember and Resist". Minnesota Monthly. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Rochester, Katherine (2009-03-02). "Interview with Xavier Tavera". Walker Art. Retrieved 2021-09-07. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Veterana/os Exhibit Series - Portraits by Xavier Tavera". In Progress. 2020. Retrieved 2021-09-07. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Corey & Virga (2020). Nowhere to Go But Home. Minnesota: Minneapolis: Cottage Industry Arts. p. 1. Search this book on
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Rosenbaum, Nancy (2017-11-20). "Photographing Minnesota's forgotten Latino veterans". MinnPost. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Rosenbaum, Nancy (2015-11-13). "Photographing Veteranos and Veteranas". Latino USA. Retrieved 2021-09-07. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 on, Richard Rosivach. "AMVETS POST #5: PHOTOGRAPHS BY XAVIER TAVERA AT THE MINNESOTA HISTORY CENTER". Columbia Alumni Association of Minnesota. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 Turman, Erica; 2019-09-02 (2019-09-02). "Staniar Gallery Presents Xavier Tavera's 'On the Edge/En el Filo'". The Columns. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Critical Conversations Series Presents: Xavier Tavera | Chicano & Latino Studies | College of Liberal Arts". cla.umn.edu. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 14.0 14.1 Denehy, Lily (2019-03-15). ""Shifting Borders" addresses family separation, the need for activism". The Mac Weekly. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 "Plan promueve bienestar de pacientes y funcionarios del Maciel". Subrayado. 2013-09-04. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "For Faculty - Carleton College". www.carleton.edu. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "¡PRESENTE! 50 Years of Chicano & Latino Studies". Pollen. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Past Exhibitions - Exhibition title: ¡Presente!: 50 Years of Chicano & Latino Studies". Comunidades Latinas Unidas En Servicio. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "The Weight We Carry". Northeast Sculpture Gallery Factory. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 20.0 20.1 "Xavier Tavera Borderlands at Kunsthaus Caserne – ProjekTraum FN". ProjekTraumFN. 2020-01-31. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Cartography of Desire". The Catherine G. Murphy Gallery. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Xavier Tavera". ProjekTraum FN. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Memorias del Futuro (Memories of the Future)". Minneapolis Institute of Art. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Eler, Alicia (2018-11-09). "University of Minnesota takes a selfie: Photo show celebrates 150th anniversary". Star Tribune.
- ↑ Espeland, Pamela (2018-09-11). "'On Purpose: Portrait of the Liberal Arts' to open CLA celebration at the U". MinnPost.
- ↑ Lepage, Andrea (2017-03-10). "Xavier Tavea:Stills and Motion". academia.edu. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Mexican and Mexican-American Veterans from St. Paul's West Side Featured in New Photography Exhibit". Minnesota Historical Society. 2017-08-03. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "The Warhol Effect". The Post Journal. 2015-02-21. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ WRFA (2015-01-30). "Arts on Fire – Patricia Briggs from Weeks Gallery Discusses "Warhol Effect" Exhibit". WRFA 107.9. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "El Mas Fuerte (The Strongest One) by Photographer: Xavier Tavera". Minneapolis Institute of Art. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Combs, Marianne (2014-08-29). "MN Museum of American Art show explores Green Line life". State of the Arts. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Xavier Tavera: 'Calle Lake'". Star Tribune. 2013-01-30.
- ↑ Xenos, Stephanie. "'Four Aces' at Franconia in the City". Mn Artists. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Abbe, Mary (2012-08-12). "Art: Portraits by Xavier Tavera, and Miles Mendenhall". Star Tribune.
- ↑ "ArtOrg : Xavier Tavera". ArtOrg. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Exhibition - Xavier Tavera - Farsas - Upcoming.org Archive". archive.upcoming.org. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Carlson Gustafson, Amy (2007-11-29). "Walker show inspires artists to express their 'Frida experience'". Twin Cities Pioneer Press.
- ↑ "Jerome Emerging Printmakers 2005–2006". Highpoint Center for Printmaking. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Fallon, Michael (2004-09-14). "So Good, It's Almost Eerie: McKnight Fellows in Photography". Mn Artists. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "High Visibility Virtual Artist Talk – Plains Art Museum". Plains Art Museum. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Cotter, Holland (2003-11-28). "ART REVIEW; A New Latino Essence, Remixed and Redistilled". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.
- ↑ "Grupo Soap Del Corazón". ArtOrg. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Abbe, Mary (2001-10-26). "All Over the Map". Star Tribune.
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