BRINGING HERITAGE CLOSER. PHOTOGRAPHY IN NAVARRA. FUNDS AND COLLECTIONS

29 August 2012

Artistic photography in the Museum of Navarre: history, content and work of a diffusion
D. Francisco Javier Zubiaur Carreño. Museum of Navarra

The Museum of Navarre's policy regarding artistic photography began in 1984 with two specific lines of action: collecting (with the acquisition of the Ardanaz collection) and exhibition (with the monographic exhibition of the American painter and photographer Ben Shahn).

From the point of view of the patrimonial increase, from then until today, 58 photographers' funds have entered, which have generated 23,993 images (almost 48% of the total funds conserved by the Museum), and the exhibitions reach 36. Parallel to the catalogs published for such a reason, the Documentary Fund of Contemporary Navarrese Artists incorporates more than 300 names of photographers whose documentation is constantly increasing and the Library Services of the center exceeds 1,000 titles of this artistic specialization program .

The complete collections of Gerardo Zaragüeta Zabalo, Pedro Irurzun Irurzun, Nicolás Ardanaz Piqué (including his specialized Library Services ) and José Luis Bayona Baquedano stand out, as well as significant collections of Julio Altadill, Miguel Goicoechea and Paco Ocaña.

The Museum of Navarre has collaborated effectively in the revaluation of photography as an artistic medium and of photography by Navarrese authors in particular. And it has done so by adding to the collecting the exhibition program. In this regard, it is worth recalling the four exhibitions mounted around "Images in Time. Historical photographers of Navarre", and the monographic exhibitions on Paco Ocaña, Koldo Chamorro, Carlos Cánovas, Chema Madoz, Nicolás López, among others, which were joined by great names in world photography: Jacques-Henri Lartigue, Inghe Morat, Martín Chambi and Alfonso.

All the photographs that, for the museum's own work, are taken for documentary purposes are left out. The Museum of Navarre focuses its work on aspects related to the history of this community.

Nicolás Ardanaz self-photographed with his nephew Félix in the back room of his drugstore.