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Reuters
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Reuters
OBITUARY Brazilian photographer Sebastiao Salgado dead at 81
SAO PAULO, May 23 (Reuters) - Sebastiao Salgado, the Brazilian photographer whose black-and-white images of workers, migrants, and humanity's conflicted relationship with nature captivated the world, has died at the age of 81, the nonprofit he founded said on Friday. Salgado was born in Aimores, a city in the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil in 1944. An economist by training, he became a photographer in the 1970s while living in Paris, after fleeing the military regime that then ruled Brazil with his wife, Lelia Wanick Salgado. He traveled the world with his camera and quickly rose through the ranks of photo agencies, eventually becoming one of Magnum's star photographers. A 1987 photo essay of thousands of half-naked men digging through the immense mine of Serra Pelada, in northern Brazil, formed part of his landmark Workers series, in which he also documented oil workers in Kuwait and coal miners in India. 'It was madly ambitious, and I struggled to think how to even begin pitching the idea to editors in London,' his agent Neil Burgess wrote in a 2019 essay in the British Journal of Photography. And, yet, after seeing his work portraying gold miners, several of the world's top magazines wanted to fund it, he added. Salgado went on to publish a number of ambitious and epic projects. In Exodus, from the 2000s, he spent years photographing the grueling journeys of migrants around the world. In Genesis, in the 2010s, he captured monumental scenes of nature, animals, and Indigenous people. And in Amazonia, his most recent project, he spent years traveling through the world's largest rainforest to capture some of the planet's most remote treasures and the communities that protect them. His critics accused him of exploiting an 'aesthetic of misery' as he photographed some of the world's poorest in their most vulnerable moments. 'They say I was an 'aesthete of misery' and tried to impose beauty on the poor world. But why should the poor world be uglier than the rich world? The light here is the same as there. The dignity here is the same as there,' he told The Guardian in a 2024 interview. To Burgess, he did quite the opposite, by capturing the dignity of his subjects at their moment of need. 'This might well be enhanced by his use of black-and-white as a medium, but it's more to do with two other qualities that Salgado has in large measure: patience and curiosity,' he wrote. In 1998, Salgado and his wife founded a nonprofit, Instituto Terra, to restore the native Atlantic Forest, one of Brazil's most threatened, on their old family farm. On Friday, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva gifted a Salgado photo to Angolan President Joao Lourenco, in Brasilia for a state visit. It was a coincidence, Lula said. "His discontent with the fact that the world is so unequal, and his unwavering talent in portraying the reality of the oppressed, has always served as a wake-up call to the conscience of all humanity," Lula said in a statement. "For this very reason, his work will continue to be a cry for solidarity. And a reminder that we are all equal in our diversity."
Globe and Mail
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Globe and Mail
Award-winning Brazilian photographer Sebastião Salgado dies at age 81, his institute says
Brazilian photographer and environmentalist Sebastião Salgado, known for his award-winning images of nature and humanity, has died at age 81. Instituto Terra, which was founded by him and his wife, confirmed the information Friday, but did not provide more details on the circumstances or where he died. The French Academy of Fine Arts, of which Salgado was a member, also confirmed his death. The photographer had suffered from various health problems for many years after contracting malaria in the 1990s. 'Sebastião was more than one of the best photographers of our time,' Instituto Terra said in a statement. 'His lens revealed the world and its contradictions; his life, (brought) the power of transformative action.' 'We will continue to honour his legacy, cultivating the land, the justice and the beauty that he so deeply believed could be restored,' it added. One of Brazil's most famous artists, though he always insisted he was a photographer first, Salgado had his life and work portrayed in the documentary film 'The Salt of the Earth' (2014), co-directed by Wim Wenders and his son, Juliano Ribeiro Salgado. He received a number of awards, and was elected an honorary member of the Academy of Arts and Sciences in the United States in 1992 and to the French Academy of Fine Arts in 2016. Born in 1944 in the city of Aimores, in the countryside of the Minas Gerais state in Brazil, Salgado moved to France in 1969 as Brazil endured a military dictatorship. He started to fully dedicate his time to photography in 1973, years after his economics degree. His style is marked by black-and-white imagery, rich tonality, and emotionally charged scenarios. He had a particular interest in impoverished communities. Among his main works are the recent series 'Amazonia;' 'Workers' which shows manual labour around the world; and 'Exodus' (also known as 'Migrations' or 'Sahel'), which documents people in transit, including refugees and slum residents. Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who received Salgado's support throughout his political career, requested a minute of silence during a ceremony in the capital city of Brasilia to honour 'one of the greatest, if not the greatest, photographer the world has ever produced.' 'His nonconformity with the fact that the world is so unequal and his stubborn talent in portraying the reality of the oppressed always served as a wake-up call for the conscience of all humanity,' Lula said. 'Salgado did not only use his eyes and his camera to portray people: he also used the fullness of his soul and his heart.' Salgado and his wife had been working since the 1990s to restore part of the Atlantic Forest in Minas Gerais. In 1998, they turned a plot of land they owned into a nature reserve, according to Salgado's biography on the French Academy of Fine Arts' website. That same year, they created Instituto Terra, which promotes reforestation and environmental education. Salgado and his wife, Lélia Wanick Salgado, founded Amazonas Images, an agency that exclusively handles his work. He is also survived by his sons Juliano and Rodrigo. Brazilian newspaper Folha de which published several of Salgado's works over the last decades, said he recently cancelled a meeting with journalists in the French city of Reims due to health problems. He was scheduled to attend an exhibition with works by his son Rodrigo on Saturday, the daily reported. An exhibition of about 400 of Salgado's works is currently on display in the city of Deauville, in northern France. In an undated interview with Forbes Brasil published on Thursday, Salgado said that attending it felt like a stroll through his life. 'How many times in my life have I put my camera to the side and sat down to cry? Sometimes it was too dramatic, and I was alone. That's the power of the photographer; to be able to be there,' Salgado said. 'If a photographer is not there, there's no image. We need to be there. We expose ourselves a lot. And that is why it is such an immense privilege.'
BreakingNews.ie
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BreakingNews.ie
Award-winning Brazilian photographer Sebastiao Salgado dies aged 81
Brazilian photographer and environmentalist Sebastiao Salgado, known for his award-winning images of nature and humanity, has died at the age of 81. Instituto Terra, which was founded by him and his wife, confirmed the information on Friday, but did not provide more details on the circumstances of Salgado's death or where it took place. Advertisement The French Academy of Fine Arts, of which Salgado was a member, also confirmed his death. The photographer had suffered from various health problems for many years after contracting malaria in the 1990s. 'Sebastiao was more than one of the best photographers of our time,' Instituto Terra said in a statement. 'His lens revealed the world and its contradictions; his life, (brought) the power of transformative action.' 'We will continue to honour his legacy, cultivating the land, the justice and the beauty that he so deeply believed could be restored,' it added. Advertisement One of Brazil's most famous artists, Salgado's life and work were portrayed in the documentary film The Salt Of The Earth (2014), co-directed by Wim Wenders and his son, Juliano Ribeiro Salgado. He received a number of awards, and was elected an honorary member of the Academy of Arts and Sciences in the United States in 1992 and to the French Academy of Fine Arts in 2016. Born in the city of Aimores, in the countryside of the Minas Gerais state in Brazil, Salgado moved to France in 1969 as Brazil endured a military dictatorship. He started to fully dedicate his time to photography in 1973, years after his economics degree. Advertisement His style is marked by black-and-white imagery, rich tonality, and emotionally-charged scenarios. Impoverished communities were among his main interests. Among his main works are the recent series Amazonia; Workers which shows manual labour around the world; and Exodus (also known as Migrations or Sahel), which documents people in transit, including refugees and slum residents. Salgado and his wife, Lelia Wanick Salgado, founded Amazonas Images, an agency that exclusively handles his work. He is also survived by his sons Juliano and Rodrigo. Advertisement Brazilian newspaper Folha de which published several works of Salgado over the last decades, said he recently cancelled a meeting with journalists in the French city of Reims due to health problems. He was scheduled to attend an exhibition with works by his son Rodrigo on Saturday, the daily reported.
The Independent
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Award-winning Brazilian photographer Sebastião Salgado dies at age 81, his institute says
Brazilian photographer and environmentalist Sebastião Salgado, known for his award-winning images of nature and humanity, has died at age 81. Instituto Terra, which was founded by him and his wife, confirmed the information Friday, but did not provide more details on the circumstances of Salgado's death or where it took place. The French Academy of Fine Arts, of which Salgado was a member, also confirmed his death. The photographer had suffered from various health problems for many years after contracting malaria in the 1990s. 'Sebastião was more than one of the best photographers of our time,' Instituto Terra said in a statement. 'His lense revealed the world and its contradictions; his life, (brought) the power of transformative action.' 'We will continue to honor his legacy, cultivating the land, the justice and the beauty that he so deeply believed could be restored,' it added. One of Brazil's most famous artists, Salgado's life and work were portrayed in the documentary film 'The Salt of the Earth' (2014), co-directed by Wim Wenders and his son, Juliano Ribeiro Salgado. He received a number of awards, and was elected an honorary member of the Academy of Arts and Sciences in the United States in 1992 and to the French Academy of Fine Arts in 2016. Born in the city of Aimores, in the countryside of the Minas Gerais state in Brazil, Salgado moved to France in 1969 as Brazil endured a military dictatorship. He started to fully dedicate his time to photography in 1973, years after his economics degree. His style is marked by black-and-white imagery, rich tonality, and emotionally-charged scenarios. Impoverished communities were among his main interests. Among his main works are the recent series 'Amazonia;" 'Workers' which shows manual labor around the world; and 'Exodus' (also known as 'Migrations' or 'Sahel'), which documents people in transit, including refugees and slum residents. Salgado and his wife, Lélia Wanick Salgado, founded Amazonas Images, an agency that exclusively handles his work. He is also survived by his sons Juliano and Rodrigo. Brazilian newspaper Folha de which published several works of Salgado over the last decades, said he recently cancelled a meeting with journalists in the French city of Reims due to health problems. He was scheduled to attend an exhibition with works by his son Rodrigo on Saturday, the daily reported. ___ AP journalist Eleonore Hughes contributed to this report from Rio de Janeiro.
