Sandra Eleta is an artist and photographer. Eleta was born in
Panama City
Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is locat ...
in
Republic of Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cost ...
on September 4, 1942, as Sandra Eleta Boyd. Eleta studied
Fine Arts
In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...
at
Finch College
Finch College was an undergraduate women's college in Manhattan, New York City. The Finch School opened as a private secondary school for girls in 1900 and became a liberal arts college in 1952. It closed in 1976.
Founding
Finch was founded in ...
and then later studied Social Investigation in The New School of Social Research in
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
. Her study of Social Investigation lead her to tell the life stories of a variety of different people in varying social classes throughout
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
. In the 1970s, she took courses at the
International Center of Photography
The International Center of Photography (ICP), at 79 Essex Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City, consists of a museum for photography and visual culture and a school offering an array of educational courses and programming. ...
(ICP) in New York with
Ken Heyman and
George Tice
George A. Tice (born 1938) is an American photographer. His work depicts a broad range of American life, landscape, and urban environment, mostly photographed in his native New Jersey. He has lived all his life in New Jersey, except for his serv ...
, who were both photographers. She then went on to teach at the
Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica. She lived and worked in
Portobelo, Panama for many years, since the mid-1970s.
She is known for is a photograph she captured in 1977 in Panama, entitled "The One with the Feather Duster". It was showcased at the
Hammer Museum
The Hammer Museum, which is affiliated with the University of California, Los Angeles, is an art museum and cultural center known for its artist-centric and progressive array of exhibitions and public programs. Founded in 1990 by the entrepreneur- ...
in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
during the
Radical Women
Radical Women (RW) is a socialist feminist grassroots activist organization affiliated with the Freedom Socialist Party. It has branches in Seattle, Washington, and Melbourne, Australia.
History
Radical Women emerged in Seattle from a "Free Univ ...
in Latin American Art exhibit in Winter of 2017.
Artistic collections
Servitude Series
In her description of this series Eleta writes, "Two continents, two countries, two residences and two generations bear silent witness … In this series I sought to discover the differences between the older and younger generations as they related to
servitude. Spain Victor finds his personal identity within his role as servant. He is the personification of his art. For him, there is no division between his role and his being. There is no questioning, only a humoristic pride which dresses his person. Purit a (later infiltrated as a terrorist) is one who questions, one who challenges and defies: Her energy, like that of a caged feline was palpable, and could be felt thumping about the enormity of the house. What might she be contemplating? I often wandered....Panamá as Rosa polished the
silver
Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...
, each piece engraved with the family's coat of arms, she paused periodically to study her own reflection: Most of her life had been spent within the confines of this family residence, which she had grown to consider her own, given that she had scarcely known any other. During The
United States’ invasion of Panamá, Romi decided to grab a hunting rifle, which she found in my brother's closet. The people in our neighborhood were frightened, imagining seen Noriega's “dignity batallions”
looting
Looting is the act of stealing, or the taking of goods by force, typically in the midst of a military, political, or other social crisis, such as war, natural disasters (where law and civil enforcement are temporarily ineffective), or rioting. ...
and burning nearby houses. I had never witnessed such intensity in Romi as I did the moment she brandished that weapon. As I photographed her, I remember thinking: Honestly, who would she really like to shoot?".
Portobelo Series
In her description of the
Portobelo series Eleta writes, "It could be said that with this series, my life and photography became one. When I arrived in Portobelo, in the early seventies’, I began photographing those who engaged me in some profound way, who seemed to resonate that which I felt deepest within me. Naturally wanting to more, I drew nearer and dug deeper, hoping to fathom the very depths of their souls. I of course understood that I could not accomplish this alone, but eventually, winning their trust, they revealed themselves to me willingly, allowing their auras to repose in my lens. Then, much like an invitation to dance, we found ourselves locked in a mutual rhythm, completely unencumbered, completely in-tune. It was in this way the protagonist of this story revealed themselves to me: Josefa, a healer of the “evil eye,” locally known as a “curandera”; Palanca, who only seemed to find solace in the arms of his grandmother, Ventura; Putulungo, the
octopus fisherman, who much like his prey could instantly change his interior from light to dark; Dulce, a little girl light in years, but possessing all the wisdom and tenacity of her
cimarrón ancestor
An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder or a forebear, is a parent or (recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from whom ...
s; Catalina, Queen of the
Congos. It could also be said, that with this series my
photographic
Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed i ...
identity was born, and that as I came face to face with these images for the first time, I felt I was looking at myself, but from a renewed point of view (http://www.sandraeleta.com/en/collections.html).
Solo exhibitions
* 2009 Gallérie Agathe Gaillard, Paris, France
* 2001 Ángeles Multiétnicos, Arteconsult Gallery, Panamá
* 1998 Por los caminos del Chagres: Los Emberás, hijos del río. PNUD, Panamá
* 1987 Burden Gallery, New York, New York
* 1985 Portobelo, Panamá. Photography. Photo gallery at The San Martín Theater, Buenos Aires, Argentina
* 1983 Gallérie Agathe Gaillard, Paris, Francia
* 1982 Portobelo viene al Museo, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, Panamá
* 1980 Consejo Venezolano de Fotografía, Caracas, Venezuela
* 1979 Canon Photo Gallery, Amsterdam, Holland.
* 1976 “Ritos y Minorias”, Fotocentro Gallery, Madrid.
Selected group exhibitions
* 2009 Photo Paris, Gallérie Agathe Gaillard, Paris, Francia
* 2006 Patrimonio Humano, Espacio Arte, Casco Antiguo San Felipe, Panamá
* 2003 Caminos del Maíz, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, Panamá, Panamá
* 2003 Titanes, Galería La Bohème, Panamá, Panamá
* 2001 Festival Iberoamericano de Cadíz, España
* 2001 Obra reciente: Sandra Eleta & Gustavo Araujo, Arteconsult Gallery, Panamá, Panamá
* 1999 Panameños en la Bienal de Lima, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, Panamá, Panamá
* 1999 Comanche, Brooke Alfaro & Sandra Eleta, Photography, artistic installation and video. Bienal de Lima, Perú
* 1999 MUA Instala, Mujeres en las Artes, Tegucigalpa, Honduras
* 1998 Raquel Bigio y Sandra Eleta, Galería Mateo Sariel, Panamá, Panamá
* 1998 XXVI Bienal de São Paulo, Brasil 1985 Portobelo y Sirenata en B, Teatro Nacional de Panamá, Panamá
* 1984 Bienal Latinoamericana de La Habana, Cuba
* 1984 Nikon, Photo Gallery, Zurich, Suiza
* 1982 Fotografie Lateinamerika, 1960–1980. Academie der Kunzt, Berlín, Alemania
* 1982 Contrast Gallery, Londres, Inglaterra
* 1982 Photografie Contemporaine Latinoamericaine, Centro Pompidou, Paris, Francia
* 1981 1st Latin-American Photography auction, Kunsthaus, Zurich, Switzerland
* 1981 Revelación, Revuelta y Ficción, Consejo Mejicano de Fotografía, México
* 1981 Segunda Muestra de Fotografía Latinoamericana Contemporánea, Museo de Arte Moderno, México, México
* 1979 Reincontres Photographiques d’Arles, Francia
* 1979 Cannon, Photo Gallery, Amsterdam, Holanda
* 1979 Venecia ’79- La Fotografía, Venecia, Italia
* 1978 Primera Muestra de Fotrografía Latinoamericana Contemporánea, Museo de Arte Moderno, Ciudad de México, México
* 1978 Ritos y Minorías, Galería Photocentro, Madrid, España
* 1976 WOMAN, The Institute of Spanish Art, New York, New York
* 1975 Center for Interamerican Relations, New York, New York
Bibliography
Art books
* 1982 “NOSTALGIA DEL FUTURO”, Photography by Sandra Eleta and texts by Ernesto Cardenal, Editorial Germán Schultz, Alemania.
* 1991 “PORTOBELO”, Editorial Fotográfica La Azotea, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Primera edición 1985, Segunda edición 1991.
* 2004 “EL ABUELO DE MI ABUELA”, Photography by Sandra Eleta, with group creations by Grupo Casa Taller, Ciudad del Saber, Panamá
* 2005 “DARIÉN: LIBRO DE VIAJE”, Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (PNUD) and Autoridad Nacional del Ambiente (ANAM).
Publications
Since the late 70's Eleta works independently with the ARCHIVES Agency, New York. Publishing her photographs in various magazines such as CAMARA in Switzerland and Aperture, New York.
Her work has been reviewed in: Canto a la Realidad, Ediciones Lunwerg,
Madrid; Dictionaire Mondiale de la Photographie, Ediciones Larousse, Paris; A History of Women Photographers, Noami Rosenblum, Abbeville Press, Estados Unidos; Our Mothers, Portraits by 72 Women Photographers, edited by Vivian Esders y el libro LOVE, Harpers Collins, New York.4
Galleries and collections
* Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, Francia
* Museo George Pompidiu, Paris, Francia
* Colección Marsh, Madrid, España
* Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Buenos Aires, Argentina
* Museo de Arte Moderno, México, México
References
External links
*
When the Future Comes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eleta, Sandra
Living people
1942 births
Panamanian photographers
Panamanian women photographers
20th-century photographers
21st-century photographers
People from Panama City
Finch College alumni
The New School alumni
20th-century women photographers
21st-century women photographers