{"id":14149,"date":"2021-07-15T05:38:57","date_gmt":"2021-07-15T05:38:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/diversionsla.com\/?p=14149"},"modified":"2021-07-15T05:38:57","modified_gmt":"2021-07-15T05:38:57","slug":"take-a-very-special-travel-with-annie-appel-the-mexico-journeys-carmelita","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/take-a-very-special-travel-with-annie-appel-the-mexico-journeys-carmelita\/","title":{"rendered":"Take a Very Special Travel with Annie Appel: The Mexico Journeys &#8211; Carmelita"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"270\" height=\"416\" src=\"http:\/\/diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Appel_Mexico_2016_01-270x416-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14152\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Appel_Mexico_2016_01-270x416-1.jpeg 270w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Appel_Mexico_2016_01-270x416-1-195x300.jpeg 195w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Appel_Mexico_2016_01-270x416-1-125x192.jpeg 125w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 270px) 100vw, 270px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Opening July 24<sup>th<\/sup> at the Palos Verdes Arts Center in Rancho Palos Verdes, the work of San Pedro-based photographic artist Annie Appel is raw and personal, a riveting and deep dive into the lives of a family she encountered in Mexico.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"633\" height=\"417\" src=\"http:\/\/diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Appel_Mexico_2016_02-633x417-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14153\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Appel_Mexico_2016_02-633x417-1.jpeg 633w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Appel_Mexico_2016_02-633x417-1-300x198.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Appel_Mexico_2016_02-633x417-1-291x192.jpeg 291w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 633px) 100vw, 633px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The exhibition, <em>Annie Appel: The Mexico Journeys \u2013 Carmelita<\/em> focuses on just one of a vast cast of family Appel documented. Her work is poignant and gracefully created, with images that pull the viewer into the lives of the family she depicts, much as Appel herself was compelled to be a part of their lives over the years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"616\" height=\"415\" src=\"http:\/\/diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Appel_Mexico_2016_13-616x415-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14154\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Appel_Mexico_2016_13-616x415-1.jpeg 616w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Appel_Mexico_2016_13-616x415-1-300x202.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Appel_Mexico_2016_13-616x415-1-285x192.jpeg 285w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 616px) 100vw, 616px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The project began in Baja, Mexico in the summer of 1994, when Appel had a chance encounter with Maria, the pregnant mother of two young daughters on her way to take lunch to her husband. Appel offered drawing materials for the children and was invited to lunch; from this meeting grew a more-than-completed promise Appel made to herself to follow and document the family for ten years. This commitment grew to span two decades and 23 visits, over the course of which she created a richly involving story told through her photographic images and a journal she kept describing the visits and her feelings about them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"473\" src=\"http:\/\/diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/MexicoJourneys_03_email_-1024x473.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14158\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/MexicoJourneys_03_email_-1024x473.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/MexicoJourneys_03_email_-300x138.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/MexicoJourneys_03_email_-768x354.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/MexicoJourneys_03_email_-1536x709.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/MexicoJourneys_03_email_-2048x945.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/MexicoJourneys_03_email_-648x299.jpg 648w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/MexicoJourneys_03_email_-416x192.jpg 416w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The full project began with the maternal figure of Maria, whom Appel first met, then married to a brick maker and layer, Jaime. The current exhibition at PVAC focuses on one of Maria\u2019s daughter\u2019s, Carmelita, now fully grown into an independent young woman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"270\" height=\"416\" src=\"http:\/\/diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Appel_Mexico_2016_17-270x416-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14156\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Appel_Mexico_2016_17-270x416-1.jpeg 270w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Appel_Mexico_2016_17-270x416-1-195x300.jpeg 195w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Appel_Mexico_2016_17-270x416-1-125x192.jpeg 125w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 270px) 100vw, 270px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Appel says she\u2019d most like viewers of this heartfelt, moving project to \u201cimagine what it would feel like be in a similar situation &#8211; from the perspective of the family members, and from the perspective of the documentarian.\u201d<br><br>Fully engaged with and respectful of the family she depicts, Appel shares her \u201cslow but steady steps towards completion of <em>The Mexico Journeys.<\/em> Each trip,\u00a0I\u00a0take\u00a0each family member a package of 5&#215;7 prints\u00a0\u2014\u00a0meaning,\u00a0if I make a classic portrait of Mar\u00eda,\u00a0I include a copy of that portrait in each of the 5 packets for her children, and now for her\u00a0grandchildren, so\u00a0they each have their own print of Mar\u00eda.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"273\" height=\"421\" src=\"http:\/\/diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/car-273x421-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14157\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/car-273x421-1.jpeg 273w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/car-273x421-1-195x300.jpeg 195w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/car-273x421-1-125x192.jpeg 125w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 273px) 100vw, 273px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Appel \u201cI learned early on that most of the family is interested in the more traditional formal portraits, and far less interested in a beautifully composed image of Mar\u00eda hanging laundry on the line to dry, even if the colors and light and angles are all working together to make a poetic image. \u2018Why would you take a photo of me doing laundry?\u2019 Mar\u00eda asked [me].\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"630\" height=\"417\" src=\"http:\/\/diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/water-630x417-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14159\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/water-630x417-1.jpeg 630w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/water-630x417-1-300x199.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/water-630x417-1-290x192.jpeg 290w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u00a0Appel\u2019s driving force, one that keeps her working on this on-going, voluminous project is to fulfill the promise she made to herself to reveal this family\u2019s universal humanity and intimate experiences. This in turn ties into an earlier personal promise she made which she reveals was, \u201cto combine whatever gifts or talent I was given with my love of the medium. Photography gives us the past history of the world, the best and worst acts of humanity. It rescues memory from the clutches of mortality.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"625\" height=\"414\" src=\"http:\/\/diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Appel_Mexico_2016_18-625x414-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14160\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Appel_Mexico_2016_18-625x414-1.jpeg 625w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Appel_Mexico_2016_18-625x414-1-300x199.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Appel_Mexico_2016_18-625x414-1-290x192.jpeg 290w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 625px) 100vw, 625px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Indeed, the exhibition offers a truly experiential series of photographic artworks, which cannot help but affect the viewer \u2013 certainly they pull at both the eye with their precise and elegant composition, and the heart, with the richness and touching intimacy of the depictions. Appel notes \u201cThe experiences I had shooting the work are still alive in the conscious and subconscious of my oeuvre. The images that I took are alive and continually changing in my mind,&nbsp;because I have the ability to reorder time and events.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She is working toward completing a book of this massive series of work, writing, editing, scanning film and printing to that end. While she is no longer photographing the family, she\u2019s still in contact with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"473\" src=\"http:\/\/diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/MexicoJourneys_09_email-1024x473.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14161\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/MexicoJourneys_09_email-1024x473.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/MexicoJourneys_09_email-300x138.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/MexicoJourneys_09_email-768x354.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/MexicoJourneys_09_email-1536x709.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/MexicoJourneys_09_email-2048x945.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/MexicoJourneys_09_email-648x299.jpg 648w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/MexicoJourneys_09_email-416x192.jpg 416w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>While documentary in intent, her photographic approach goes beyond this, as an evocation of life in all its uneven disparities, joys and messes. \u201cWhen people ask me what I photograph,\u00a0I explain to them that I mostly feel driven to pick up my camera to photograph those whom I care for. Most often,\u00a0the response either deepens the conversation, or ends the conversation,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a way, this long-term project is like a visual version of a classic, multi-character novel, one that spans many years, like something from Dickens or Steinbeck. Appel asserts that her images indeed \u201ctell a narrative, and the story moves forward&nbsp;in&nbsp;time. The impact of the images is wholly dependent upon time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"626\" height=\"415\" src=\"http:\/\/diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Appel_Mexico_2016_12-626x415-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14162\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Appel_Mexico_2016_12-626x415-1.jpeg 626w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Appel_Mexico_2016_12-626x415-1-300x199.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Appel_Mexico_2016_12-626x415-1-290x192.jpeg 290w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 626px) 100vw, 626px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>With other projects that include work on artist Keith Haring, depictions the reveal the topic of gratitude, and covering, in her signature heartfelt way the Occupy Movement through her photo essay \u201cThe Occupy Portraits,\u201d Appel creates unique, visceral photographic work that records emotional history as well as its physical embodiment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"473\" src=\"http:\/\/diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/MexicoJourneys_06_email-1024x473.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14163\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/MexicoJourneys_06_email-1024x473.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/MexicoJourneys_06_email-300x138.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/MexicoJourneys_06_email-768x354.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/MexicoJourneys_06_email-1536x709.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/MexicoJourneys_06_email-2048x945.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/MexicoJourneys_06_email-648x299.jpg 648w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/MexicoJourneys_06_email-416x192.jpg 416w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>With this iteration of <em>The Mexico Journeys<\/em>, the Palos Verdes Art Center gallery exhibit will feature, along with other works, the installation of three 4 x 6-foot photo murals, and one 10 x 4-foot photo mural, printed at the photo lab Appel has recently opened in San Pedro.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"274\" height=\"417\" src=\"http:\/\/diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Appel_Mexico_2016_14-274x417-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14164\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Appel_Mexico_2016_14-274x417-1.jpeg 274w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Appel_Mexico_2016_14-274x417-1-197x300.jpeg 197w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Appel_Mexico_2016_14-274x417-1-126x192.jpeg 126w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 274px) 100vw, 274px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The exhibition coincides with the 90<sup>th<\/sup> year of the Palos Verdes Arts Center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u00a0<em>Annie Appel: The Mexico Journeys \u2013 Carmelita <\/em>opens July 24<sup>th<\/sup> 6 \u2013 9 p.m. at PVAC, located at 5504 Crestridge Rd, Rancho Palos Verdes, just off Crenshaw Boulevard; take the 110 freeway south from DTLA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Genie Davis; photos provided by the artist<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Opening July 24th at the Palos Verdes Arts Center in Rancho Palos Verdes, the work of San Pedro-based photographic artist Annie Appel is raw and personal, a riveting and deep dive into the lives of a family she encountered in Mexico. The exhibition, Annie Appel: The Mexico Journeys \u2013 Carmelita focuses on just one of &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/take-a-very-special-travel-with-annie-appel-the-mexico-journeys-carmelita\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Take a Very Special Travel with Annie Appel: The Mexico Journeys &#8211; Carmelita<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14163,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[1471,1472],"class_list":["post-14149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-art","tag-annie-appel","tag-the-mexico-journeys"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/MexicoJourneys_06_email-scaled.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14149"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14149\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14165,"href":"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14149\/revisions\/14165"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14163"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}