Collateral Images. The Influence of the Soviet Avant-garde on the Work of Tina Modotti

Abstract

Alexandra Kollontai arrived in Mexico in 1926 as ambassador of the Soviet Union. In this bridging capacity she managed to introduce in this country some of the films that, because of the blockade, had not been available to view until then. Some films by Abram Róom and Sergei Eisenstein, among others, were projected in private cinemas and by the Mexican Communist Party itself after meetings. The influence of other Soviet filmmakers was vital for Tina Modotti who was able to comprehend and assimilate from them the revolutionary concepts in such a way that her photographs became, from the very moment of their making, the genuine symbols of the movement in Mexico.