Héctor Méndez Caratini
San Juan, PR, 1949
Biography Details
Photographer and video artist. At an early age Méndez Caratini became interested in photography. In 1968 he entered Boston University to study liberal arts; in 1970 he transferred to the University of Puerto Rico, where he studied literature, anthropology, sociology, and political science, at the same time taking formal classes in photography at the UPR School of Architecture. He graduated in 1972, and in 1973 moved to New York, where he studied at the Germain School of Photography. On his return to Puerto Rico he worked as an ophthalmological photographer for the UPR. He earned a master’s degree at the Center for Advanced Studies in San Juan, where he produced photo-essays. Since then, his work has been exhibited and given awards at countless events and published in many venues. He has worked as a teacher, as a curator, and as director of the Puerto Rican Council on Photography. His photographs are based on the subject of identity and on cultural changes in developing communities and societies in both Puerto Rico and other countries, especially in Latin America, and he works in both black and white and color.
Artist Statement
"The folkloric characters, places and things documented here can be understood symbolically as a coherent iconography of our time. These show us images so familiar and visible within our environment that we rarely become aware of their existence, much less the importance and the place they occupy in the development of the values and traditions of our culture."
Héctor Méndez Caratini
Formation
Education
1992
- Digital video workshops. Center for Creative Imaging, Portland, Massachusetts, United States
1986
- Video workshops. Boston Film & Video Foundation, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
1980
- Video workshops. Visual Studies Workshops, Rochester, New York, United States
1978
- Photographic workshops. Primer Coloquio de Fotografía Latinoamericana, Mexico City, Mexico
1977
- Photographic workshops. Center for Creative Photography, Tucson, Arizona, United States
1975
- Master's degree courses. Centro de Estudios Avanzados de Puerto Rico y del Caribe, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1973
- Professional Photographer Certificate. Germain School of Photography, New York, United States
1972
- Bachelor of Social Sciences. Universidad de Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1968-1969
- Bachelor's degree courses. Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Professional Experience
2004
- Photographer. Commissioned to photograph nine prominent Hispanics in the United States, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, United States
2000
- Photographer. www.zonezero.com. For a year made an extensive photographic documentation about the problems of environmental pollution at the island municipality of Vieques, Vieques, Puerto Rico
1993
- Instructor. Photography workshop “Preparation of Portfolios”, Encuentro de Fotografía Latinoamericana, Caracas, Venezuela
1991
- Instructor. Photography workshop “Portfolios Preparation of”, Jornadas Fotográficas de Mérida, Mérida, Venezuela
- Judge. I Jornada del Bienestar Social en la Industria, Caracas, Venezuela
1988
- Instructor. Training to ophthalmic photographers from Central and South America in the use of stereoscopy photographic techniques to be used on clinical research, Merck, Sharp & Dohme, New Jersey, United States
1982
- Judge. Photography Award, Casa de Las Américas, La Habana, Cuba
1981
- Judge. II Latin America's Photography Colloquium, Mexico City, Mexico
Exhibitions
Solo Shows
2012
- Visions of Ancient Angkor, Museo y Centro de Estudios Humanísticos Dra. Josefina Camacho de la Nuez, Universidad del Turabo, Caguas, Puerto Rico
2011
- Fiebre / Fever, Fundación Ángel Ramos, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2009
- Inkaterra: a suite in three movements, Museo de las Américas, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2008
- Fiebre / Fever, Museo y Centro de Estudios Humanísticos Dra. Josefina Camacho de la Nuez, Universidad del Turabo, Caguas, Puerto Rico
2007
- Melao, Melao: Tun tún pá’ mi caña, Hotel El Convento, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2006
- Héctor Méndez Caratini: El ojo de la memoria: tres décadas, 1974 a 2003, El Museo del Barrio, New York, United States
2004
- Héctor Méndez Caratini: El ojo de la memoria: tres décadas, 1974 a 2003, Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2002
- Vieques: crónicas del calvario, www.zonezero.com, www.hectormendezcaratini.com
2001
- Ancestral Roots, Museo de las Américas, Denver, Colorado, United States
- Searching for Miracles, Newark Museum of Art, Newark, New Jersey, United States
1990
- Haciendas Cafetaleras de Puerto Rico, Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1982
- Vejigantes, Organization of American States, Washington DC, United States
1981
- Los Sueños del Patriota, Casa de las Américas, Havana, Cuba
Group Shows
2013
- Muestra Nacional, Antiguo Arsenal de la Marina Española, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Photographic Year, Casa de las Américas, Havana, Cuba
2012
- Caribbean Crossroads of the World, El Museo del Barrio, New York; Queens Museum of Art, New York, United States
- Interconexiones: lecturas curatoriales de la colección del MAPR, Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- John Cage Museum Circle, Museo de Historia, Antropología y Arte de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2011
- In Focus: Selected works from the permanent collection, Light Work Gallery, Syracuse, New York; Art Museum of the Americas, Washington, DC; Aljira Center for Contemporary Art, Newark, New Jersey; California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco, California, United States
- Arte en el medio: 35 años de fotografía en Puerto Rico, Antiguo Arsenal de la Marina Española, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2009
- Orquídeas, La Subasta X, Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Puerto Rico: Geografía humana, fotografía y video del siglo XXI, Organization of American States, Washington DC, United States; Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Medio Siglo Mirando al Futuro, Museo de Arte de Ponce @ Plaza, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2008
- Make a Wish Foundation, Museo de Arte de Ponce @ Plaza, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Juxtapositions: Four Generations, ArteFoundation, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2007
- Cardinal Points / Cardinales: A Survey of Contemporary Latino and Latin American Art from the Sprint Nextel Art Collection, Mid-America Arts Alliance, Kansas City, Missouri, United States
- Contexto puertorriqueño: del rococó colonial al arte global, Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- El Caballo en la Cultura Puertorriqueña, Museo de las Américas, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Actualidad de las Tradiciones Espirituales y Culturales Africanas en el Caribe y América Latina,
- Museo Casa Escuté, Carolina, Puerto Rico
2006
- Latin American Photography II, Lehigh University Art Galleries, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States
- Rewind 2, Antiguo Arsenal de la Marina Española, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Muestra Nacional, Antiguo Arsenal de la Marina Española, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2004
- Our Journeys/Our Stories, American Museum of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, United States
2003
- Only Skin Deep, International Center of Photography, New York, United States
1998
- Caribe Insular, Museo Extremeño é Iberoamericano, Badajoz, Spain
1997
- American Voices, International Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, United States
1983
- The Great Passion, New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, United States
1982
- Hecho en Latinoamérica II, Centre D’Art Georges Pompidou, Paris, France
1978
- Hecho en Latinoamérica I, Museo de Arte Moderno, Mexico City, Mexico
Awards, Distinctions and Achievements
2006
- Best Retrospective of the Year Award. “El ojo de la memoria” exhibited at Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico. International Association of Art Critics, Puerto Rico Chapter, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2001
- Photojournalism award. First prize Armando "Mandin" Rodriguez, Senate of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1997
- Guanín Award. For promoting Puerto Rico’s image internationally, Asociación de Ejecutivos de Ventas y Mercadeo, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
1995
- Artistic Merit. Fondo Nacional para el Financiamiento del Quehacer Cultural, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1992
- First prize. For art video María Lionza, filmed in Venezuela and edited at the Center for Creative Imaging, Maine, United States. Published in CD format by Macintosh. QuickTime Film Festival, San Francisco, California, United States
1991
- Excellence Award. The Kodachrome Film Award, Eastman Kodak, Rochester, New York, United States
1990
- Leopold Godowsky Award. Photographic Resource Center, Boston University, Massachusetts, United States
1989
- Support to the Arts Grant. Programa de Subvención Básica para las Artes, National Endowment for the Arts, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
1981
- First Mention. Casa de las Américas Award, Havana, Cuba
Collections
- Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Casa Aboy, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Casa de la Fotografía, Mexico City, México
- Casa de las Américas, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Center for Creative Photography, Tucson, Arizona, United States
- Centro de la Imagen, Mexico City, México
- El Museo del Barrio, New York, United States
- First Federal Savings Art Collection, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- FNAC, Paris, France
- Instituto Chileno Norteamericano, Santiago, Chile
- Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- International Center of Photography, New York, United States
- Lehigh University Art Galleries, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States
- Library of Congress, Washington, DC, United States
- Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, United States
- Museo de Arte de Ponce, Ponce, Puerto Rico
- Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas, Venezuela
- Museo de Historia, Antropología y Arte, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas, United States
- Roberto Clemente Center, New York, United States
- Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, United States
- UBS Paine Webber, Inc., San Juan, Puerto Rico
Bibliography
Books
Alegría Pons, José Francisco. “Gagá y Vudú en la República Dominicana”. Santo Domingo: Ediciones El Chango Prieto, 1993, p. 128.
Quintero Rivera, Ángel G. “Tradiciones: Álbum de la puertorriqueñidad”. 1990.
Teodoro Vidal. “Los Espada, escultores sangermeños”. San Juan, Puerto Rico: Ediciones Alba, 1994. P. 239.
Tibol, Raquel. “Hecho en Latinoamérica”. Libro del Consejo Mexicano de Fotografía, 1978.
Catalogues
“Héctor Méndez Caratini, El ojo de la memoria: tres décadas, 1974 a 2003”. Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, 2 de abril al 11 de julio de 2004.
Quintero Rivera, Ángel G. (editor). “Vírgenes, magos y escapularios: imaginería, etnicidad y religiosidad popular en Puerto Rico”, San Juan, Puerto Rico. Centro de Investigaciones Históricas, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Recinto de Río Piedras, San Juan, Puerto Rico; Centro de Investigaciones Académicas, Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, San Juan, Puerto Rico; Fundación Puertorriqueña de las Humanidades, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1998, p 213.
Goldman, Shifra M. “América Africana: Orixás, Cachoeira y Salvador Bahía, Brasil.” (ensayo). Museo de Arte de Ponce, Ponce, Puerto Rico, 6 de septiembre al 9 de octubre de 1997.
Rafael Pumarada. “Haciendas Cafetaleras de Puerto Rico”. Museo de Arte e Historia del Municipio de San Juan, San Juan, Puerto Rico, abril a marzo del 1999.
Newspapers
García, Osvaldo. “Fotógrafo de lo puertorriqueño”. El Mundo (San Juan, PR), 3 de diciembre de 1989, pp. 4-5.
Colón Camacho, Doreen M. “Los rostros de Loíza”. El Nuevo Día (San Juan, PR), 10 de octubre de 1996, pp. 98-99.
Tió, Teresa. “Héctor Méndez Caratini: La cámara y la tradición”. El Mundo (San Juan, PR), 12 de junio de 1983, año 64. núm. 116., p. 8.
Délano, Jack. "Haciendas: Plantaciones de café en Puerto Rico". The San Juan Star (San Juan, PR), 22 de abril de 1990, pp. 10 – 11
Cherson, Samuel. “Los vejigantes de Méndez Caratini”. El Nuevo Día (San Juan, PR), 18 de abril del 1982, pp. 4-7.
Documentaries
“Héctor Méndez Caratini”, TUTV Canal de TV, Corporación para la Difusión Pública, San Juan, Puerto Rico, Documental sobre la vida y obra artística de Méndez Caratini. Septiembre 2005.
“Héctor Méndez Caratini: El archivo de la memoria”, Prohibido Olvidar, TUTV Canal de TV, Corporación para la Difusión Pública,San Juan, Puerto Rico, documental sobre la vida y obra artística de Méndez Caratini, 2004.