NIGHT
CHICAS
After seeing these photographs, one can imagine that happiness has not been
completely denied to these 'sex workers' who, in too many cases, in a poor
country like Guatemala are truly slaves. To see themselves as depicted by
Mr. Neleman, I believe, must have been a wonderful moment of happiness. The
eye of an artist has seen them, perhaps forever, as models, with human
curiosity, with compassion, and with love. -- Rodrigo Rey Rosas, author
Here is a no-exit look at lust decayed--and for sale...such a close up view
of sorrow that it becomes transfixing and yes, even sublime. -- Ana
Castillo, poet and author
The alchemy of his eye, and the medium of photography, offer us a picture
of both the sacred and the profane... If it were true that a photograph
captures the soul of a person, I would gladly give mine to Hans. -- Anne
Telford, COMMUNICATION ARTS
Neleman shows us a place where most of us would never go, and introduces us
to women we will never meet. Yet on the pages of Night Chicas, one
recognizes their human dignity and plight as somehow part of our own.
-- Lauren Wendle, Associate Publisher, PHOTO DISTRICT NEWS
Required reading for those who think they already know what prostitution
is, or was, or should be. -- Bronwen Latimer, Director of Photography, U.S
NEWS AND WORLD REPORT
If you were to pass any of these ladies on the street, you'd probably look away, but on Neleman's remarkable street you are gently driven to collide. Each turning to tell you something. Each offering her own violent caress. -- Bruce Ramsay, Director of Covers, NEWSWEEK
These portraits are blunt and honest... they provide a glimpse in to a world one wishes did not exist. Neleman has produced a harrowing document, the images sear themselves into your memory and simply won't go away. -- Simon P. Barnett, Director of Photography, NEWSWEEK
Like Belloq and Brassai before him, Neleman provides us an intimate portrait of a secret world. But Neleman's Guatemalan women cannot be viewed with complacent nostalgia. Because of Neleman, it now impossible to avoid understanding the fate which lies ahead for the legions of sad children in the third world. These are pictures that tell stories with moral lessons for an amoral age. -- Guy Lesser, Senior Contributor, HARPER'S
Neleman reveals the inner beauty of subjects for whom others would be tempted to indulge in salacious stereotype. -- Thea Westreich, Art Consultant
Hans Neleman's photographs of Guatemalan prostitutes Š reveal a dignity even in the grotesque, and a true sensuality beneath the one for sale. -- Russell Hart, Executive Editor, AMERICAN PHOTO
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