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Boston Globe
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Sebastião Salgado, photographer of human misery and dignity, dies at 81
A scene from the 2014 French/Brazilian documentary film "The Salt of the Earth," directed by Juliano Ribeiro Salgado and Wim Wenders. Courtesy of (c) Sebastiao Salgado In his landmark 1986 photo essay of gold mine workers in the Pará state in northern Brazil, one image showed a man encased in sweat and dirt cresting a wooden ladder. A loaded bag from the mine floor was held by a rope around his forehead. Another scene, shot from within the mine, was a wide-angle tableau of workers climbing and digging in an ant-like flow. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Goldmine, Serra Pelada, State of Pará, Brazil, 1986 © Sebastião Salgado © Sebastião Salgado, courtesy of Robert Klein Gallery Advertisement For decades, Mr. Salgado was on hand for many of the world's major crises - the devastating famine in Ethiopia in the 1980s, the 1991 US-led war to oust Iraqi forces from Kuwait, the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, and other upheavals. He described his mission as seeking to convey a sense of the ordinary people caught, often helpless, in the tumult. The assignment in Kuwait was for The New York Times Magazine and centered on the efforts of workers struggling to extinguish oil-well fires set by Saddam Hussein's troops, an environmental disaster that came to define Iraq's turbulent retreat from Kuwait. 'The photos were beyond extraordinary,' said Kathy Ryan, a former photo director at magazine, who worked with Mr. Salgado on that assignment. 'It was one of the best photo essays ever made.' Advertisement On another noteworthy assignment, Mr. Salgado documented dramatic scenes following a failed assassination attempt on President Reagan in 1981. He photographed the gunman, John Hinckley Jr., moments after he was tackled to the ground. 'Everyone knows he had an incredible way of making pictures,' Ryan said. But, she added, he also had an uncanny sense of 'where important stories were.' His other projects - part of a body of work spanning 120 countries - included a series on migrants in North Africa desperate to reach Europe and the life in slums where the immediate concerns are food and safety. 'I admit there's a very specific message in my work,' Mr. Salgado said in a 1990 interview with journalist Amanda Hopkinson in London. 'The developing countries have never been as poor or as dependent as they are today.' 'It is time to launch the concept of the universality of humanity,' he continued. 'Photography lends itself to a demonstration of this and as an instrument of solidarity between peoples.' A scene from "The Salt of the Earth," directed by Juliano Ribeiro Salgado and Wim Wenders. Photo courtesy of (c) Sebastiao Salgado An economist by training, he borrowed his wife's camera in 1971 while working in London for the International Coffee Organization. During a trip to Africa, he took photos of workers and rural life. 'Four days later I had an obsession; a fortnight later, a camera of my own,' Mr. Salgado recounted. 'Within a month I had a darkroom.' He sought jobs as a freelance photographer in 1973 and later contributed work to the Sygma and Gamma photo agencies. In the late 1970s, he joined Magnum, a professional home for some of the world's top photographers. Advertisement Mr. Salgado stepped away from Magnum in 1994 to establish Amazonia Images with his wife, Lélia Wanick Salgado. Four years later, the couple founded the environmental group Instituto Terra, which seeks to restore stretches of Brazil's southeastern Atlantic Forest threatened by development. Mr. Salgado increasingly turned his lens on nature - drawing close enough to photograph the armor-like skin on a marine iguana in the Galapagos and, other times, pulled back for vistas such as a river through the Alaskan wilderness and the sculpted curves of Antarctic icebergs. An iceberg between Paulet and South Shetland islands off Antarctica, shown in a scene from "The Salt of the Earth." Courtesy of (c) Sebastiao Salgado In his 'Amazonia' series, Mr. Salgado traveled across the rainforest, taking portraits of Indigenous people and chronicling the power of the natural world such as towering clouds, appearing in his photos the color of forged steel, rising above the forest canopy. In a private nature reserve, he and his wife planted more than 300 species of trees as part of a rewilding. As the trees grew, birds and insects returned. The tree roots held back erosion. 'Although we were amazed at how nature can fight back, we began to get worried about the threat to the whole planet,' Mr. Salgado told the British Journal of Photography in 2013. 'There is a strange idea that nature and humanity are different but in fact this separation poses a great threat to humanity,' he added. 'We think we can control nature, but it's easy to forget that we need it for our survival.' Manda Yawanawá, from the village of Escondido. Rio Gregório Indigenous Territory, State of Acre, Brazil, 2016 © Sebastião Salgado © Sebastião Salgado, courtesy of Robert Klein Gallery Sebastião Ribeiro Salgado Jr. was born in Aimorés, in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais north of Rio de Janeiro, on Feb. 8, 1944. His family operated a cattle ranch. Advertisement In 1964, the Brazilian military seized control of the government in a coup that ousted President João Goulart. As the ruling junta waged crackdowns on dissent, Mr. Salgado and his wife decided to flee. They headed in 1969 to Paris, which would become their main base over the next five decades. 'If a photographer is not there, there's no image. We need to be there,' he told Forbes Brasil. 'We expose ourselves a lot. And that is why it is such an immense privilege.' Among his honors was the Leica Oskar Barnack Awards, which he received twice, and more than 10 World Press Photo awards in categories including news feature and general news. In addition to his wife, he leaves his sons, Juliano and Rodrigo, and two grandchildren. A 2014 documentary on Mr. Salgado's life and work, 'The Salt of the Earth,' was co-directed by Wim Wenders and his son Juliano. Mr. Salgado, an honorary degree recipient, took a picture during a Harvard Commencement ceremony in Cambridge in 2022. Mary Schwalm/Associated Press In a memorial ceremony in Brazil's capital, Brasília, the country's president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, led a minute of silence and called Mr. Salgado's photographs 'a wake-up call for the conscience of all humanity.' During an interview with the Guardian last year, Mr. Salgado asked: '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.' Mount Roraima, State of Roraima, Brazil, 2018 © Sebastião Salgado © Sebastião Salgado, courtesy of Robert Klein Gallery Material from The New York Times was used in this obituary.
Los Angeles Times
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Sebastião Salgado, photographer who documented the beauty and cruelty of life, dies at 81
SAO PAULO — Brazilian photographer and environmentalist Sebastião Salgado, known for his award-winning images of nature and humanity, died at 81 from leukemia, his family said Friday. 'Through the lens of his camera, Sebastião tirelessly fought for a more just, humane, and ecological world,' Salgado's family said in a statement. 'As a photographer who traveled the globe continuously, he contracted a particular form of malaria in 2010 in Indonesia while working on his Genesis project. Fifteen years later, complications from this illness developed into severe leukemia, which ultimately took his life.' Instituto Terra, which was founded by Salgado and his wife, Lélia Wanick Salgado, and the French Academy of Fine Arts, of which he was a member, announced his death but did not provide details on the circumstances or where he died. '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.' 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. 'I pay tribute to the memory of an exceptional man — remarkable for his moral integrity, his charisma, and his commitment to serving art. He leaves behind a monumental body of work,' composer Petitgirard, secretary of the French Academy of Fine Arts, said in a statement. François-Bernard Mâche, a major French composer who worked with Salgado for his exhibition 'Aqua Mater' in Paris, said the Brazilian was an 'authentic and warm man.' 'His gaze transformed landscapes, and beyond the spectacular, he reached a kind of inner truth (…). With him, photography fulfilled one of its highest ambitions by going far beyond mere appearances,' Mâche told the Associated Press. 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. His main works include the recent 'Amazonia' series, '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. 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 honor '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 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 canceled 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 for a church in the same city on Saturday, the daily reported. An exhibition of about 400 of Salgado's works is 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.' Savarese writes for the Associated Press. AP journalists Eléonore Hughes in Rio de Janeiro and John Leicester in Paris contributed.
Indian Express
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Award-winning Brazilian photographer Sebastião Salgado passes away at age 81
Sebastião Salgado, the Brazilian photographer known around the world for his black-and-white images of people, nature and migration, has died at the age of 81. His family said on Friday that he passed away due to leukemia, a condition that developed from complications linked to malaria he caught while working in Indonesia in 2010. 'Through the lens of his camera, Sebastião tirelessly fought for a more just, humane, and ecological world,' his family said in a statement reported by the Associated Press (AP). Salgado became ill with a specific form of malaria while photographing for his 'Genesis' project. His family said this illness later led to serious health problems, including the leukemia that caused his death 15 years later. His death was first shared by Instituto Terra, the environmental organisation he started with his wife, and the French Academy of Fine Arts, of which he was a member. Neither group gave details on where he died. 'Sebastião was more than one of the best photographers of our time,' Instituto Terra said, as quoted by AP. 'His lens revealed the world and its contradictions; his life brought the power of transformative action.' Salgado's life and work were shown in the 2014 documentary The Salt of the Earth, co-directed by German filmmaker Wim Wenders and Salgado's son Juliano Ribeiro Salgado. Born in 1944 in Aimorés, a small town in Brazil's Minas Gerais state, Salgado originally trained as an economist and moved to France in 1969 during Brazil's military dictatorship. He began working as a full-time photographer in 1973. He became known for his work in black-and-white photography, focusing on labour, migration, poverty and the environment. His major projects include Workers, which captured manual labour across the globe, Exodus (also known as Migrations or Sahel), which showed people fleeing their homes, and Amazonia, his most recent series focused on the Amazon rainforest. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who had long received Salgado's support, called for a minute of silence in Brasília in his honour. 'Salgado did not only use his eyes and his camera to portray people: he also used the fullness of his soul and his heart,' the president said, as quoted by AP. 'His work served as a wake-up call for the conscience of all humanity.' Salgado and his wife, Lélia Wanick Salgado, spent decades working on reforestation in Brazil. In 1998, they created Instituto Terra to promote environmental restoration and education. The couple also founded the photo agency Amazonas Images to manage his work. Salgado received several awards during his career. He became an honorary member of the US Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1992 and joined the French Academy of Fine Arts in 2016. 'He leaves behind a monumental body of work,' said French composer Alain Petitgirard, secretary of the Academy, in a statement reported by AP. Composer François-Bernard Mâche, who collaborated with Salgado on a Paris exhibition, told AP, 'His gaze transformed landscapes… With him, photography fulfilled one of its highest ambitions by going far beyond mere appearances.' Salgado is survived by his wife and two sons, Juliano and Rodrigo. His recent health problems led him to cancel a public event in Reims, France, where he was due to attend an exhibition featuring his son Rodrigo's work. In an interview with Forbes Brasil shortly before his death, Salgado said: '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.'
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Brazilian documentary photographer Sebastião Salgado dies aged 81
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 on Friday but did not provide more details on the circumstances of Salgado's death or where it took place. "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." Salgado's life and work were portrayed in the 2014 documentary film "The Salt of the Earth", co-directed by Wim Wenders and his son, Juliano Ribeiro Salgado. Salgado lived in Paris for many years and started to fully dedicate his time to photography in 1973, years after his economy 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 labour around the world; and "Exodus" 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.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Brazilian documentary photographer Sebastião Salgado dies aged 81
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 on Friday but did not provide more details on the circumstances of Salgado's death or where it took place. "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." Salgado's life and work were portrayed in the 2014 documentary film "The Salt of the Earth", co-directed by Wim Wenders and his son, Juliano Ribeiro Salgado. Salgado lived in Paris for many years and started to fully dedicate his time to photography in 1973, years after his economy 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 labour around the world; and "Exodus" 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.
