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CS 39J: The Art and Science of Photography is a freshman seminar taught
by Professor Brian A.
Barsky.
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| CS 39J > Schedule & Notes > Session 4 Detailed Notes |
http://inst.eecs.berkeley.edu/~cs39j/session04.html
14 February 2002
Trained as an economist, with degrees from the University of Sao Paolo and
Vanderbilt University and a Ph.D. (in
1971) from the University of Paris, Brazilian born photographer Sebastião
Salgado only turned to photojournalism in 1973. He was a member of Magnum Photos
from 1979-94.
Even as a photojournalist covering news events however, Sebastião Salgado was drawn to in-depth documentary projects with broad human scope. In Other Americas (1986) he explored peasant cultures and the cultural resistance of Indians and their descendants in Mexico and Brazil; in Sahel: Man in Distress (1986), he drew on his work in the drought-stricken Sahel region of Africa with the French aid group Doctor Without Borders; in Workers (1993) his work documented manual laborers facing displacement with the advent of modern technologies and machines; and in Terra: Struggle of the Landless (1997), Salgado captured the efforts of Brazilian natives fighting to reclaim their land.
Migrations, the body of photographs by Sebastião Salgado currently on exhibit at the University Art Museum, is a seven year chronicle of mass migrations in more than thirty-five countries including Afghanistan, Kurdistan, Rwanda, Congo, Angola, Mozambique, and the Balkans. Forced from their homes by population growth, environmental degradation, natural disasters and economic depression, refugees, exiles, orphans, landless peasants, homeless families, and boat people constitute individually and collectively a vast and moving panorama of "humanity in transition."
Twice the recipient of the Infinity Award for Photojournalism from the International Center of Photography, Sebastião Salgado currently lives in Paris with his wife and collaborator Lélia Wanick Salgado.
The work of Sebastião Salgado seems to fill an important gap in today’s fast paced and plugged-in society. It shows the human side of the various headlines that inevitably get pushed to the back of our minds, but this is not the source of his uniqueness. His documentary style places us right in the world of the modern refugees, showing every sort of suffering known to modern man, but these stories have been recorded by others. And yet we are drawn to his work. It is that his photos show the world in it’s full beauty as it is marred by the evil (or negligent) deeds of powerful men. The prints are beautiful. We may not want to see the story, but we can’t help but look at his art. This is what makes Salgado important: he makes us want to see what is really going on. He wants us to understand that the world—our same beautiful world and not some ambiguous third world—suffers at the hands of greed and injustice, and that to ignore this is to ignore something of ourselves. To accept it as a sad fact of life is to admit it as a possibility for our children.
Specifically, Salgado looks at the displaced of the world. He shows us those
who flee in terror, those who have nowhere to flee to, and those who die trying.
And he even shows us some who return home. It is an emotional roller coaster
to view this exhibit, in which we see many tears mixed with blood and sweat,
and we see smiles—smiles of pride, redemption and return.
He shows despair and hope on a grand scale the global flux of people who sometimes
find a home. He wants us to realize that we may be next, and the road to recovery
is a long one.
The significance of the tour illustrates the issue of thematic artistic photography to a great extent. To fully explore this idea, Laura pointed out the eyes of children, the excellent use of lighting and composure, and symbolic significance of these black-and-white photographs. In my opinion, much of the photography is better taken in the artistic point of view, rather than the technical point of view. This being said, it is still necessary to look at the other aspects of the photograph. Professor Barsky points out certain qualities of the photographs that would otherwise been overlooked, such as the possibility of a photograph being artistically manipulated to achieve an unrealistic effect, as seen in the photograph was an exceedingly bright spot. However, I believe these photographic pieces are best viewed as artistic pieces that describe life but do not need to represent life in the most exact way possible. Since photography is a difficult artistic form because of the lack of manipulations that can be personally done to achieve certain effects of lighting and composure, it is best to view these as pieces of art that illustrate a point of view. In this case, photojournalism is secondary to the artistic qualities and thematic messages that the photographer intends the audience to see. Salgado’s photography is excellent in its ability to portray people in poor conditions and elicit sympathy from the audience. The usage of black and white film really brings out the qualities better than color photography since the usage of filters can increase contrast or darken certain aspects of a photograph. I believe that these photographs are excellent in their ability to illustrate the pain and agony of the victims of famine, genocide, and other calamities. The first time I toured the gallery before this trip, I was much more touched by the simple observations of the facial expression and postures of the people than this time. The reason that this time was unable to touch me as much was that the group environment, hasty explanations of pictures and selectiveness of pictures limited the effect that a slow 2 hour tour of the each and every picture would have done. In all, I believe the explanations of the tour were adequate yet limited in scope in both social context and photographic techniques, because of the time constraints and inability to study each one in detail.
I had a great learning experience at the museum with Laura’s tour. One
of the things I discovered after our trip was the importance, or rather power,
that photography has. As Laura explained to us, photojournalists like Salgado
tell us messages through the universal language of photography. Everyone around
the world can understand and feel the emotion conveyed in photos and the value
of a photo is so great. Laura also pointed out a few representations of objects
that can be found in a film. I was fascinated with such symbols as the birds
and the contrasting beautiful skies with the distressed people below. I learned
that what seems like a normal photograph can tell a deep story and convey emotion.
Salgado had definitely done this and has informed the world of the issues in
third world countries. Another intriguing point that I learned is how Salgado
did not ever plan to be a photojournalist until after taking a few pictures
of a country to show his coworkers. His great ability to take pictures that
capture the full story of a given place shows that anyone with the willingness
to tell a message with a camera can take such good pictures as Salgado. Thanks
to these photos, people around the world can know what is going on in their
world.
Sebastião Salgado's photography exhibit Migrations: Humanity in Transition at the UC Berkeley Art Museum travels through the migrations of various populations throughout the world. While giving humanity and dignity to his subjects, Salgado reveals the suffering and devastating effect migration has had upon the people of Africa, America, Europe, and Asia.
Salgado uses light in his photography to highlight certain aspects of a conflict. In his black and white photographs, light is contrasted with dark to dramatize the subjects within the photographs boundaries. When successful with his use of light, Salgado gives the photograph's viewer an expanded sense of the time and emotion within which the photograph was taken.
Movement is sensed within Salgado's photographs when blurred bodies are in contrast with clear, inanimate objects. One example of this is seen in Salgado's photograph Church Gate Station. Bombay, India, 1995, which is taken of a train station from an aerial view. Swarms of tiny bodies seem to scurry amid the solid, still trains and billboards of the train station. His theme of immigration resonates in this photograph as movement is clearly seen within the blurred mass of bodies.
Salgado's choices of composition within his photographs are deliberate and must be considered to understand his message he wishes to bring to a viewer of his work. His portraits of children are taken at the eye level of the child, allowing a viewer to attempt to understand their suffering and even pride. Yet do these photographs give the child an identity as Salgado had intended, or do they promote pity and a feeling that with the process of allowing their picture to be taken they are orphaned and lose an individual identity?
Salgado combines technique with beautiful vision in creating his photographs in his exhibit Migrations: Humanity in Transition. By bringing beauty to suffering, he gives dignity, respect, and a sense of the individual to his work. By capturing one moment in time, Salgado is able to summarize much more than that instant within the aesthetic boundaries of a photograph.
"Migrations" captures the spirit of human joy and suffering through physical -- and emotional -- transitions during political and economic strife. Sebastian Salgado's renowned photo gallery includes works spanning over forty countries, from Asia, South America, and Africa. His photographs often juxtapose wealthy, urban cities with grinding poverty.
Seeing his work especially touched me because my mother came from one of the countries, Indonesia. Though it seems nothing compared to the outright suffering depicted in the photography of the Rwandan genocide, the portraits depicted construction workers in an urban setting, or poor neighborhoods.
The technical details of the photographs were most interesting to observe.
The perspective that the photographs were taken, for example, gives each of
them its uniqueness. Rather than the usual human-eye level, Salgado sometimes
opted for a bird's-eye view, such as that in the Indian train station. The concept
of macro and micro was shown beautifully through his portrait of small individuals
queuing for food rations. His work also contrasted suffering and joy, such as
that of the young Vietnamese boy trying to "be good." Professor Barsky
brought up an excellent point of how things just "happen" at the speed
of life: photographers often need to take their photos immediately to capture
a moment, and thus they have no time to fiddle with their options (lenses, shutter
speed, flash, and more).
I really like about the spatial setup of the gallery. The frames of the photographs and the walls were white, drawing directly the attention of the viewer to the black and white images. I also like the graininess of the photographs. The fuzziness of the pictures reminded me of charcoal drawings, and if one stands right up to the photograph, the images turn to blurry dots. I really like this effect, because it reminds the viewer that the photograph is art, not just an exact representation of reality. I do not think this technique is effective in journalistic photography, because the artistic beauty detracts from it as a documentation of history. However, I think that the beauty of Salgado's pictures is advantageous because it is the photographs' beauty that has won him such wide recognition. If one crops the photographs to focus on the people, the images would be still compelling because one is sympathetic with human suffering. The cropped picture would be "ordinary," however, in the sense that it would appear in journalistic mediums. However, with the jarring composition and the powerful skies, one is compelled to relate to the photograph on a higher emotional level and see it as art. The photographs sort of hypnotizes one to look longer, drawing one into every little detail and forcing one to come to terms with the horrible circumstances it documents.
I really enjoyed the visiting the gallery. The photographs were very inspirational
because they were technically strong as well as aesthetically pleasing. I am
inspired by Salgado's political motives to promote awareness of injustices around
the world. I like that art can be much more than just a reflection of society,
and that it can be a catalyst for change. The photographs seem to take on more
meaning, importance, and even beauty when the photographer has admirable motives.
I was disappointed in finding out that Salgado does not make his own prints
but instead hires darkroom printers. For me, the process of creating a photograph
ends in the darkroom, and a photographer who has someone else make their prints
seems to be relinquishing control and authorship. However, in Salgado's case,
it seems all right because the photographs serve only as physical objects and
it is their function that is of priority.
Sebastiao Salgado is an economist born of Brazilian descent. He got his Ph.D. for economics from the university of Paris. However, after borrowing his wife's camera during a trip to Africa, he decided photography was a better way of conveying his cause. The art of Photography can be seen as a universal language everyone can understand. This was a perfect medium for Salgado, being a foreigner in a country that spoke a different language. He was not truly recognized until his covering of the attempted assassination on President Ronald Reagan.
This project was offered to him because of his foreign descent. The US media was bored of the typical portrayals of the president and wanted a fresh outlook on the situation. Salgado gave them just that.
Being an economist, Salgado mainly explores the relationship between the success of the north and the turmoil of the south. He believes that the wealth that so many countries in the northern hemisphere creates much hardship and poverty in countries of the southern hemisphere. And so, the subjects of his photography are those people that suffer from the greed of the well off. But not only does he photograph these people, he helps them in their struggle for survival.
Salgado has been criticized for his "glamorization" of suffering. It is hard for many people to swallow his work, as he depicts dead bodies amidst a beautiful sky, or the face of a child with cold sores covering her mouth. As disturbing as some of these pictures may be to the public, Salgado does not allow presentation of his exhibit incomplete. He believes his message is lost if museums pick and choose the pictures they are willing to exhibit. And so, as our moderator mentions, the Berkeley museum was forced to build extra walls to be able to show the whole exhibit.
Most of Salgado's photos are of un-posed scenes, however, he does have a few pictures of children posing for his camera. The story goes that when he travels to other countries, the children, being used to receiving dollars for pictures from tourists, insisted on being the subjects of Salgado's photos. They would follow him around and prevent him from getting work done. To alleviate this problem, he told the children he would take their pictures if they would leave him alone the rest of the time. And so became one of his famous exhibits, "The Children."
Salgado's work can be viewed on many different levels. His photos are disturbing, beautiful, and artistic, but above all, they provide a message to the viewer and ultimately provoke discussion and debate about the human condition.
Disturbed by the millions of dispossessed refugees and migrants around the world, Brazilian-born photographer Sebastião Salgado opens this problem to global discussion and presents stories of migration through photography in his exhibition Migrations : Humanity in Transition. For seven years, Salgado traveled to forty-seven countries around the world witnessing the human condition of displaced peoples and documenting on photographs their dignity and fortitude in their deepest suffering due to war, severe poverty, natural disasters, or political oppression.
Walking from the exhibition, my heart ached from what I saw and longed for peace and liberation from suffering. Nevertheless, I really appreciated this exhibition of Sebastião Salgado's work especially in his presentation of images that deftly convey the significant magnitude of this global problem of migration. What touched me the most were the portraits of children, who all reflect the devastation of every crisis situation and whose livelihoods were perhaps lost because of external volatile circumstances. Yet even through their suffering and emotional vulnerability, the children represent signs of hope and the enduring spirit that Salgado is adeptly able to depict through these portraits. As a concerned witness, Salgado seeks to spread around the world this intensified need to involve ourselves with their situation and that of all displaced peoples by considering our relationship with the environment.
To me, Salgado truly is most skillful in capturing the beauty and elegance of one moment in time, however emotionally distressing, that we may lack or fail to recognize from our own perceptions of the world that surrounds us. In context of our photography class, I was able to see first-hand the exemplary work of a master of black and white photography. Salgado is able to capture on film a vast range of tones, textures, and depth that obviously comes with skill, learned patience, practice, constant experimentation, and improvement. I only hope that in the future, I may develop the skill and technique to be able to share what gives my life meaning in such a unique personal way - through the art of photography.
The Sebastião Salgado experience was a very educational experience for me. It showed me things that I would not have normally seen. Many of the events depicted in his photos were of events that are very depressing. I didn't not however feel that it was appropriate to look at these pictures and somehow see "beauty" in them as described by our tour guild. I did however feel that the pictures of the children would have had to be my favorite part of the exhibit.
I felt that this was a very interesting way to show these tragedies around the world. However, I did not feel that it was our place to get any enjoyment from looking pictures of the suffering of others. I found it especially difficult to see any beauty at all when looking at pictures of the Rwanda genocide. Some of the horrific events depicted in the pictures kept me from seeing the beauty that was apparently present for other people. The tour guide did point out that there were contrasts in many of his pictures. I noticed many instances of dark and light, life and death, and suffering and happiness in the same picture.
One of my favorite pictures of the exhibit had to be the picture of the Yanomami Indian. It was the one of a child that was mostly dark but you could see the face and parts of his body. I felt it was an effective way to show the displacement of the child from a normal life (or light) because of the settlers which started to take over their land.
The most impressive picture I saw at the exhibit would have to be the picture of the Shanghai Skyline. The shadow of the building across the water was a very impressive sight. The light and fog/smog around the buildings seemed to complement the already impressive picture. The fact that he included the people in the front also added to the picture to give it the sense of massiveness of the buildings. He also seemed to have waited for the perfect time to take the picture so that the sun would be right on top of the building. I felt that this was a very effective way of bringing attention to the building.
This exhibit had some good points and also some bad points. I would have rather
not had people talk about the beauty of pictures of the Rwanda Genocide however,
that was just a minor thing that bothered me. Each picture of that exhibit told
a story which is probably what Sebastião Salgado wanted.
Sebastião Salgado’s photographs are beautiful and the intense, few can doubt that, but do they exploit the suffering of the subjects of his photos? Does Salgado glorify suffering? No, Salgado is unique as an artist because he is able to find beauty in suffering. As an immigrant to the United States myself, I am amazed at his ability to find beauty in the plights of migrants and transfer intangible emotions upon tangible photographs. The dramatic intensity of his photographs is so strong that it sometimes serves to avert attention from the occasional technical blemish. Salgado is a storyteller who uses neither words nor voice to tell his tales.
Each story Salgado tells draws the viewer further from our sheltered American soil. The viewer is first drawn away to the borders between US and Mexico where illegal immigrants try to evade the Border Patrol not in the shade of night, but in broad daylight. In one photo, both desperation and hope abound as a Mexican is chased back across the border by a patroller’s truck. Subsequent galleries transport us across the oceans to Russia, the Middle East and even into the depths of Africa. Each country contains unique plights but Salgado manages to highlight the beauties of each situation using stark contrasts.
Unconsciously, the contrasts of each photo enhance the dramatic attitude of each photograph. Beyond the obvious color contrasts of the black and white film Salgado uses, contrasts involving clothing, age of the subjects, and even the actions of animals in the background (in one shot containing two birds, one is flying and the other is still) invite one to search each scene for every occurrence of symbolism. In one shot of a train station, what appears to be the fastest moving objects are not the trains, but the passengers who are migrating about the station. However, it is easy to allow the wonderment of staring at these photos to avert attention from the technical aspects of his photography.
Salgado’s technical prowess is evident in most photographs as they are sharp and well composed, but even a professional like him can fall trap to even the most basic of photographic pitfalls. Due to the nature of his photography, rapid reactions to ephemeral events are required and as a result some photographs lack definition of details in separation of colors between fore and backgrounds while others, like the portraits of children were taken originally with the intent of simply getting rid of the subjects rather than celebrating them as was eventually done. Had time allowed, Salgado could have perfected each shot, but his priorities were to capture the story first and worry about details later.
Salgado’s eye for beauty and shutter-happiness combine to form a wonderful
photographer who shares with us his perspectives of a contrasted world that
is full of hope, but suffers, full of action, but can be frozen on paper. His
strength as a photographer is not in optical perfection, but in temporal preservation.
Anyone can exploit the suffering of humans, but few can capture that pain for
others to acknowledge and reflect upon.
The Salgado exhibit at the museum was very sad and moving, yet the photographs
were aesthetically beautiful and very well made. The photograph that moved me
the most was of the bulldozer moving dead bodies into a large grave. The photograph
struck me because of its grave resemblance to photos that I have seen before
that look just like this one of the Holocaust. I grew up in a Jewish school
where we were constantly shown photographs such as this one to remind us of
the horrors that occurred during the war and I had become almost
insensitive to seeing them. I had developed the idea in my mind that nothing
like that could ever happen in the world again and seeing that image was very
much of a shock to me. To know that something of the sort with so many people
dying that they have to be bulldozed into graves is upsetting to me and shows
me that the humanity has not progressed much in the past century. It is also
very upsetting to me to see this picture among the other very sad photos knowing
that there is almost nothing that I can do to help these people that are in
such unfortunate situations. The aesthetics of the pictures however were wonderful
and I am planning to go back to spend more time to look at them as I didn’t
feel like the time there was enough.
Spending six years, and traveling to over 40 countries, Sebastião Salgado's
exhibits, "Migrations: Humanity In Transition" as well as "The
Children" captures the raw humanity found in individuals all over the world,
regardless of culture or race barriers. Divided into four sections: Migrants
and Refugees: The Survival Instincts, The African Tragedy: A Continent Adrift,
Latin America: Rural Exodus, Urban Disorder, and Asia: The World's New Urban
Face. Originally an economist, Salgado has turned his economic papers on the
globalizations of the modern economy into photo essays. Using photography, a
universal language, Salgado walks the fine line of balancing destruction with
humanity, as dignity shines through amidst all the suffering. Though often criticized
for glamorizing suffering, Salgado's photos captures the migration and ultimate
displacement from the viewpoint of those in transition.
There are many reasons to migrate and leave your family, home, and comfort zone.
For some economic betterment, others to escape religious persecution, and unfortunately
for many there is no choice. Refugees are not allowed the luxury of choosing
to leave; many are not even able to psychologically prepare themselves for what
is often a traumatic experience. In "Migrants and Refugees: The Survival
Instincts," different groups ranging from Mexico, Russia, Eastern Europe,
Afghan, Vietnam, etc. are highlighted as their often traumatizing migrations
are captured on film. At first, viewers are desensitized to the photos, as many
of the subjects are familiar, often splashed across the six o'clock news. However,
in a museum with a more intimate setting, the subjects are no longer lead stories
but individuals, portraits, glimpses into their lives and souls. The pictures
soon accomplish Salgado's goal as they become uncomfortable to view. Stirring
up emotions in the audience, Salgado hopes the photos will inspire action in
the audience.
Salgado's second chapter in the series, "The African Tragedy: A Continent
Adrift" does not shy away from the brutality and wanton destruction found
in Africa. A continent filled with civil strife, the ramifications of colonization
are still visible, with reverberations that will still be felt for many years
to come. The Rwandan Tragedy is simply one of the many problems brought to light
in this exhibit. Never camera shy, the genocide of nearly one million Tutsi
are brought to the forefront, confronting the audience daring them to do something
about a problem the West has long washed their hands of.
Industrialization, modernizations, and westernization seem to be the key to success in the current world situation. However, the process of transforming a largely rural society into an urban one is a painful process requiring unspeakable sacrifices. Complete cultures are lost, an entire indigenous population wiped out as natural resources continue to dwindle, all considered only a minor externality of modernization. "Latin America: rural Exodus, Urban Disorder," captures the pain and displacement felt by many as the times being to transform too quickly and often without the consent of many of the inhabitants. One particular group spotlighted in this chapter is "The Children," the only truly innocent ones in all these situations. Considered "the greatest victims," the children who have seen more in their young years than any human in their 100s should be asked to see, stare candidly at the audience. Startling to look at, the children with their bright eyes allow the viewer a window into their soul and into the destruction in their lives; it is a haunting portrait of children around the world.
Lastly, "Asia: The World's New Urban Face" reiterates many of the
themes in the previous chapters as poverty, starvation, and the pains that come
with urbanization. In all of the chapters, one theme seen throughout all the
photographs is the symbol of hope, of humanity despite the inhumane situation.
On a technical aspect, some of the photographs may leave the audience wanting,
but on the whole, his choice of lighting and depth of field only accentuate
the dignity found in Salgado's subjects. It is a celebration of humanity as
much as it is a wake-up call to stir up the public, giving a human side to the
abundant numbers, figures and statistics on suffering going around all over
the world.
Having never been to a true photography exhibit before I found myself truly
excited when I was told that we were going to have a guided tour of a photographer
who I had been hearing so much about; however, I never expected it to be that
incredible. Arriving fifteen or so minutes early I decided to take a quick look
around, just to see what I was in for. To say I was surprised would be an understatement.
At the time I still did not have a full understanding of what I was looking
at, but one thing was for sure, the pictures grabbed a hold of me in a way no
photo has ever done before. I had not yet realized that these photos had a purpose;
I did not know that Salgado had a very specific idea in mind when he spent the
last eight or so years of his life taking pictures of a very specific subject,
that being migrations. So, my first reaction to the exhibit was simply sheer
delight at the idea that man could capture such intangible things as beauty,
pain, and anger in a simple photo.
Soon, after being totally drawn in already, I realized it was time for the tour
to start. With the direction of our guide I almost immediately began to see
the exhibit under a totally new light, one with much more depth. I began to
realize why Salgado did what he did for the last eight years. I realized that
yes, photos can display beauty and pain and anger, but they could also do much
more than that. Salgado’s photos began to look differently; I think I
began to really see what he was after. As a documentary photographer he was
doing more than simply showing the horrible atrocities that are going on all
over the world, he was capturing the essence of these moments, so that instead
of hearing about it, or reading about it, we could actually feel what these
people were feeling; we could be there with them. While I am sure the pain I
felt inside was nothing compared to the pain of one of the orphans left in a
strange land with no parents, I am also sure that because of Sebastio Salgado’s
pictures I was for the first time able to share in these “migrants”
pain, anger and sorrow, of course to a much lesser degree.
Overall, the exhibit was beautiful. It is a chance to realize the endless capabilities
of a simple piece of paper imprinted with one single moment of time forever,
as well as a chance to come to many realizations about the world we live in.
Thank you Mr. Salgado.
From an artistic and social standpoint, I was truly impressed and moved by the exhibit. Salgado's accomplishment in conveying an important social message through his photographs reinforced my enthusiasm for the medium of photography as a universal means of communication. The aspect of the exhibit that struck me most was the dual nature of his achievement. Salgado's vision combined potent artistry with an urgent social reality. My favorite portion of the exhibit was the section devoted to the various children he met during his project. The uniformity of the photographs in depicting posed subjects in front unobtrusive backgrounds demanded closer inspection, which led to my discovery of the nuances of each child's attitude and expression. The section appeared to have a simple theme, yet at the same time it was cohesive so as to have a powerful impact on me. The story behind his inclusion of the children's photographs in the exhibit shows that some of a photographer's best work comes from sources that are entirely unplanned. From a technical photographic standpoint, however, I did find that Salgado's work was inconsistent. Some of the photographs were extremely grainy, while others were not. A few photographs I examined were flat or had too much contrast, and Salgado did not always make use of lighting to the best of his ability. Although there were technical issues, they did not detract from the focus of the overall project. Salgado's work shows that the beauty of photography can be used to draw attention to harsh realities that otherwise might continue unnoticed.
Sebastiao Salgado is an amatuer photographer who concluded that his documentation
of the current refugee crises would be most effective if presented in photography.
He traveled 6 years, spending periods of weeks and months with various groups.
His images are direct, depicting the reality of the human suffering rather than
a generalized description of events that one gets from reading the paper or
listening to the news. Salgado's photographs capture the parallels of modernization
with the archaic conditions that these refugees live in. They also explore the
paradoxes of the beauty of love and cultural endurance amongst the paradoxes
of war and pain. The composition of his photographs depict static faith in the
face of constant mobilazation and his lighting hints at an ephemeral world encompassing
these people that emphasizes how removed we are from them, and how out of touch
we are with their situation. I especially enjoyed the photographs of the children
because it facilitated a means of connecting on a personal basis with the image,
by looking into the childs eyes, without being distracted by his surroundings.
Those photographs really gave a humane factor to his photography, and appealed
to the human in us, rather than the politician, or the economist or whatnot.
Overall, it is an understatement to say that the exihibit is powerful and moving,
but that is those are the only fitting adjectives for his documentary.
Sebastio Salgado has truly discovered a means to capture incomprehensible emotion in his photographs. No description or story could represent the suffering of nations in turmoil better--such is the essence of photojournalism. He contrasts oppression and hope for the future with a perfect balance of black and white. In his photographs of Tijuana, Mexico (1998), the subjects are seen in the foreground crouching down and hiding, in full view of freedom. The wide angle allows us to see the extent of the wall keeping the young men-and millions of other Mexican citizens-in search of a better life from entering the United States.
In the photograph of the Brighton Ballet Theatre, we are shown an innocence
of youth contrasted with poverty and destruction. This is the reoccurring theme
in his portraits of children. It gives the viewer and idea of how hope can live
in such a place. In another piece, the Straight of Gibralter is shown in the
midst of a storm. This is an apocalyptic piece and shows that the refugees will
sacrifice their lives and face possible destruction just for the chance of freedom.
The photograph, "A man dying of cholera (1994)", shows the horror
of an excruciating death. The people are shown encircling the dying man, aghast
and almost in awe of the sight. The subject is not placed in the foreground
and instead our focus is placed on a child paralyzed with horror at the view
of death. This is definitely an end to innocence and the photograph captures
the very moment when the child realizes the true nature of the world.
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