About the Artist:
Mary Teresa Giancoli is a printer and filmmaker, covering cultural traditions and the natural environment, from the California and Italy of her youth to Latin America. As an ethno-documentarian, she covers indigenous customs in music and dance in Mexico and the U.S. She grew up in Berkeley, California, then lived in Florence, Italy, as a high school student, where she began photography. She focused her lens on the land, people, ancient structures, and youthful adventures. In the 90s, she returned to collaborate with artists in Tuscany, to document the beauty of the ordinary. At Our Lady of Guadalupe Church on 14th Street, she began photographing prayer and processions on December 12th, the feast day of the Virgin of Guadalupe, a symbol of hope for Mexican immigrants. She traveled to Atlixco, Pueblam, to record Mexican Lives, Mexican Rituals over two decades, following their family, and traveling to Cuetzalan, “un pueblo magico’ (a magical town) to capture the life and homes of women in a weaver’s cooperative and the Feria de Huipil. She captured Huapangos and Son Huasteco, a storytelling form of music and dance with passionate highs and lows. Imbuing her images with soft focus, mystery, and emotional depth, moving between towns in Mexico and the U.S., Giancoli blends documentary with fine art. Her photography and films have been widely exhibited in galleries, on screens, and museums in the United States, Mexico and Italy.
Artist Statement:
Son Huasteco is a musical and dance form from the Huasteca region in Central Mexico, that features deep highs and lows and passionate stories of love, heartbreak, adaptation and endurance. While traveling in Mexico, I followed dancers and performances of this regional style. Songs reflect the flight of the scarlet macaw, the woodpecker and other birds from this region. These are all color photographs.
In Temax, Mexico, I went to a Rodeo to hear regional music from the countryside, and see the running of the bulls and parade of women riding side saddle as part of an annual festival. As performance in a small town, the entire community climbs up a wooden ladder built from local trees to watch the bulls run, and the horses parade. In the morning light, I followed the deconstruction of the stadium, as workers pulled apart the trees and collected them to save for next year’s Fair. I focused my lens on the preparations once the performance is over. I used photo silkscreen process to print these works.
