Documentary

Screening and Discussion of American Masters—Pedro E. Guerrero: A Photographer’s Journey

Tuesday, December 1, 2015, | 6 p.m. Costantino Room | 2nd Floor | Fordham School of Law

Fordham University and WNET New York Public Media invite you to a screening and discussion of the American Masters film Pedro E. Guerrero: A Photographer's Journey. The American Masters series and Latino Public Broadcasting's VOCES series join forces for the first time to explore the life and work of photographer Pedro E. Guerrero (September 5, 1917–September 13, 2012), a Mexican-American born and raised in segregated Mesa, Arizona, who had an extraordinary international photography career. Filmmakers Raymond Telles and Yvan Iturriaga (both Latino Americans) showcase an in-depth, exclusive interview with Guerrero alongside his photography to explore his collaborations with three of the most iconic American artists of the 20th century—architect Frank Lloyd Wright and sculptors Alexander Calder and Louise Nevelson. Using his outsider's eye to produce insightful portraits of important modernist architecture, Guerrero became one of the most sought-after photographers of the era, yet his story is largely unknown. Pedro E. Guerrero: A Photographer's Journey highlights the milestones in Guerrero's life, including his serendipitous enrollment in photography classes; his 1939 meeting with Wright at Taliesin West in Scottsdale, Arizona; his World War II service; and his post-war magazine photography career in New York City, where he shot interiors while his work with Wright continued. Settling in New Canaan, Connecticut, Guerrero describes his life after Wright's death, his work with Calder, and the end of his magazine assignments because of his vocal opposition to the Vietnam War. READ FULL ARTICLE  |  RSVP

New Documentary – American Masters – PBS to air September 2015 A new documentary on Pedro E. Guerrero will air on PBS on the American Masters series this fall. Produced by Paradigm Productions in Berkeley, California, with major funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and Latino Public Broadcasting, this documentary will bring Guerrero's remarkable story to a national audience. Based on 15 hours of interviews with Guerrero in 2010, as well as archival footage, and selections from Guerrero's comprehensive archive, it charts the unlikely career of a young man who left behind his small-town Arizona beginnings, overcame discrimination and found acclaim in the creative mecca of post-World War II New York City. At once unique, universal and truly American, Pedro Guerrero's story will inspire a new generation of artists to undertake their own journeys of discovery. Air Date: September 18, 2015 Link to: www.GuerreroMovie.com

This is a video documenting a talk between architectural photographer Pedro E. Guerrero and art critic Hunter Drohojowska-Philp at Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions on April 5, 2012. Pedro Guerrero was presented a Lifetime Achievement Award.The talk accompanied the Julius Shulman Institute’s exhibition Pedro E. Guerrero: Photographs of Modern Life at Woodbury University’s Hollywood Gallery. Videography and Editing by Jeremy Blair at Blair Bones Media. View Video HERE:

This film presents an interview with Pedro Guerrero, official photographer to Frank Lloyd Wright. Interview by Gwen North Reiss Produced by New Canaan High School filmmaking teacher Peter Kingsbury with student editor Casey Ouellette and student cameraman Grayson Cordes. Link To Full Article HERE:

In 1939, twenty-two-year-old Pedro E. Guerrero, having impatiently bolted from his studies at the Art Center School in Los Angeles, was back in Mesa, Arizona, contemplating what to do next. His father, who had built a successful sign painting business, had once done a job for Frank Lloyd Wright, and remembered that the architect had a school "somewhere near Scottsdale. Maybe he needed a photographer?" The father went to the store where he had seen Wright buy paint, and got an address. A letter of inquiry was sent. "Yes," Wright responded. "Come any time." Guerrero traveled to Scottsdale to find Wright in his driveway, saying goodbye to luncheon guests. Read full article HERE.