The Fraga Family

WHAT IS IT?

The proposal “The Fraga Family" is a solo exhibition project of thirty-five photographs in black and white that will take place in Igrexa da Universidade de Santiago de Compostela to celebrate Outono Fotográfico photography festival 2013. The thirty-five images, printed by a chemical process in sizes 55x70 and 100x150 cm, belong to a project that I shot in 1997 and 1998 in New York.

WHAT'S THE STORY ABOUT?

When I got to New York, I briefly documented the lives of many Galician families there. At the same the time I was looking for a project to document more widely during the year.

I photographed life in the Bronx, street parties, the subway, and it was not until I visited the Fragas at least a couple of times that I realized that my big project was going to be about them.

The Fraga Family is a story about the world. It is a project on migration and adaptation to another country over decades.

When I entered the Fraga home, an apartment of about sixty square meters, I found three generations of three different nationalities living there.

Grandpa Carlos, a Galician who had emigrated to Cuba in 1925; his Cuban daughter, Maria; Maria's husband and cousin at once, Pepe, Galician who had lived in France and Cuba as well; and the two sons of these, Richie and José, one hundred percent Americans.

I lived with The Fraga Family three days a week for eight months, shooting their prívate lives. I witnessed moments of their daily life and important events, such as when José Fraga, 27 and barely Spanish speaking, an important lawyer in a Manhattan Law Firm, could finally move out after paying off his law school loans.

This story now being exhibited belongs to the first part of a larger project that will be completed in the spring of 2014, photographing the Fragas 15 years later.

WHO AM I?, WHO I AM?

My name Eutropio Rodriguez and was born in Santiago de Compostela, Spain in 1969. I have a degree in Art History from the University of Santiago de Compostela and a degree in

Documentary Photography from the International Center of Photography in New York. I combine my work as a commercial and editorial photographer with my personal documentary projects I have shot in many countries. I´ve bee awarded with prestigious awards and I´ve posted my pictures in publications such as The New York Times and Rolling Stone Magazine. My work is present in many collections such as URJC, International Center of Photograpy and Caja España. I have also exhibited in the spaces of art or photography as EFTI-Madrid, Escaparate de San Pedro- Madrid, West Chelsea Building of Arts-NYC and MAC Gas Natural-Fenosa of A Coruña, Spain.

I have experience teaching photography courses in the International Center of Photography and the School for Social Research and as well teaching photography at the Museum MAC Gas Natural-Fenosa, Aire Art Center and Espacio Neutro de Cangas, Spain.

I am a founding member of the agency Peripheria Images.

WHAT IS THE MONEY FOR?

The money being raised here in Verkami wil be used exclusively to buy photo paper and photo chemicals, and to acquire basic frameworks for mounting this exhibition for the Outono Fotográfico de Ourense 2013 photo-festival.

WHAT'S OUTONO FOTOGRÁFICO?

IIt is an important festival of photography at the national level with a strong track record of over thirty years. Outono Fotográfico takes place in the best exhibit spaces and with the best authors in Galicia. In the very near future will be its international break. I have participated in it, and this is my first solo exhibition.

HOW MUCH IMPORTANT THE UNIVERSITY CHURCH IS?

Very much.

Igrexa da Universidade de Santiago de Compostela ,Church of the University of Santiago de Compostela, is one of the most important exhibition and cultural places in this country. It is a baroque religious building converted to a cultural space that gives it even more importance. It has a church organ and this place holds the most important exhibitions and concerts.

ABOUT THE REWARDS

All patrons will be invited to the exhibition, with explicit mention where the rewards will be given as far as possible, and offered a tour and presentation of the project by the photographer.

MORE INFO

You can follow the course of proxecto The Fraga Family on his blog: thefragafamily.wordpress.com