Zone d'identification
Type d'entité
Personne
Forme autorisée du nom
Medina, Luis
forme(s) parallèle(s) du nom
Forme(s) du nom normalisée(s) selon d'autres conventions
Autre(s) forme(s) du nom
Numéro d'immatriculation des collectivités
Zone de description
Dates d’existence
1942-1985
Historique
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.
Lieux
Cuba; Spain; Germany; Italy; Miami; Chicago.
Statut légal
Fonctions et activités
Photographer
Textes de référence
Organisation interne/Généalogie
Contexte général
Zone des relations
Zone des points d'accès
Mots-clés - Sujets
Mots-clés - Lieux
Occupations
Zone du contrôle
Identifiant de notice d'autorité
Identifiant du service d'archives
Règles et/ou conventions utilisées
Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS).
Statut
Final
Niveau de détail
Complet
Dates de production, de révision et de suppression
Biographical note by Allegra G. Garcia, April 2020. Updated by Juan A. Villanueva, April 2020, and Amanda Moreno, October 2020.
Langue(s)
- anglais
Écriture(s)
Sources
Travis, David. "Facts and Fables by Luis Medina, Photographer." Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago, 1993. https://lakeimagesweb.artic.edu/assets/fcb07cf8-151c-bba4-03c4-5abacc32aa32
"Luis Medina, 43; Photographed the Architecture of Chicago." Chicago Tribune. 1985 October 16. https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1985-10-16-8503100590-story.html
Furlani, Sasha. "The Luis Medina Archive at the Art Institute of Chicago." (MA Thesis). Toronto: Ryerson University, 2017. https://digital.library.ryerson.ca/islandora/object/RULA%3A7191