El Museo del Barrio Spotlights Influential Nuyorica Photographer of the '70s

Summary

Podcast Episode Summary

Podcast: All Of It with Alison Stewart
Episode: El Museo del Barrio Spotlights Influential Nuyorican Photographer of the '70s
Date: May 12, 2026
Host: Alison Stewart
Guest: Susanna Temkin (Interim Chief Curator, El Museo del Barrio)
Topic: Retrospective of Sophie Rivera, Nuyorican photographer

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Episode Overview

This episode centers around the first-ever retrospective of Sophie Rivera, a pioneering Puerto Rican photographer, currently on display at El Museo del Barrio. The exhibition, “Sophie Rivera: Double Exposures,” rekindles interest in Rivera’s decades-long exploration of the camera and the complexities of her New York Puerto Rican community. Host Alison Stewart welcomes Susanna Temkin, El Museo’s interim chief curator, for an in-depth conversation about Rivera’s artistic journey, her under-recognized legacy, and the exhibit’s significance in giving Rivera her deserved place in the spotlight.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introduction to Sophie Rivera and the Exhibition

• [00:09-01:05]
  • Alison introduces Sophie Rivera’s groundbreaking Latino portrait series and background as a Puerto Rican photographer in 1970s New York. Rivera, who passed away in 2021 at age 82, is the subject of this major retrospective, praised by The New York Times as “long overdue.”
  • The show is currently running through August 2 at El Museo de Barrio.

2. Rivera’s Elusive Visibility and Curatorial Work

• [01:09-02:26]
  • Susanna Temkin describes first encountering Rivera’s work at El Museo and notes Rivera's near-mythic status—well known by name, but rarely exhibited.
  • "Women artists, especially women artists of color, often don't get their recognition until in their life. So sadly, that's the case with Sophie Rivera." (Susanna Temkin, 01:48)
  • The exhibit and accompanying monograph seeks to foreground Rivera’s own voice, using her extensive writings.

3. Rivera’s Artistic Approach and Influences

• [02:28-04:18]
  • Temkin highlights Rivera’s introspective writing, which reveals her depth in photographic technique, interest in psychology and identity, and artistic self-understanding beyond her public persona as a private, committed craftsman.
  • Rivera began her photographic studies at The New School under Lisette Model, connecting her to a lineage that includes Diane Arbus, and started with photojournalism, documenting protests and urban life—still timely themes today.

4. New York as Muse: The Subway and City Life

• [04:19-05:29]
  • Rivera’s deep roots in New York, especially Morningside Heights, shaped her work. The subway emerges as a recurring subject—a laboratory for experimentation and a symbol of New York’s unpredictability.
  • "You never know who you're going to run into... the challenge of photographing on the subway and its movement." (Temkin, 04:46)

5. The Latino Portraits: Techniques and Public Art

• [05:29-07:39]
  • Rivera’s “Latino Portraits” are her most iconic works, gaining attention when installed as large-scale images in the Bronx Yankee Stadium subway station in the late 1980s. The project elevated everyday New Yorkers, transforming them into “almost like these saintly figures.”
  • Temkin details Rivera’s sophisticated darkroom techniques:
    • “She used a technique of dodging and burning… the backgrounds are extremely dark… Their skin shines. They have this flashbulb that’s going off behind their heads, and they look so, so gorgeous.” (Temkin, 06:49)

6. Debunking the Portrait Taker Myth

• [07:39-08:38]
  • Contrary to Rivera’s anecdote that she’d approach people randomly to ask if they were Puerto Rican before taking their picture, Temkin clarifies: Rivera more often invited subjects to a local restaurant for the sittings, emphasizing community and intention in her process.
  • "I still love that the restaurant, you know, is a site of community gathering." (Temkin, 08:10)

7. Capturing 1970s NYC - Grit, Play, and Detail

• [08:38-09:18]
  • Rivera’s lens unveils the city’s grittiness: graffiti (which she considered prophetic), grime, and “Sidewalk Demon,” an evocative photo of a wet city street.
  • “Every time I see, like, something a little goopy, I always think of Sophie. She would have loved it.” (Temkin, 09:11)

8. Rivera’s Role in Enfoco and Representation

• [09:18-10:32]
  • Rivera was involved with Enfoco, a collective for Puerto Rican and later, photographers of color. Temkin notes Rivera was often the only woman, perhaps contributing to her under-recognition.
  • "She was really, in some ways, fighting the patriarchy as this lonely female figure among that group." (Temkin, 10:23)

9. The Self-Portraits: Vulnerability and Vision

• [10:32-11:34]
  • Rivera’s self-portraits are compelling, often featuring her signature sunglasses and pipe. A series from her cataract diagnosis explores her threatened vision and foreshortened perspectives.
  • "She writes about confronting what does it mean to be an artist and a photographer in particular, where your vision is sort of threatened." (Temkin, 11:13)

10. The Archive and Rivera’s Enduring Impact

• [11:34-12:14]
  • Rivera’s work resides within her family’s estate; museums are starting to collect her photos. This exhibition is described as a “homecoming” for an artist influential in El Museo’s own history.

11. Rivera’s Understanding and Love of New York

• [12:14-12:52]
  • Temkin attributes Rivera’s ability to connect with her subjects to genuine charisma and affection for the city’s people—capturing their spirit, and by extension, the spirit of New York itself.
  • "She understood that the people of New York were its core, were its spirit." (Temkin, 12:19)

12. Exhibit Highlights – The "Tutu Series"

• [12:52-13:32]
  • Temkin recommends spending extra time with Rivera’s “Tutu Series”—double exposures featuring children in playgrounds, a technically difficult and visually intriguing body of work.

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On overdue recognition:

  • "Women artists, especially women artists of color, often don't get their recognition until in their life."
    (Temkin, 01:48)

• On technical mastery:

  • "She used a technique of dodging and burning… their skin shines… they turn into almost like these saintly figures."
    (Temkin, 06:49)

• On urban grime as inspiration:

  • "Every time I see, like, something a little goopy, I always think of Sophie."
    (Temkin, 09:11)

• On her role in Enfoco:

  • "She was really, in some ways, fighting the patriarchy as this lonely female figure among that group."
    (Temkin, 10:23)

• On confronting vision loss:

  • "She writes about confronting what does it mean to be an artist and a photographer in particular, where your vision is sort of threatened."
    (Temkin, 11:13)

• On New York and its people:

  • "She understood that the people of New York were its core, were its spirit."
    (Temkin, 12:19)

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Important Timestamps

• 00:09 – Introduction to Sophie Rivera and the exhibition
• 01:05 – Guest Susanna Temkin joins
• 02:28 – Rivera’s writings reveal deeper layers of her practice
• 03:02 – On Rivera’s photographic beginnings and influences
• 04:19 – Rivera’s New York roots and subway inspiration
• 05:50 – The making and significance of Rivera’s Latino portraits
• 06:49 – Technical details: dodging, burning, and darkroom effects
• 07:50 – Myth vs. reality: Rivera’s portrait process
• 08:45 – Depicting 1970s NYC
• 09:47 – Enfoco and the politics of representation
• 10:45 – Rivera’s striking self-portraits and cataract series
• 11:40 – Rivera’s archive and her impact on El Museo
• 12:19 – Rivera's insight into New York’s people
• 12:57 – Highlights: the "Tutu Series"

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Recommended Segment/Artwork

• Tutu Series: Double exposures of children at play (recommended by Susanna Temkin, 12:57) – linger here to appreciate Rivera’s technical prowess and her interest in childhood, community, and perception.

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Conclusion

The conversation offers an intimate look at Sophie Rivera: a private yet powerfully observant photographer deeply embedded in New York’s fabric. Rivera’s retrospective at El Museo de Barrio, “Double Exposures,” is both a long-awaited celebration and re-examination of a visionary who redefined portraiture, community, and the everyday cityscape. The episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in New York’s art history, photography, and the power of representation.

Transcript

[A]

This is all of it on wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart. Sophie Rivera was a Puerto Rican photographer who started taking pictures in 1970s New York. She was known especially for her Latino portrait series, where she would ask people in her neighborhood, often of Puerto Rican descent, if she could take their picture. Rivera died in 2021 at the age of 82. And now El Museo de Barrio has organized the first ever retrospective of Rivera's work, encompassing decades of her experimentation with the camera. The exhibit is called Sophie Rivera Double Exposures. The show is a New York Times critic pick, writing how great that El Museo now has brought her fully into the light. It's on view through Aug. 2. A sample of some of her work is on our Instagram now ofnyc, so you can look at Pict while we talk about it. With me now is Susanna Temkin, El Museo de Barrio's interim chief curator. Welcome back to the station.

[B]

Thank you. So glad to be here and excited to talk about all things Sofie Rivera.

[A]

When did you first learn about Sofie?

[B]

Well, she's a name that in the Latin American art world, in the Latinx art world, a name you always hear but very rarely get to see images of. So when I joined El Museo eight years ago, I was so excited to see that we had an image in our collection. So that began my first engagement with her practice. And the work we have is a quite surprising work. And so it led me down a lot of rabbit holes and starting to learn about her practice.

[A]

It was interesting in that New York Times critics pick. They called the show Long Overdue Retrospective. Why do you think it took so long?

[B]

Well, I mean, Sophie in her later years was ill, so I think that played a part of it. But I also think, unfortunately, as we're all recognizing women artists, especially women artists of color, often don't get their recognition until in their life. So sadly, that's the case with Sophie Rivera. But, you know, one thing I wanted to do with both the exhibition and the accompanying monograph is to try and bring in her voice. So what's really incredible about her estate is that even though she's not with us, she left behind a lot of writing. So I hope that the audiences can come and not only hear from us at the museum, but to actually have that contact with her.

[A]

What did you get from reading her writing?

[B]

You know, many people talk about how she was very private person, she kept to herself, very dedicated to her work, always going to the darkroom, reading her text, I think opened up so much more about her practice where we Were really learning not only about the subject matter, like the Latino portraits, but how she was very much engaging with photographic history, photographic techniques, really thinking about psychology, identity formation. So I think it's really cracked up a lot about her practice that we didn't know before.

[A]

How did she get into photography?

[B]

She started studying at the New School a little bit later in her life. She actually was a ballerina earlier in her years, which is very interesting. You don't really see that, I don't think, in her images. And she studied. Yeah. At the New School with Lisette Model, a really important Viennese emigre and figure here in the New York art world. And she started off doing a lot of photojournalism, which I think is a really interesting entry point, because in the show we see. See a lot of images of protests, also feminist protests, protests surrounding daycare funding. So a lot of things that I think are very pertinent to us today. I mean, not only in New York, but globally.

[A]

It's sort of interesting because Model also taught Diane Arbus. Yes, yes, yes. Yeah. What impact do you think she had on Rivera's work, Modell?

[B]

Well, I think Model and Arbus, who actually Sophie Rivera credits as also another influence. I think they both had an impact on how she approached her subjects. And also, you know, the people in the street. Modelle we know, especially for her work in the Lower east side, taking images of everyday New Yorkers. And I'll say that New York and New Yorkers were very much, you know, the constant muse of Rivera.

[A]

And she was born in New York.

[B]

Yeah, she was born in New York very much. I call her like an uptown girl. She lived on Morningside Heights, right off the 100, 125th street subway station, which you'll see the subway was very much an influence for her, an inspiration for her throughout her life. And, I mean, the proximity outside of her window, like, you couldn't. She took images from inside her apartment of the subway. That's how close. Yeah.

[A]

What interested her about the subway?

[B]

You know, I use the expression. I think it was a vehicle for experimentation for her. I think its proximity was very interesting to her. And she used it both as a place where she encountered everyday subjects like commuters. There's a beautiful image of a mother with a young girl riding the train. Also, you know, those unexpected encounters we have on the subway as New Yorkers. You never know who you're going to run into. But then I think she also enjoyed the subway, the challenge of photographing on the subway and its movement and again, looking out the window and seeing how the platforms would change in the snow, there's a whole series of really beautiful images that they're almost abstracted.

[A]

We're discussing an exhibit at El Museo de Barrio about photographer Sofi Rivera. It's called Sophie Double Exposures, on view now through August 2nd. My guest is Susanna Temkin, El Museo's interim chief curator. So she's known for these Latino portraits. Right. Why are these the most well known photos of her work?

[B]

Well, I mean, they circulated and they also were in what I think became her most iconic presentation during her lifetime. So she originally made these photographs in the late. But then in the late 1980s, she was invited by Public Art Fund and FOCO to do an installation inside the subway itself. So she made these really monumental images that she installed in the subway passageway at the Bronx Yankee Stadium subway station. And she really talks about how important that was, because for her then the everyday people going about their daily lives would be confronted with these beautiful images of people who looked like themselves and who Rivera photographed in this almost reverential, spiritual, like, exalted way. They almost have these halos that shine behind their heads.

[A]

Now, that was her work in the dark room.

[B]

That was her work in the dark room.

[A]

Explain to people how she dodged and shadowed and all that kind of stuff.

[B]

Yes. Yeah. So, I mean, this work has always been talked about in terms of the subject matter, but in this show, we really want to talk about her savvy as a physician, her know how in the darkroom. So to make the Latino portraits and to create this kind of shine that I was talking about, she used a technique of dodging and burning over and under, exposing certain areas so that these images, the backgrounds are extremely dark. They almost have like a chiaroscuro, like, art historical effect. And then the sitters, they are so beautiful. Their skin shines. They have this flashbulb that's going off behind their heads, and they look so, so gorgeous. And they're just everyday people in their everyday outfits, and somehow they turn into almost like these saintly figures. It's really incredible.

[A]

The story was that she would walk up to people and ask if they were Puerto Rican, and if so, she would take their pictures right there on the street. It turns out it wasn't quite that. Will you tell us what the true story is?

[B]

Yes, well, you know, I will acknowledge. So Sophie Rivera was the one who stated that. Anecdote to other curators who have worked with her in the past. But again, in having the opportunity to work with her estate, she left behind all of these notes that she had made for different presentations, different exhibitions that she was part of. And we learned that she was actually meeting people on the street and inviting them into a restaurant. So I think that's still. It's a similar ambit, but it's this twist. I still love that the restaurant, you know, is a site of community gathering. And we also know this from the contact sheets, which we all have access to now for the first time, and some of which are in the exhibition and some of which are published in the book.

[A]

A lot of the work is done in the 1970s, and that was a gritty time in New York City. Where do we see that in her work?

[B]

Yeah, well, like I said, she is an absolute New Yorker. We see it on the subway in all of the graffiti, which she loved, graffiti art. She talked about graffiti writers almost like prophets for the future. But she also took these quite beautiful images of, like, the stains and the grime of the city. So she has one image that she calls Sidewalk Demon, a rare image that she titled herself, and it's like this puddle on the sidewalk. And now as I'm walking around New York, every time I see, like, something a little goopy, I always think of Sophie. She would have loved it.

[A]

We're talking about an exhibit at El Museo de Barrio about photographer Sophie Rivera. It's called Sophie Double Exposures. It's on view through August 2nd. My guest is Susanna Temken, El Museo's interim chief curator. If you'd like to see some of the images that we're talking about, you can check out our Instagram llofitwnyc. Rivera was involved in an organization called Enfoco, which is made up of Puerto Rican photographers. What was the mission behind El Foco?

[B]

Yeah, the mission behind Enfoco, which was created very close in time to El Museo del Barrio itself. It was made to really be a place where photographers of Puerto Rican descent and later photographers of color could really come together and take images of the. So instead of people coming in to look at a location like El Barrio, it would be made by artists themselves. And Sophie got involved with them in the 1980s. She was one of the few women in that circle, which I think may also have played to why we haven't heard from her or about her. Long overdue. I think she was really, in some ways, fighting the patriarchy as this lonely female figure among that group.

[A]

And we get to see self portraits as we see on the COVID of the book. Yes, it's really Amazing. What do you think she was trying to do with these self portraits? They're really kind of beautiful.

[B]

Yes. I mean, Sophie was an incredible Persona, and she. Everyone always says she was always with her sunglasses, with her pipe, I think, also shielding perhaps some of the gaze that people were casting on her. And that series is from works where she was dealing with her cataract. So when you come to the show, I invite you, really look closely in her eyes, and you'll see this massive cataract. And she writes about confronting what does it mean to be an artist and a photographer in particular, where your vision is sort of threatened.

[A]

Oh, my gosh.

[B]

And in that series, too, I argue that she has this kind of odd, foreshortened perspective. Like, imagine when you put a hand in front of your eye, it changes how you see. And she plays with that to a certain extent in that series.

[A]

As we said, she passed away in 2021. Where does her archive live?

[B]

So her archive, it's all within her family's estate. Excitingly, her work is now being collected by other major museums. We're also so pleased that she's been a part of our collection at El Museo for decades. In fact, this is a bit of a homecoming for her. We had shown her work a lot in the 80s. She was working at El Museo doing other exhibitions of photographers. So, yes, this is, I think, an overdue evaluation of someone who has always been present. You know, she was very much on the art scene.

[A]

What do you think Sophie Rivera understood about New York?

[B]

Oh, that's a great question. I mean, I think that she understood that the people of New York were its core, were its spirit. I think she really enjoyed meeting her subjects. And it's something that I think is really interesting as you look at the gaze that she's engaged in in these portraits. You know, I think that she was charismatic. There was something about her that I think let people open themselves up to her and that were what made these images so absolutely beautiful and captivating.

[A]

If someone goes and sees the show, where's a place that you'd like them to spend an extra few minutes in front of?

[B]

Okay, well, I think the series that's called the Tutu series are really beautiful, really fun images of children in New York City playgrounds. They're double exposures. So she's making two images within a single frame and doing that. It's a very hard technique to do. Well, she does it beautifully, and it really invites close looking. You know, is this one child, two children together on the swings, on the playground sets, so I think those are really worth some extra attention.

[A]

The name of the exhibit is Sophie Rivera Double Exposures on view through August 2nd at El Museo de Barrio. My guest has been Susanna Temkin. Thank you for coming to the studio.

[B]

Thank you so much. It's always fun.

[C]

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[D]

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