The Acapulco Project by Pablo López Luz (July 15, 2010) 
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Introduction by Marta Daho
Acapulco is a place where you can’t say no. Elvis Presley said it this way in a song dating back to 1963 that had become popular a year earlier after the release of the movie Fun in Acapulco. In this installation project, the Mexican artist Pablo López Luz not only sheds light upon the topographic vision of different architectural structures and urban landscape but also to the classical imagery of a place full of glamour that has been vividly immortalized by the cinema and advertising industries. Such process developed along with increasing urban speculation and the wearing effect on society of drug trafficking and corruption. Lopez Luz’ approach to the city of Acapulco offers a double direction. On the one hand, he includes an analysis of landscape by pairing his own photography with local iconography dating from the 1950’s and 60’s (specially postcards, advertisements and movies). On the other, he deconstructs the visual codes of this material by adding a written narrative, a of chronological investigation of the 20th Century in Acapulco (based on texts from unknown writers, novels, journalistic articles, self-published diaries, and internet notes). By continuously intersecting the artistic, political, and social spheres of the city of Acapulco, the Mexican artist creates a sense of travelling in time. Overall, in this project, Pablo Lopez Luz offers a possible history of representation of this city, specially focusing on the impact of images and the residue that they leave on the collective imagery.
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Our poll "A photo essay always needs a great written story" closed. 267 people voted, 28% agrees, 72% disagrees. 233 people answered our follow-up question "Are you a photographer?" 82% indicated they are, 18% said no. Initially, negative answers to question #1 were almost 100% as was the pecentage of photographers among respondants. Then, when the level of non-photographers started to rise, the percentage of people indicating good text is always essential started to rise too. This seems to indicate that non-photographers think that adding good text to your photo essays is essential. In my opinion: if you want non-photographers to dig your work, you know what to do...
The idea behind the project Acapulco, was to comment on human nature, as well as its relationship to space, and its social and political implications.
By photographing the historic city of Acapulco (once the most important shipping and commercial ports in Latin America), I am not only trying to express a personal point of view, but also to play a role in the city’s visual history (Acapulco has been probably the most photographed city after Mexico D.F.).
Going back and forth between the original paradisiac conception of Acapulco, in the 1940’s and 50’s, to its present reality of overpopulation and extreme social disparity, I intended to shoot the landscapes that could better portray what I believe to be the essence of ths contemporary city, as well as its everyday-growing lack of distinctiveness.
It was also important for my personal photographic approach, to be confronted with the classic imagery of the port, therefore resulting in a conversation between the existing images – old postcards, social photographs, tourism guides, film stills – and the new proposed views of the place.
As a side project, a chronological investigation into 20th Century Acapulco was developed, based on texts from unknown writers, novels, journalistic articles, self-published diaries and internet notes, as well as a film cycle Postcards of Acapulco including historical movies, as well as Youtube clips.
This project by Pablo López Luz was selected by Marta Daho (Milan, 1969), a curator of photography who is currently responsible for exhibition and editorial projects at the University of Barcelona. Since 1995 Daho has curated a number of exhibition and editorial projects for internationally recognised institutions such as Magnum Photos where she was the Exhibition Director (2001 – 2005), the private contemporary art foundation Metrònom in Barcelona (1995 – 2001) or more recently for SCAN, and the Photography Festival based in Tarragona, Talent Latent ’08.
Pablo López Luz () lives and works in Mexico City, Mexico.
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