German Lorca

German Lorca was born in São Paulo in 1922. A photographer and graduate of the Liceo Académico in 1940, he participated in the Foto Cine Club Bandeirantes (FCCB) in 1949, a group of artists who introduced new trends in photography, such as José Yalenti (1895-1967), Thomaz Farkas (1924-2011) and Geraldo de Barros (1923-1998). During this period, he produced well-known images, such as Malandragem (The House Is Broken) (1949), À Procura de Emprego (Employment Search) (1951), and Apartamentos (Apartments) (1952).

He captured the landscape of São Paulo, especially in locations in the central region, such as Sé Square. He opened his first studio in 1952, and in 1954 he worked as the official photographer for the celebrations of the 4th Centennial of São Paulo. From that date on, he devoted himself exclusively to photography, working primarily in advertising, where he won awards such as the Colunistas Prize, awarded by the magazine Meio & Mensagem, in 1985 and 1989. His production during the FCCB era is analyzed in the book A Fotografia Moderna no Brasil (Modern Photography in Brazil) by Helouise Costa, published in 1995 by the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ).

Lorca's work articulates a kind of urban poetics of the streets of São Paulo, composed of landscapes that are at once mundane and disconcerting. Combining intimacy and estrangement, Lorca creates ambiguous and suggestive compositions. Roland Barthes's punctum takes on an unexpected prominence here, as Lorca's photographs are replete with perforations, tears, and unsettling (mis)encounters hidden in seemingly familiar settings. Only by looking through these visual cracks, and not around them, is it possible to decipher Lorca's fascinating imagery, the lucid freedom of his gaze.

The photographer's sensitivity focuses primarily on scenes from everyday life, capturing with great freedom images that reveal themselves poetically or evoke a certain strangeness. His early work played a decisive role in the renewal of modern photography in the country.

His work has been included in important collections around the world, such as Banco Itaú (São Paulo), Museu de Arte de São Paulo (MASP), Pinacoteca do Estado (São Paulo), Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation (Miami) and MoMA (New York).