Papers by Iván Ruiz
Abstract
This article examines a group of photographs bearing a strong violent content that were ... more Abstract
This article examines a group of photographs bearing a strong violent content that were published in print and digital media as part of the coverage of the ‘war against drugs’ in Mexico: an armed conflict initiated by the central government in December 2006. This military action was the first step in a process of militarization affecting several states, in which an attempt was made to dismantle territorial pacts between cartels, to control the illegal traffic in drugs and, supposedly, to put an end to the use and production of drugs among the population. This war gave rise to one of the bloodiest episodes of contemporary Mexico in which drug cartels reproduced and invented new methods of torture that were used not only upon the gunmen of rival cartels but also on a significant number of civilians. In the coverage of these events, not all photojournalists reacted to this upsurge in violence in a ‘sensationalist’ manner; several set out to produce images from unusual points of view. In particular, I shall analyze how certain images represent violence in a tense relationship with artistic iconography, upsetting parameters of horror and beauty in the public sphere.
Este artículo buscará responder a una problemática tanto de representación como de encarnación de... more Este artículo buscará responder a una problemática tanto de representación como de encarnación de la violencia, en concreto, aquella derivada de los feminicidios y del entorno opaco que los encubre (esclavitud sexual, tortura, mutilación, trasiego de drogas, rituales orgiásticos, mostración pública del cadáver, fosas clandestinas, alianzas entre narcotraficantes, empresarios y servidores públicos, entre otros tópicos). Dicha problemática es inmanente al concepto mismo de representación: en el proceso de dar a ver el objeto ausente (en este caso, el cuerpo de las mujeres desaparecidas), ¿cómo se produce una imagen capaz de representarlo? ¿qué estrategias de visibilidad se ponen en marcha? ¿cómo expresar esa desaparición/aniquilación? Ubicados en la frontera porosa entre arte contemporáneo, fotografía y práctica documental, en este texto se analizarán una serie de imágenes cuya eficacia simbólica exige un desmontaje analítico con el fin de comprender cómo hacen presente la ausencia y, con ello, cómo reinscriben al feminicidio en la estela política de invisibilidad en la que están sumidos.
Books by Iván Ruiz
El cadáver en un ardid paisajístico: fotoperiodismo y ficción-documental en el México reciente.
Exhibition Catalogue by Iván Ruiz
Estas imágenes son verdad. Microarchivo de la Ignominia (Catálogo Pablo Martínez Zarate), 2018
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Papers by Iván Ruiz
This article examines a group of photographs bearing a strong violent content that were published in print and digital media as part of the coverage of the ‘war against drugs’ in Mexico: an armed conflict initiated by the central government in December 2006. This military action was the first step in a process of militarization affecting several states, in which an attempt was made to dismantle territorial pacts between cartels, to control the illegal traffic in drugs and, supposedly, to put an end to the use and production of drugs among the population. This war gave rise to one of the bloodiest episodes of contemporary Mexico in which drug cartels reproduced and invented new methods of torture that were used not only upon the gunmen of rival cartels but also on a significant number of civilians. In the coverage of these events, not all photojournalists reacted to this upsurge in violence in a ‘sensationalist’ manner; several set out to produce images from unusual points of view. In particular, I shall analyze how certain images represent violence in a tense relationship with artistic iconography, upsetting parameters of horror and beauty in the public sphere.
Books by Iván Ruiz
Exhibition Catalogue by Iván Ruiz
This article examines a group of photographs bearing a strong violent content that were published in print and digital media as part of the coverage of the ‘war against drugs’ in Mexico: an armed conflict initiated by the central government in December 2006. This military action was the first step in a process of militarization affecting several states, in which an attempt was made to dismantle territorial pacts between cartels, to control the illegal traffic in drugs and, supposedly, to put an end to the use and production of drugs among the population. This war gave rise to one of the bloodiest episodes of contemporary Mexico in which drug cartels reproduced and invented new methods of torture that were used not only upon the gunmen of rival cartels but also on a significant number of civilians. In the coverage of these events, not all photojournalists reacted to this upsurge in violence in a ‘sensationalist’ manner; several set out to produce images from unusual points of view. In particular, I shall analyze how certain images represent violence in a tense relationship with artistic iconography, upsetting parameters of horror and beauty in the public sphere.