RICAS Y FAMOSAS

by Bronson Soza

Earlier this year during a visit to the Phoenix Art Museum, a large photograph caught my friend’s attention. We walked over to see a photo of a woman wearing a black dress smiling as she looked straight into the camera. The room she was sitting in was complete with an abundance of house plants, tufted furniture, and a taxidermy leopard. The display of opulence was both kitschy and glamorous.

After reading the accompanying description, I had learned that this photograph was from Daniela Rossell’s “Ricas y Famosas,” a series which was shot from 1994 to 2001. When I got home, I searched the internet for more photos from the series, finding photo upon photo of fashionable women standing alongside their belongings. I quickly became interested in seeing the rest of the series that could not be found online.

Upon finding out a copy of the full book would cost me upwards of a hundred dollars, I took to my school’s library to find a copy, which fortunately they had! Once I had the book, I was excited to see this work in its full context. What I ended up seeing changed the significance of the work entirely for me. What had been just photos of kitsch and glamour on full display had now become a commentary on femininity, wealth disparity, and race.

“Ricas y Famosas” comprises 89 images depicting Mexico’s social and political elite. While shooting this series, Rossell asked the subjects that the photos be taken in their homes and that the wardrobe and props be of their own choosing. While the subjects of the photographs are extravagant, the way in which they are shot is very matter of fact with no fancy camera techniques or over the top editing. This is in contrast with the mannerisms and posing of the subjects. This juxtaposition gives the photos an unnatural and staged feeling, highlighting the subjects’ exaggerated femininity and wealth.

Contrast doesn’t manifest itself in this work just by technique though. The subject matter often does so itself, so much so that it borders on being comedic. In one photo, a woman lies sensually atop a giant statue of Buddha surrounded by pesos and champagne. In another, the subject stands in front of a plaque of La Virgen de Guadalupe (accompanied by an Oscar) as she tugs down on her low-rise pants.

In an interview with the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Rossell describes the sexual nature of the women in these photos as something that had been “studied and memorized… roles that were already written by someone else.” The subjects’ performances in front of the camera are of their own volition, but where does this intrinsic behavior stem from? There is something to be said of the societal expectations placed upon women that stem from misogyny, but the display of hyper-femininity in these photographs goes beyond just that. 

In Argentine, Mexican, and Guatemalan Photography : Feminist, Queer, and Post-Masculinist Perspectives, William Foster states that this exaggerated femininity is a result of their wealth giving them an ability to create their own spaces where they have the ability to present as such without the drawbacks it would have in any other setting or context. The way these women present themselves is likely not feasible for women of lower class standing. This can be for a variety of reasons, whether it be social norms, safety, or culture. The immense privilege the women in the photos have grants them a certain level of safety and self expression, but gives rise to its own unique issues in regards to sexualization and femininity. Foster attributes this to the trophy wife archetype within these rich and powerful families, which is consequently passed down from mother to daughter.

Rossell states that femininity, while being considered a “female space” is not something that is owned or created by women, and that rather it is something that is predetermined for them. She questions whether the sexual liberation that came with later waves of feminism is freeing or if it has been co-opted in a way that pushes women to objectify themselves further. Despite these women’s social and economic standing, there is still a question of whether or not their self expression is their own. Although they may face less pressure from conservative views regarding sexuality and femininity, they now face a culture that pushes them into objectifying predetermined roles.

In her interviews with the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the aforementioned makes up most of Rossell’s commentary on her work. When looking at “Ricas y Famosas” though, it is hard to not think of the implications it has surrounding wealth disparity and race as well as Rossell’s potential biases when speaking of her own work. Rossell happens to be of the same class as these women, stating that the project started with photographing friends and family. When speaking of how the public saw these photos as depicting the “poster girls of corruption,” she describes this framing as melodramatic and states that “the work was done in one context… and moved into another.”

The topics of wealth disparity and race, however, play just as big a role in this series as femininity. The last photo in the book speaks to this perfectly. After being inundated with images of rich, mostly fair-skinned women posing alongside their excess of belongings, the book closes out with an image of the workers who make this lifestyle feasible. A group of upwards of thirty men and women sit on the steps of the house in uniform holding items representing their job within this single household. One thing that is immediately noticeable is the difference in race between the ricas y famosas and those who work for them, most being darker skinned. Of the 89 images in this series, only a few depict subjects who aren’t white, many of whom are workers rather than the rich and famous themselves.

In the few images where the staff are depicted it is in an almost dehumanizing manner. In the aforementioned photo, the staff members are relegated to the tasks they perform rather than as an individual with a personality and a life outside of the workplace. In another photo, a worker is treated like a prop as he stands beside the subject straight faced as she smiles into the camera. I feel that these photos are the most impactful in the series, holding an amount of tension that rivals the contrast in the other photos.

The photographs that make up this series are attention-grabbing in their own right, but in context with one another, the work takes on stronger meaning and encourages the viewer to think of the social and political implications of “Ricas y Famosas.” In the context of the museum as just a single photo, Ricas y Famosas was at first just an absurd but glamorous display of wealth; however the work began to take on more insidious implications when put alongside every other photo in the series. Whether it was intentional on Rossell’s behalf or not, “Ricas y Famosas” is a body of work that focuses on the intersection of femininity, class, and race.

References

“Daniela Rossell Questions ‘Female Territories.’” YouTube, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 20 June 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3UB9N6UK7g.

Foster, David William. Argentine, Mexican, and Guatemalan Photography : Feminist, Queer, and Post-Masculinist Perspectives, University of Texas Press, 2014. 

Wall text for Jeanette in Her Mother’s House #3, by Daniela Rossell. Phoenix Art Museum,

Arizona.