Mexican Muralist David Afaro Siqueiros, (1896-1974), collected over 11,000 photographic images as research materials for his artwork, often sketching on top of photographs, and asking photographers to stage scenes that would later appear in his work. Siqueiros wanted this archive made available to other artists for inspiration, and wrote, "Nothing can give the [artist] of today the essential feeling of the modern era's dynamic and subversive elements more than the photographic document." The Siqueiros Photographic Archive at the Sala de Arte Publico follows Siqueiros' wishes by providing this web-accessible image bank. Approximately half of the archive is now online, organized according to Siqueiros' original categories, which include Architecture, Objects, People and Historical Figures, Models, Workers & Industry, and Personal Photography, the largest category, with over 1600 images.
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