CLAREMONT, CALIFORNIA.- The Pomona College Museum of Art presents The Shock of Modernity: Criminal Photography from the Casasola Archive, through December 19, 2004. “The Shock of Modernity” examines photography’s historical role as a tool for social control and highlights the dark side of Mexican modernity. Drawn from the Casasola Archive, a vast collection of over half a million photographs and negatives in the Fototeca of Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), the exhibition presents contemporary prints from negatives in the judicales section of the archive. The judicales photographs document crime scene evidence, reconstructions of crimes, and police procedures. The Casasola Archive is based on the work of Augustin Casasola (1874-1938), the first photo-journalist in Mexico and founder of the photo agency which bears his name, and his relatives and employees. The Archive provides an unparalleled visual record of Mexican political life, social environments, and public concerns in the first half of the twentieth century.

The exhibition is curated by Jesse Lerner, Professor of Media Studies at Pitzer College, and supported by Contacto Cultural: Fideicomiso para la Cultura México/EUA (Cultural Contact: The Fund for Mexico/USA Culture). A symposium will be held in conjunction with the exhibition.