Graciela Iturbide . . .

The discussion about dolls in two posts below sparked a comment from Catherine in Mexico City about a site there where hundreds of old dolls in all possible states of decomposition decorate an island in a canal network. . . The Island of Dolls. A couple of videos on YouTube show scenes from that bizarre open air doll cemetery, where the dolls are considered spirits, which in case you missed it below, you can see here. A second video also shows more footage (or dollage?) from this strange place. . . if you want some weird doll inspired shivers, well, take a gander.
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Catherine also asked if I was interested in the Mexican Day of the Dead celebrations, which I am, though I've never been there to see first hand. All of that reminded of the Mexican photographer Graciela Iturbide, who I've admired for years, ever since a book of her incredibly powerful photographs found its way to my collection. Graciela Iturbide's photographs are haunting in a manner I've experienced with no other artist. They are trance inspiring, hypnotic, it is clear she has entered the spirit world along with her subject matter to produce her magical images.
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Some of her work is visible on the Getty Museum website. The Amber Online site also shows a small but well presented collection of Graciela's photographs. I will share the cover of the book I have, Images of the Spirit, and the frontispiece, just to give you a little glimpse, to crack open the door to the dream world of her photos. . . and hopefully to encourage you to head out and buy a copy (this book is available on Amazon for a mere 20 USD) . . . artists need to eat too. . .

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