Subcomandate Marcos

The most radical of all contemporary writers on photography is probably the mysterious Subcomandante Marcos of Chiapas, Mexico. You can learn more about him at his own home page (of course he has one): La p‡gina del Subcomandante Marcos. It's in Spanish only, but you can get an adequate Google translation of it, if you don't speak that language yourself.

"The Sub," as he refers to himself, makes his home base deep in the Lacand—n jungle. Details of his personal history emerge slowly: he's one of several children of middle-class parents who were rural teachers when he was born and eventually moved to the city. Literature played a formative role in his upbringing; he cites especially Cervantes, and his collection of short fictions, Zapatista Stories, published in translation in 2001, takes some of its inspiration from that germinal book.

He writes on a computer. He smokes a pipe, writes and quotes poetry, and -- in interviews, speeches, letters, and other forms -- makes frequent and knowledgeable reference to and commentary on art, photography, and the mass media. (See, for example, "Ideas Are Also Weapons," online elsewhere. Among his other activities, the Sub articulates in nuanced communiquŽs the positions of the Frente Zapatista de Liberaci—n Nacional or Zapatista National Army of Liberation (EZLN). One of these, which we've included in this CyberArchive, we might consider "A Zapatista Position Paper on Photography." It reads as a sometimes cryptic but generally clear and cogent analysis of the social and political functions of photography, and was broadcast over the 'Net in early 1996 by an unexpected source: Mexico's Zapatista rebels themselves. It was forwarded to A. D. Coleman at that time by former Photo Metro editor and publisher Henry Brimmer.

It's the practice of this CyberArchive to obtain all necessary rights and permissions for copyrighted material, and it's not quite clear whether the Sub and the Zapatistas have relinquished copyright to this statement and placed it in the public domain. On the assumption that he and his colleagues would want it made available as widely as possible, even if formal permission to obtain it has not been obtained and it remains under copyright, we present it here. It constitutes a sophisticated and challenging analysis of the politics and social consequences of certain forms of documentary and photojournalistic practice, and we believe it will prove instructive to teachers and students of photography, as well as to those who research and write on those subjects.

We will take it down promptly if requested to do so by the Sub. In addition, we are prepared to pay our standard rates to him as author of this text for whatever length of time it does appear in this CyberArchive, and will keep track of monies owed for this usage. If not informed where to send the money, we will find some way of donating it to the Zapatista cause.

-- A. D. Coleman

In the Photography Criticism CyberArchive:

Essays

"A Zapatista Position Paper on Photography" (1996)

A Subcomandante Marcos Bibliography

We know of no comprehensive bibliography of Subcomandante Marcos's writings on photography and related matters. However, a Google search brings up a considerable amount of material by him pertaining to issues of mass media and communications systems, including numerous references to photography.