Skip to main content

The Life and Times of Actress-turned-Activist Tina Modotti

An advocate for women’s freedoms in the early 20th century, her creative achievements are still celebrated today.

Tina Modotti was an artistic and literal revolutionary. Born Assunta Adelaide Luigia Modotti Mondini on Aug. 16, 1896, in Udine, Italy, Modotti quit elementary school at the age of 12 to earn money to help her family make ends meet. Her father immigrated to the United States, and in 1913, she joined him in San Francisco. There, she became involved in the performing arts and landed parts in plays, operas and films.

Modotti starred in three silent films during the early 1920s. Only one is still in circulation. Adapted from Elizabeth Dejeans’s 1917 novel “The Tiger’s Coat,” Roy Clements’ 1920 drama has stood the test of time due to its forward-thinking takes on racism and society’s views on interracial relationships. A feast for the eyes with elaborate sets and costumes, the film follows Maria de la Guarda, aka Jean Ogilvie (Modotti), as she assumes the identity of a dead woman to hide her ethnicity and marry the man of her dreams. With her simple yet stunning good looks, Modotti radiates the mystique she was known for her entire life from the moment she steps in front of the camera.


Watch “The Tiger’s Coat” on YouTube, with a special intro... 




Modotti could have cashed in on her exquisite beauty but was frustrated with the stereotypical roles being offered to her because of her Mediterranean look, so she left the movie industry. She became interested in photography and studied with legendary lensman Edward Weston. Their rapport turned into love, and the two moved to Mexico together in 1923. The change in scenery profoundly altered the course of Modotti’s life.

 

The couple became friends with the artists of the Mexican Renaissance, including iconic painter Frida Kahlo and her partner Diego Rivera. For the next several years, Modotti immersed herself in her craft, finding her own voice and style as a photographer. Meanwhile, the political influence of her friends was shaping her societal values, so much so that she joined the Mexican Communist Party in 1927. The line between art and politics blurred as she adapted to her new life in Mexico. She photographed people of all social classes, highlighting the plight of the poor amid the political unrest of the time.

Expelled from Mexico because of her activism, Modotti spent time in various countries throughout Europe during the mid-’30s, including Spain, where she aided orphaned children during the Spanish Civil War. During those years, she connected with prominent artists and intellectuals like Chilean poet Pablo Neruda and Hungarian-American war photographer Robert Capa, both of whom had also journeyed to Spain to offer their support.

 

Modotti returned to Mexico in 1939 but passed away on Jan. 5, 1942, under suspicious circumstances. The cause of death was listed as heart failure. She was only 45 years old. 

 

Today, Modotti is highly regarded as a photographer and is frequently the subject of exhibitions around the world. Last year, the Museo delle Culture in Milan played host to the exhibit “Tina Modotti: Women, Mexico, and Freedom.” Curator Biba Giacchetti considers Modotti not only a titan of photography but also a warrior for civil justice. “During her short lifetime, Tina Modotti fought on the front line for freer and fairer humanity, and to bring aid to the civilian victims of conflicts like the Spanish Civil War,” she stated in material published in connection with the exhibit.

The Museum of Modern Art in New York has also showcased Modotti’s work, with 35 photographs taken between 1924 and 1927. Click here to view them on the museum’s website.

 

A six-part miniseries is being made about her life, with Monica Bellucci in the starring role and Edoardo De Angelis in the director’s chair. Produced by Argentinian filmmaker Paula Alvarez Vaccaro, the series will be titled “Radical Eye: The Life and Times of Tina Modotti.”

 

Several books about her life and art are available on Amazon. A restored version of “The Tiger’s Coat” is available on YouTube (see above) along with a 1983 documentary titled “Frida Kahlo & Tina Modotti.” Watch it below...



- Written by Jeannine Guilyard for the March 2022 issue of Fra Noi Magazine. Click here to subscribe.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

7 Days - 7 Women: Interview with Actress Sabrina Impacciatore

  Photo by Rossella Vetrano On Day 6 of our series, 7 Days - 7 Women, in which we are profiling seven strong, talented women working as filmmakers, writers or visual artists, we talk with actress Sabrina Impacciatore about the diversity of her roles. Whether she's playing a devoted mother trying to protect her child, Jesus Christ's "Veronica" in Mel Gibson's controversial film, "Passion of the Christ" or a young woman coming of age, Impacciatore escapes into the life and mind of each character she takes on, sometimes so deeply that she believes she is actually them.   It's a fine line between reality and fiction, but she treads it carefully and anyone watching her performance benefits from her emotional connection to the character that she becomes. I spoke with Impacciatore at the 2010 Open Roads: New Italian Film series in New York City. We talked about her lifelong dream of becoming an actress. She also gave me some insight into the diff
Post a Comment
Read more

A Conversation With the Man Who Played Pasolini's Christ

There have been countless cinematic interpretations of the books of the Bible, but few have stood the test of time. One that qualifies as a classic is Pier Paolo Pasolini’s 1964 “Il Vangolo secondo Matteo” (The Gospel According to St. Matthew). Considered by the Vatican to be among the best film adaptations of one of the Gospels, Pasolini’s 1964 film was shot in the regions of Calabria, Puglia and Basilicata. In an interview with RAI television while on location in Matera, Pasolini talked about the reasons for shooting there. “I chose two or three places in Basilicata. One is Barile, a town of Albanians. I needed a place for Bethlehem. Another location is Matera because it reminded me of Jerusalem,” he explained. Pasolini’s interpretation of St. Matthews’s Gospel is pure, with no added commentary. He said that he followed the Gospel word for word without adding a single syllable. He explained in the interview that his idea to make the film happened by coincidence. “In October of 19
Post a Comment
Read more

Anna Foglietta: Actress and Activist with Old School Elegance

One look at actress Anna Foglietta in her any of her roles, and the Golden Age of Italian cinema comes to mind. Among Italy’s most sought-after actresses today, Foglietta brings to the table a classic eloquence of yesterday while representing Italy’s modern woman. Born in Rome in 1979, Foglietta began her career in 2005 with a role in the RAI television series La squadra . Her character Agent Anna De Luca had a two-year run on the series as she was transitioning to cinema with Paolo Virzì’s 2006 ensemble project 4-4-2- Il gioco più bello del mondo . Since then, she has become one of Italy’s most diverse actresses, transforming herself into interesting, layered characters for comedies and dramas alike. Aside from a small part in Anton Corbijn’s 2010 film The American starring George Clooney, Foglietta’s work began reaching mainstream American audiences in 2015. As Elisa in Edoardo Leo’s 2015 comedy Noi e la Giulia , Foglietta showed her funny side playing a goofball pregn
Post a Comment
Read more

Michelangelo Frammartino's "Il buco" — Unearthing our past

When a team of speleologists descended 700 meters into the Bifurto Abyss in Cosenza, Calabria, in 1961, they discovered that the underground caverns were the third deepest in the world and the deepest in Europe. Italian filmmaker Michelangelo Frammartino retraces that mission six decades later with a cast of locals and their livestock in his latest documentary, “Il buco” (“The Hole”). Inspiration for the film came while he was on location shooting his 2007 documentary, “Le quattro volte” (“Four Times”). Officials in the Pollino mountains, which stretch between Calabria and Basilicata, showed him what appeared to be just another sinkhole. Frammartino failed to understand their enthusiasm until they tossed a large stone into the void. It disappeared without making a sound. He was so overcome by the experience and the eerie landscape, he was haunted for years, compelling him to make his current film, one of many rooted in nature. “I was born in Milan, but my family is from Calabria. My pa
Post a Comment
Read more

Nicoletta Braschi and Roberto Benigni.. What cinema dreams are made of

The Toronto International Film Festival is wrapping up its retrospective of the cinematic collaboration of husband and wife team, Nicoletta Braschi and Roberto Benigni. Over the last few days, the couple have participated in discussions, Q & A sessions and have introduced several of their films. Today, I attended a screening of "La voce della luna" (The voice of the moon). It was  Federico Fellini's last film and is a wonderful tribute to the director's signature poetic madness. The film gave Benigni the opportunity to team up with fellow beloved comic, Paolo Villaggio, and the two created a truly unforgettable adventure. Today's screening began with an introduction by Benigni. The moments leading up to his introduction were noticeably serious and somewhat tense. Benigni's publicist and TIFF security staunchly guarded his privacy. There was no interaction and no photos were allowed. Guided by his entourage, he walked quickly from the Green Room to th
Post a Comment
Read more