Sebastião Salgado – Inspire Your Craft

Sebastião Salgado is one of my favorite photographers. What inspires me most is his perfect balance of artistry and social consciousness. He uses his craft for the good of others.

This month, I’ve also decided to give away one of his photo books to the Artisan Obscura Tribe. I hope to share Salgado’s work with others, to inspire them just as Salgado has inspired me. So, I’ve put together this brief overview so that you can learn more about his life and work.

If you’ve never heard of Sebastião Salgado, I encourage you to take three minutes to read this article.

– Drew, Owner of Artisan Obscura

Early Life

in 1944, Sebastião Salgado was born to a large brazilian family. He grew up on the family ranch and then studied economics in college. Around this time, he became involved in a “dissident uprising against the junta,” which would foreshadow his future artistic leanings toward social causes. He moved to Paris soon after to escape government investigations.

Emergence as a Photographer

In Paris, Salgado received his Ph.D in economics. This led him to a job with the International Coffee organization. In this role, Salgado was required to travel the world visiting coffee farms and representing the organization at various economic forums.

However, Salgado was not able to ignore the harsh conditions he saw in other countries. He took AMATEUR photographs to capture what he saw. When he showed these photos to friends, they encouraged him to take more. His talent was obvious.

at the age of 30, Salgado left the international coffee organization and fully committed to photography.

Photography career

Salgado went on to work for high-profile photo agencies before starting his own agency in 1994.

Since then, he has worked tirelessly on his craft, using his status as a respected artist to support various causes. He established his reputation in the photography world for his work at the gold mine of Serra Pelada. According to the Tate Museum, “Around fifty thousand workers laboured at Serra Pelada while Salgado was there, each making as many as sixty trips down the cliff and back per day while carrying sacks that weighed between thirty and sixty kilograms, and they were paid twenty cents for each of these journeys.” Salgado risked his own health and comfort in order to bring these miners’ stories to light.

He and his wife also started an organization to restore forests in South America. he He is an honorary affiliate of the US Academy of Arts and Science, the ambassador of UNICEF Goodwill, and recipient of the Centenary Medal from the Royal Photographic Society.

Thematic Elements

Sebastião Salgado’s photography is best known for representing environmental and social causes. He captures emotion and personality through striking black and white compositions.

Salgado often spends years exploring specific themes. For example, he spent six years documenting human migration for his Exodus project. his Subjects included Latin Americans outside the U.S., Jews from the former Soviet Union, the Hutu refugees of the Rwandan genocide, the Kosovars exiled into Albania, and Arabs and sub-Saharan Africans attempting to reach Europe. All were compiled into a collection of over 300 photographs.

Art gallery huxley-parlour describes his work this way: “Whilst inescapably memorable for their beauty, Salgado’s photographs are laden with political purpose exposing the social and environmental problems facing our planet.”

Dive Deeper

If you’d like to dive deeper into Sebastião Salgado’s artistry, you can watch his TED Talk titled, “The Silent Drama of Photography.”
For an interview/documentary, watch this video on Youtube.
For a photo gallery of his work, YOU CAN click HERE.