Rodrigo Moya — “Hipotecados, Tlatelolco, Ciudad De México,” 1963 — Signed Gelatin Silver Photograph

Details

Description

An important gelatin silver photograph by Rodrigo Moya (1934–2025), a significant figure in Mexican documentary photography. Hipotecados belongs to his … Read more An important gelatin silver photograph by Rodrigo Moya (1934–2025), a significant figure in Mexican documentary photography. Hipotecados belongs to his sustained examination of everyday life, social inequality, and the changing landscape of twentieth-century Mexico.

The title Hipotecados translates as “Mortgaged.” The photograph emphasizes the monumental scale of the Nonoalco Tlatelolco housing complex while questioning the promises surrounding it. Promoted as a modern housing model for Mexico’s middle classes, the development becomes, through Moya’s title, a reflection on the economic burden such ambitious projects placed on the country and its residents. This critical relationship between image and language is characteristic of his documentary practice.*

Set in Tlatelolco, Mexico City, the image combines a commanding architectural composition with the social awareness that distinguishes Moya’s work. His photographs move beyond straightforward reportage, bringing an artist’s sensitivity to form, atmosphere, and the relationship between people and their surroundings.

Prints of this image are held in the permanent collections of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and the Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo (MUAC), UNAM, Mexico City, underscoring its institutional recognition within Moya’s body of work.

The offered print is signed, titled, and dated 1963 on the reverse, with no edition number indicated. The image measures 14.37 inches high × 19 inches wide, on a 16 × 20-inch sheet. Presented in a black frame with a wide white mat and its overall framed dimensions are 27 inches high × 32 inches wide × 1.5 inches deep.

(Title interpretation adapted from Elva Peniche, “Rodrigo Moya,” in Cien del MUAC (MUAC–UNAM, 2020), p. 142. Collection references: LACMA, accession M.2014.54.1, catalogued as 1965; MUAC, inventory 08-851547, catalogued as 1966.)

About Rodrigo Moya

Born in Medellín, Colombia, in 1934 and raised in Mexico, Rodrigo Moya developed a photographic practice rooted in the country’s social and political life. Beginning in the 1950s, he worked as a photojournalist, documenting city streets, rural communities, labor, political movements, and the rapid transformation of modern Mexico.

Selected Exhibitions and Career Highlights

- 1958:Lágrimas y risas de México*, Mexico City.
- 1959: First Latin American Salon of Photography, La Ventana.
- 2002:*Fuera de moda*, Fotoseptiembre, Xalapa.
- 2004:*Foto insurrecta*, Centro de la Imagen, Mexico City.
- 2006:*El Trenecito*, Galería López Quiroga, Mexico City, with additional presentations in Puebla and Puerto Vallarta.
- 2007:*La eterna infancia*, Alhóndiga de Granaditas, Festival Internacional Cervantino, Guanajuato.
- 2009: *Cuba mía*, Casa Amèrica Catalunya, Barcelona, with international presentations including Milan, Algiers, Dublin, New Delhi, and Vienna.
- 2010: *Eyes Wide Open*, Etherton Gallery, Tucson.
- 2013: *Eyes Wide Open*, Throckmorton Fine Art, New York.
- 2015–2016: *Photography and Conscience / Fotografía y conciencia*, The Wittliff Collections, Texas State University.
- 2017: *Cuba 1964: la Revolución en Marcha*, Festival Internacional Cervantino, Guanajuato.
- 2018: *Mementos*, Etherton Gallery, Tucson.
- 2019: *Rodrigo Moya. México*, Museo Amparo, Puebla.
- 2019: *México / Escenas*, Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City.
- 2019: *México / Periferias*, Centro de la Imagen, Mexico City.

Selected Honors

- 2005: Premio Espejo de Luz, Sixth Mexican Biennial of Photojournalism.
- 2007: Medalla al Mérito Fotográfico, Sistema Nacional de Fototecas, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia.

Selected Public Collections

Moya’s work is represented in collections including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; LACMA, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art; Santa Barbara Museum of Art; Center for Creative Photography; The Wittliff Collections; Museo Amparo; Museo de Arte Moderno, Mexico City; MUAC, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; Fundación Televisa; and Casa Amèrica Catalunya.

Selected Publications

*México* (1968); *Foto insurrecta* (2004); and *Una visión crítica de la modernidad* (2006).

Artwork Details

- Artist: Rodrigo Moya (1934–2025).
- Title: *Hipotecados, Tlaltelolco. C. de Mexico* — as recorded on the reverse.
- Image date: 1963.
- Medium:Gelatin silver print on paper.
- Signature: Signed, titled, and dated verso.
- Image dimensions: 14.37 inches high × 19 inches wide.
- Sheet dimensions: 16 inches high × 20 inches wide.
- Framed dimensions:Approximately 27 inches high × 32 inches wide × 1.5 inches deep.
- Presentation: Black frame with wide white mat under plexiglass

Condition

Excellent condition. Very slight cockling along the sheet edges, associated with the original drying process. See less