El Super

by Kurt Hollander (Editor), Adam Wiseman (Photographer)

If you are what you eat, then it would follow that grocery shopping is the way you construct your identity, and that markets and grocery stores are the laboratories in which whole cultures build theirs--as well as an early place to spot changes. This small, chunky and completely charming gift book presents portraits of Mexican consumer products alongside photographs of the supermarkets, stores, markets and street vendors where they are sold. The accompanying text places all this graphically striking raw material in the context of its historical antecedents and contemporary food trends, and considers the situation of locally conceived, designed and distributed products like these in the age of global consumerism. In Mexico traditional design, like the work showcased here, is competing with digital media and work done by international corporate design firms. Culturally specific images are being displaced by global ones, the Virgin of Guadalupe by Disney cartoons, literally changing the face of the food and beverages that Mexicans eat. Mexican industry is holding its own against the onslaught for now, and Mexican products still serve the needs of the vast majority of the country's population. That is: Mexican products sold in packaging that is less than environmentally friendly, displaying images that are not politically correct, and using ingredients that are banned in other countries still serve their needs. As "El Super" confirms, bad things come in great packages.

216 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2006

Reviews

[☠ Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Se trata de un interesante libro de fotografías de productos mexicanos que podemos encontrar en los supermercados, las imágenes que se nos presentan van desde dulces como los casi olvidados "Miguelitos" hasta los cigarros "Faros" pasando por el jabón "Zote" o el refresco "Yoli" de limón de limitada promoción.

Un excelente regalo que me hicieron.

[Gabriela Paola · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wish it had more text, the thesis of the book was good, but it doesn't develop through it, would've been a nice addition to the amazing pictures

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun look at the wide range of graphic designs for Mexican consumer goods. The only drawback is the little text there was was often unnecessarily weird.

"Soap for washing clothes." Uh, "laundry soap" is a perfectly acceptable English phrase.

"Edible fat." (Yes, "grasa comestible" means that, but really, "shortening" is probably better.)