User:Cris93sand/Rafael Cardenas (artist)/Bibliography

Rafael Cardenas is a Mexican-American self-taught photographer based in Boyle Heights, East Los Angeles. His work consists primarily of black and white photographs documenting the Angeleno streets and its people.

His work is well known for his high-contrast black and white street photography.

His latest project is called RAFA2020, a 365 day photo series posted on his Instagram and website under galleries.

Biography
Rafael Cardenas was born in 1971 in Jalisco, Mexico. He was raised in East Los Angeles and considers the city a huge influence on him as a person and as an artist. In particular, he finds the Eastside, east of the L.A. river inspires his work, as well as hiking around Debs Park and Griffith. Ever since he was a child he would carry a Kodak 110 or a Canon Rebel to photograph his daily life. It was only after buying a professional Canon EOS 10D from a former colleague in 2010 did he begin to practice professionally. Cardenas is a self-taught photographer

Prior to becoming a professional photographer he held up different jobs such as a paralegal, worked in doctors' offices, an architectural firm. Artistic jobs came in the form of graphic design, acting on stage and screen, and fronting for a Los Angeles band named Slowrider. Eventually, in 2009, he began working for a local art magazine called Citizen L.A. It's there he realized he wanted to take his own photographs and

He now resides in Boyle Heights where he posts weekly vlogs onto his Youtube channel.

Exhibitions
Cardenas's first solo show in

Current Exhibitions
Cardenas' work is currently being shown in the Golden Hour: California Photography from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art from February 7 to May 9th, 2021.

Honors and awards
In 2016, the Boyle Heights Chamber of Commerce awarded Cardenas with an Outstanding Local Artist Award. In 2018, the Rema Hort Mann Foundation nominated Rafael Cardenas for Emerging Artist.