Fred Iltis
| Fred Iltis | |
|---|---|
| Born | Wilfred Gregor Iltis April 20, 1923 Brno, Czechoslovakia |
| Died | December 11, 2008 San Jose, California |
Fred Iltis (Brno, Czechoslovakia, April 20, 1923 – San Jose, California, December 11, 2008)
In 1939, when the Nazis threatened to invade his country, Fred (Wilfred Gregor) fled with his family to Fredericksburg, Virginia. During WWII he served in the Army in the South Pacific. Fred went on to earn his Ph.D. in entomology at University_of_California, Davis.[1]
In 1948 he married Julia, a graphic artist, who preceded him in death in 2004.[1] After settling in San_Jose, California in the 60s, Fred taught in the biology department at San_José_State_University.[1]
His research focus was on the biosystematics and the life cycle of mosquitoes. Fred Iltis was also an exceptional photographer. Many photos of his vast archive are about the Civil rights movement in the 60s, the student protest against the Vietnam War, the struggle of the chicano agricultural workers led by César_Chávez and Dolores_Huerta, the strikes and boycott of the American fruit companies. He met and befriended the renowned photojournalists Hansel_Mieth and Otto Hagel, who had illustrated on Life_(magazine) the Great_Depression of the 30s. They talked Fred into the fact that “a photo can express one’s ideas and ideals far better than a thousand words”.
In his journeys south of the border (where he met the Mexican photographer Manuel_Álvarez_Bravo), he portrayed the life of the Mexican Indians, particularly in Michoacán. Fred developed and printed his photos using the slow and complicated archival process system, by which the prints can last for many decades.
His father was the biologist Hugo Iltis and his brother is the botanist Hugh Iltis.
[edit] References
- Daniele Ravenna, Felix Humm, Fred Iltis. Biologist, Photographer and Friend, Milano, DR&C Editore, 2009. ISBN 978-88-904465-0-4.
