Sebastião Salgado Explained

Sebastião Salgado
Birth Name:	Sebastião Salgado
Birth Date:	8 February 1944
Birth Place:	Aimorés, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Nationality:	Brazilian, French^[1]
Known For:	Photography
Children:	Juliano Ribeiro Salgado Rodrigo Salgado

Sebastião Ribeiro Salgado Júnior (born February 8, 1944)^[2] is a Brazilian social documentary photographer and photojournalist.

He has traveled in over 120 countries for his photographic projects. Most of these have appeared in numerous press publications and books. Touring exhibitions of his work have been presented throughout the world.

Salgado is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. He was awarded the W. Eugene Smith Memorial Fund Grant in 1982,^[3] Foreign Honorary Membership of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1992^[4] and the Royal Photographic Society's Centenary Medal and Honorary Fellowship (HonFRPS) in 1993.^[5] He has been a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts at the Institut de France since April 2016.^{[6] [7]}

Early life and education

Salgado was born on February 8, 1944,^[2] in Aimorés, in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. After a somewhat itinerant childhood, Salgado trained as an economist, earning a BA degree from UFES, a master's degree from the University of São Paulo in Brazil, and a PhD from University of Paris.^[8]

He began work as an economist for the International Coffee Organization, often traveling to Africa on missions for the World Bank.

Photography

It was on his travels to Africa that he first started seriously taking photographs. He chose to abandon a career as an economist and switched to photography in 1973, working initially on news assignments before veering more towards documentary-type work. Salgado initially worked with the photo agency Sygma and the Paris-based Gamma, but in 1979, he joined the international cooperative of photographers Magnum Photos. He left Magnum in 1994 and with his wife Lélia Wanick Salgado formed his own agency, Amazonas Images, in Paris, to represent his work. He is particularly noted for his social documentary photography of workers in less developed nations.^[9] His work resides in Paris.^[10]

Salgado works on long term, self-assigned projects, many of which have been published as books: The Other Americas, Sahel, Workers, Migrations, and Genesis. The latter three are mammoth collections with hundreds of images each from all around the world. His most famous pictures are of a gold mine in Brazil called Serra Pelada, taken between 1986 and 1989.^[11] He has also been a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador since 2001.^[12]

Between 2004 and 2011, Salgado worked on Genesis, aiming at the presentation of the unblemished faces of nature and humanity. It consists of a series of photographs of landscapes and wildlife, as well as of human communities that continue to live in accordance with their ancestral traditions and cultures. This body of work is conceived as a potential path to humanity's rediscovery of itself in nature.^[13]

In September and October 2007, Salgado displayed his photographs of coffee workers from India, Guatemala, Ethiopia and Brazil at the Brazilian Embassy in London. The aim of the project was to raise public awareness of the origins of the popular drink.^[14]

Salgado has photographed the landscape and people of the Amazon rainforest (Amazónia) in Brazil.^{[15] [16]}

Salgado's work has been described by Andrei Netto of The Guardian as an "instantly recognisable combination of black-and-white composition and dramatic lighting".

Salgado and his work are the focus of the film The Salt of the Earth (2014), directed by Wim Wenders and Salgado's son, Juliano Ribeiro Salgado, and produced by Lélia Wanick Salgado.^[17]

Environmentalism

Together, Lélia and Sebastião have worked since the 1990s on the restoration of a part of the Atlantic Forest in Brazil. In 1998, they succeeded in turning 17,000 acres into a nature reserve and created the Instituto Terra. The institute is dedicated to a mission of reforestation, conservation and environmental education.^{[18] [19]}

Awards

• 1982: W. Eugene Smith Grant from the W. Eugene Smith Memorial Fund
• 1985: Oskar Barnack Award^[20]
• 1989: Hasselblad Award, Hasselblad Foundation, Gothenburg, Sweden^[21]
• 1992: Oskar Barnack Award^[22]
• 1992: Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
• 1993: Centenary Medal from the Royal Photographic Society
• 1993: Honorary Fellowship (HonFRPS) from the Royal Photographic Society
• 1994: Grand Prix National French Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Culture (France)
• 1998: Prince of Asturias Awards, Arts category^[23]
• 1988: King of Spain International Journalism Award^[24]
• 2003: International Award from the Photographic Society of Japan^[25]
• 2007: M2-El Mundo People's Choice Award for best exhibition a PhotoEspaña, for Africa^[26]
• 2019: Peace Prize of the German Book Trade^[27]
• 2021: Crystal Award, World Economic Forum^[28]
• 2021: Praemium Imperiale^[28]

Honours

Commander of the Order of Rio Branco (2004)^[29]

Knight of the Legion of Honour (2016)^[29]

Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (2014)^[29]

Knight of the Order of Cultural Merit (Monaco) (2018)^[30]

Publications

• An Uncertain Grace. Essays by Eduardo Galeano and Fred Ritchin.
  • Book: Salgado . Sebastião . Galeano . Eduardo . Ritchin . Fred . San Francisco Museum of Modern Art . 1990 . An uncertain grace . New York, N.Y . Aperture Foundation . 978-0-89381-460-1 . 22701623.
  • Book: Salgado . Sebastião . Galeano . Eduardo . Ritchin . Fred . 2004 . Sebastião Salgado: An uncertain grace . London . Thames & Hudson . 978-0-500-28489-6 . 56457689.
• Workers: Archaeology of the Industrial Age.
  • Book: . Sebastião Salgado: Workers : an archaeology of the industrial age . London . Phaidon . 1993 . 978-0-7148-2931-9 . 471602337.
  • Book: . Trabalho, uma arqueologia da era industrial . Portugal . Caminho . 1993 . 978-972-21-0834-8 . 81101769.
  • Book: Salgado, Sebastião . 2009 . Trabalhadores : uma arqueologia da era industrial . São Paulo . Companhia das Letras . 978-85-7164-588-2 . 859535737 .
• Book: Salgado . Sebastião . Buarque de Holanda . Francisco . Saramago . José . Landers . Clifford . 1997 . Terra : struggle of the landless . London . Phaidon Press . 0-7148-3636-2 . 610974180 .
• Book: Salgado, Sebastião . 2000 . Migrations : humanity in transition . New York . Aperture . 978-0-89381-891-3 . 914864396 .
  • Book: Salgado . Sebastião . Wanick Salgado . Lélia . 2016 . Exodus . Cologne . . 978-3-8365-6130-3 . 959255065 .
• The Children: Refugees and Migrants. New York, NY: Aperture, 2000. .
• Sahel: The End of the Road. Oakland, CA: University of California Press, 2004. .
• Africa. Cologne: Taschen, 2007. .
• Genesis. Cologne: Taschen, 2013. .
• From my Land to the Planet. Roma: Contrasto, 2014. .
• The Scent of a Dream: Travels in the World of Coffee. New York: Abrams, 2015. .
• Kuwait. A Desert on Fire. Cologne: Taschen, 2016. .
• Gold. Cologne: Taschen, 2019. Edited by Lélia Wanick Salgado. .
• Amazônia. Cologne: Taschen, 2021. Edited by Lélia Wanick Salgado. .^[15]

Filmography

• The Salt of the Earth (2014). Documentary about and with Salgado, directed by Wim Wenders and Salgado's son Juliano Ribeiro Salgado.

Exhibitions

• Genesis, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada, 2013;^[31] Natural History Museum, London, 2013;^[32] Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris, 2013/14;^[33] National Museum of Singapore, 2014;^[34] Palácio das Artes, Belo Horizonte, Brazil, 2014; Fotografiska, Stockholm, 2014; Palazzo della Ragione, Milan, Italy, 2014; International Center of Photography, New York City, 2014/15;^[35] CaixaForum Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain, 2014/15;^[36] Sejong Center, Seoul, South Korea, 2014/15;^[37] Cordoaria Nacional, Lisbon, Portugal, 2015; CaixaForum Palma, Palma, Spain, 2015; Amerika Haus Berlin, Berlin, 2015; Power Station of Art, Shanghai, China, 2015; Kunstfoyer Munich, Germany, 2015/16; Prague Castle, Prague, Czech Republic, 2017;^[38] Nederlands Fotomuseum, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 2017^{[39] [37]}
• Déclaration, Musée de l'Homme, Paris, 2018/19^[40]
• Amazônia, Philharmonie de Paris, 2021;^[41] Science Museum, London, 2021/22;^[42] Science and Industry Museum, Manchester, UK, 2022^[42] MAXXI, Rome, 2021/22;^[43] Serviço Social do Comércio, Sao Paulo, 2022/23;^[44] Museum of Tomorrow, Rio de Janeiro, 2021/22;^[45] California Science Center, Los Angeles, 2022,^[46] Teatro Fernán Gómez, Madrid, 2023/24.^[47]

See also

• Pruemopterus salgadoi, an extinct species of eurypterid named after Salgado

External links

• Instituto Terra
• Amazonas Images Photo agency formed by Salgado and his wife Lélia Wanick.
• Biography at The Guardian
• 'Sebastião Salgado: The silent drama of photography' TED Talk (17 minute video)
• "Back to Nature, in Pictures and Action," New York Times, 2009
• "Genesis by Sebastião Salgado: Exhibition Review", Huffington Post UK, 2013
• Sebastião Salgado at Encyclopædia Britannica

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2019-02-28. Leur France rêvée. Sebastião Salgado : "Le petit pays aux si grandes idées". 3 May 2017. Courrier international.
2. News: Netto . Andrei . 2024-02-08 . Photographer Sebastião Salgado at 80: 'They say I was an aesthete of misery' . 2024-02-08 . The Guardian . en-GB . 0261-3077.
3. Web site: 1982: Recipients: Sebastião Salgado. 15 October 2015 . .
4. Web site: Sebastiao Ribeiro Salgado . American Academy of Arts & Sciences . 2023-08-07 . 2023-12-24.
5. http://www.rps.org/annual-awards/Centenary-Medal Royal Photographic Society's Centenary Award
6. Web site: Academician's Sword for Sebastião Salgado. TASCHEN Books. TASCHEN. www.taschen.com. 2019-02-07.
7. News: Les photographes Salgado, Barbey et Gaumy élus à l'Académie des beaux-arts. 2016-04-16. Le Parisien.
8. Web site: Sebastião Salgado . International Center of Photography . 2019-02-02 . 2021-06-01.
9. News: Biography: Sebastião Salgado. 2004-09-11. The Guardian. 2017-10-01. 0261-3077.
10. Web site: Sebastiao Salgado - biography. www.unicef.org. 2017-10-01.
11. News: Sebastião Salgado The Art of Photography. 2015-05-14. The Art of Photography. 2017-10-01.
12. Web site: 29 April 2005. Sebastião Salgado. 20 February 2012. UNICEF.
13. News: Sebastião Salgado: Genesis. 2016-02-23. International Center of Photography. 2017-10-01.
14. Web site: Sebastião Salgado – Genesis Graphicine. www.graphicine.com. 2017-10-01.
15. Web site: 2021-07-25. 'Paradise exists!': Sebastião Salgado's stunning voyage into Amazônia. 21 June 2021. The Guardian.
16. Web site: 2023-04-02. Are Californians destroying the Amazon? A Sebastião Salgado exhibit raises hard questions. 16 February 2023. Los Angeles Times.
17. Web site: 2022-04-29. The Salt of the Earth review – colourful portrait of visionary photographer Sebastião Salgado. 16 July 2015. The Guardian.
18. Web site: Instituto Terra - Youchange. Youchange. Youchange. fr. 2017-10-01.
19. Web site: Funk . McKenzie . Sebastião Salgado Has Seen the Forest, Now He's Seeing the Trees . Smithsonian Magazine . Smithsonian . 5 June 2023 . October 2015.
20. Web site: Sebastião Salgado. 2 May 2015 . .
21. Web site: Sebastião Salgado. 6 March 2015 . .
22. Web site: Sebastião Salgado. 2 May 2015 . .
23. News: Sebastião Salgado - Laureates - Princess of Asturias Awards - The Princess of Asturias Foundation. Tecnologías. Developed with webControl CMS by Intermark. The Princess of Asturias Foundation. 2017-10-01.
24. News: Sebastião Salgado, Premio de las Artes 1998 Turismo Asturias. SL. EuroWeb Media. 2017-01-09. Turismo Asturias. 2017-10-01. es-ES.
25. Web site: Photographic Society of Japan Awards. 5 March 2015 . .
26. Web site: La décima edición de PHotoEspaña finaliza con 600.000 visitantes. Publicista. El. www.elpublicista.es. 20 July 2007. 2017-10-01.
27. Web site: Photographer Sebastiao Salgado wins German peace prize – DW – 10/18/2019. dw.com. 7 April 2023.
28. News: Sebastião Salgado - The Japan Art Association. The Japan Art Association. 14 September 2021. pt.
29. https://www.academiedesbeauxarts.fr/sites/default/files/inline-files/cp_installation_salgado_aba.pdf Academie des Beux Arts
30. Web site: Ordonnance Souveraine n° 7.202 du 18 novembre 2018 portant promotions ou nominations dans l'Ordre du Mérite Culturel. / Journal 8409 / Année 2018 / Journaux / Accueil - Journal de Monaco .
31. "Sebastião Salgado: Genesis", Royal Ontario Museum. Accessed 17 August 2014.
32. News: Sebastiao Salgado's Genesis. 10 April 2013 . 13 August 2014 . Phil . Coomes . .
33. "Sebastião Salgado, Genesis", Paris Photo. Accessed 13 August 2014.
34. "Genesis", National Museum of Singapore. Accessed 17 August 2014.
35. News: Sebastião Salgado: Genesis. International Center of Photography. 23 February 2016.
36. Web site: Sebastião Salgado. Génesis. CaixaForum Barcelona. prensa.lacaixa.es. es. 2017-10-01.
37. News: Genesis Photography Exhibition – Sebastião Salgado. 2014-10-15. Site of Special Things - Travel, Arts & Entertainment. 2017-10-01.
38. News: Sebastião Salgado: Genesis. 2 June 2017. Tourist website of Prague. 11 July 2017.
39. News: Sebastião Salgado Genesis Nederlands Fotomuseum Rotterdam. Nederlands Fotomuseum. 2017-07-29.
40. Web site: 2019-06-13. Déclarations, exposition photo Sebastião Salgado. Musée de l'Homme.
41. Web site: Philip Andrew. Churm. 2021-07-25. Salgado's exhibition highlights Amazon forest destruction. 22 May 2021. euronews.
42. Web site: 2023-04-02. Amazônia. Science and Industry Museum.
43. Web site: 2023-04-02. Sebastião Salgado. Amazônia - MAXXI. 16 February 2021. www.maxxi.art.
44. Web site: 2023-04-02. Exposição "Amazônia", de Sebastião Salgado, estreia no Sesc Pompeia. 14 February 2022.
45. Web site: imoebius. 2023-04-02. "Fruturos - Tempos Amazônicos" exhibition in Rio de Janeiro - ATTO. 18 February 2022.
46. Web site: In the lush Amazon, a photographer hopes to document life before it is too late . NPR . 2 November 2022 . 7 April 2023.
47. Web site: Exposición fotográfica Amazonia de Sebastião Salgado en Madrid . 2023-07-18 . amazoniasebastiaosalgado.com . es-ES.