Luis Medina Photograph collection

Identity elements

Name and location of repository

University of Miami Cuban Heritage Collection

Level of description

Collection

Title

Luis Medina Photograph collection

Date(s)

1960s-1980s (Creation)

Extent

100 Boxes

Name of creator

Medina, Luis

(1942-1985)

Biographical history

Luis Medina was born on June 18, 1942, in Havana, Cuba. During his childhood, he attended a private military school until he left Cuba for Spain at the age of sixteen in 1958. There, he was introduced to the arts, such as painting and literature, by Cuban poet Gastón Baquero. Medina traveled and worked throughout Europe, visiting Germany and Italy. He migrated to Miami, Florida, in 1961, and was reunited with his mother and stepfather, who had fled Cuba after Fidel Castro’s government came to power. He attended Miami Dade Junior College and took courses in history, philosophy, and sociology. Upon graduating with honors in 1967, Medina enrolled in The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) with dreams of becoming a sculptor. He was accompanied at SAIC by his childhood friend José López, and the two were quickly taken in by American mentors Harold Allen and Hugh Edwards.

Medina soon turned his artistic interests to the medium of photography, which he practiced alongside López until his friend’s departure to Miami in 1976. The two taught photography together in the early 1970s at Columbia College - Chicago and other local universities. Medina remained in Chicago, where he developed a growing body of photographic work that focused on architectural photography and documenting marginalized groups, such as the Latinx and gay communities in the Chicago area. In one acclaimed series, Medina captured the inner workings of the gang population, photographing their graffiti while simultaneously earning their respect. In 1980, this work was exhibited in a solo show at the Art Institute.

Medina was diagnosed with a cytomegalovirus infection in 1984; this illness can often be associated with AIDS. A year later, he died at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami at the age of forty-three.

Content and structure elements

Scope and content

This collection is comprised of approximately 22,000 items of mixed media (slides, silver gelatin prints, negatives, and color prints, among other formats).

System of arrangement

The photographs and slides in this collection are organized by subjects determined by the photographer.

Conditions of access and use elements

Conditions governing access

This collection is open for research.

Physical access

The collection is unprocessed.

Technical access

Conditions governing reproduction

Requests to publish or display materials from this collection require written permission from the rights owner. Please contact chc@miami.edu for more information.

Preferred citation: Luis Medina Photograph Collection, Cuban Heritage Collection, University of Miami Libraries, Coral Gables, Florida.

Languages of the material

English

Scripts of the material

Language and script notes

Finding aids

Minimal collection-level record by Juan A. Villanueva, March 2020, and updated by Amanda Moreno, May 2020.

Acquisition and appraisal elements

Custodial history

Gift of the Art Institute of Chicago, through prior restricted gift of Lucia Woods Lindley, 2018.

Immediate source of acquisition

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information

Accruals

Related materials elements

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Additional photographs are available at the Art Institute of Chicago. https://www.artic.edu/artists/35721/luis-medina

Related archival materials

Related descriptions

Notes element

Specialized notes

Alternative identifier(s)

Description control element

Rules or conventions

Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Sources used

Archivist's note

Minimum record by Juan A. Villanueva, March 13, 2020 and updated by Amanda Moreno, May 2020.
Biographical note by Allegra G. Garcia, April 2020.