Thursday, November 24, 2011

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.

2 comments:

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