Sebastiao Salgado

Sebastiao Salgado is a Brazilian photojournalist whose work includes images of native Africans. These images can be read as expressions of humanity; an attempt at a reconnection with nature and traditional life ways. They can also be critically analyzed as images that portray the Other, that reinforce and reproduce stereotypes that lead to inequality.

This image, though captivating and provocative, could be misleading. The knowledge the audience gains from viewing this photo is valuable; that indigenous people exist in Brazil and that they are reachable. Gordon would argue that this image fetishizes the native body, that it stereotypes the 'authentic'. Without context, this image could be read as having captured the 'performative primitive' in a clap trap.

This image, on the other hand, seems to deify the subjects. It is in the lighting and stoic expression of the woman and the skyward gaze of the children that I see a serene awareness of self that elevates the submissive position of the subjects to the photographer to a place of power.

A power dynamic is inherent in every image created between a subject and an artist. The presence of this relationship can be gleaned from the image itself. The work of portraying indigenous cultures through photography to advocate for cultural equality is worth the problems that photography presents.

Photos and Anthropological Research

I'm currently watching 'Ancient Aliens', a pretty wild show that suggests that there is evidence on Earth for alien contact with ancient civilizations. This particular episode features underwater phenomena. The show describes many megalithic underwater structures discovered by archaeologists around the world. Whether or not these structures were alien bases on Earth (?!), archaeologists have been able to use photographs and videos of the areas to draw conclusions about the age, size, and methods of construction of the structures. Social scientists have used this data to speculate on the uses and symbolic importance of these structures.

The Yonaguni Monument off the coast of Japan.
A 5000 year old city sunk 2000 years ago.
Discovered in 1986.
The ruins cover a 984 X 492 foot area.
Right angles, rock carvings resembling faces, and tunnels built within the pyramid shaped structure suggest the monument was man-made and perhaps a ceremonial site.
Ryall, Julian. "Japan's Ancient Underwater Pyramid Mystifies Scholars". National Geographic News,September 19, 2007.

"Atlantis" off the coast of Cuba.
A 6000 year old city sunk under 2500 feet of water 10,000 years ago.
Discovered in 2000.
The ruins cover a 7.7 square mile area.
Structures resembling roads and pyramids made from cut, smooth, stacked granite-like stones suggest the presence of an ancient civilization. The photographs have been used to compare the structures with oral and written histories of neighboring peoples as well as with modern photographs of Mayan structures in the nearby Yucatan Peninsula.
Posner, Michael. "Evidence of Ancient City Found in Depths off Cuba". Toronto Globe and Mail. December 13, 2001

These research projects prove the ability of photography to assist in data collection and analysis of man made artifacts for Anthropology.

What makes a photo worth money?

The 15 Most Expensive Photographs
#1 The reputation of the photographer?

Andreas Gursky, Rhein II, (1999)
Sold for $4.3 million

#2 Controversial/provocative subject matter?

Cindy Sherman, Untitled #96 (1981)
Sold for $3.9 million

#12 Age and "authenticity" of the photograph?

Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey, Temple de Jupiter, 1842
Sold for $922,488

Morality and Photography

This image comes from Anthropologie's November 2011 Catalog. It is intended as a a fashion photo, to sell expensive clothes to Western women. However, the fact that the Western women in the expensive clothes are situated among native Peruvians in, what I assume to be, their native garb is suspect. Not only are they selling an image of the Western woman, they are constructing her in opposition to a Native American culture. She is sleek, dressed in muted tones, and in a style reminiscent of the West. The Peruvians, on the other hand, are dressed in bold colors in a scene depicting their environment made of mud and sticks. The use of a Native American culture to add mystery and authenticity to a photograph of a Western clothing brand and to construct an elite Western style in opposition to the native is morally questionable.

The importance of photography in documenting weddings illustrates an aspect of Western morality. Every couple is expected to have a professional photographer at their wedding. The photographer and the images s/he creates reproduce and reinforce the moral code of the society. To not have wedding photos is a lack of investment and appreciation for the marriage institution. To have wedding photos is a commitment to extending the ritual and its meaning into the future for the couple and others.

Which moments are captured by the wedding photographer are also neatly prescribed by cultural morals. The bride in her flowing white dress, the stoic groom, the presence of family and friends, the performed hand feeding of the cake...these images are expected to be provided by the wedding party and captured by the photographer. In doing so, the images reinforce ideas about gender roles (the woman's sexual purity before marriage as symbolized by her white dress, the man's strength and control in his suit and tie), community affirmation of the union (the bridesmaids and groomsmen), and the joy and "spontaneity" of "true love" (cake feeding).

Photographic Untruths

Josh wasn't alone. We all hid behind the camera.
Susan Liedke via Snapsdog

These ladies were not actually stuck in Peru.
Anthropologie, November 2011 Catalog