[Leica] Salgado' s work--reflection

[ricc at mindspring.com (Ric Carter)]

This sounds more like a testament to his power.

Ric Carter



On Dec 5, 2005, at 4:08 PM, pmcc wrote:

> I agree that Salgado's work is the work of a master.
> That said, to my mind his exhibitions also have the
> a feeling I can only describe as one of ponderous
> monumentality, like watching a made-for-IMAX movie.
> This reinforces his narrative, but also leaves me with
>
> the feeling that the viewer is not left much room to
> process her own reactions or make independent
> judgments.
> It feels more like advertising than classic
> documentary
> work, more tendentious than revelatory.  His narrative
> content tends to focus on big ideas, not on individual
>
> stories.  One doesn't get the feeling that his
> subjects
> are much by way of individual beings to Salgado, that
> they may have dimensions to their lives beyond mass
> suffering.
> To my mind he also needs to be much more ruthless in
> his
> editing.  Epic scope and scale plus overwhelming
> volume
> can actually blot out the complexity and nuance of
> human
> elements; it can certainly fatigue and overload.
>
> PMCC.
> SF, CA
>
> NO ARCHIVE
>
> --- David Cochran <cochranpr@mac.com> wrote:
>
>> A few years back I saw the end of a documentary on
>> Salgado qhere he was interviewed. His photos of
>> children came to be as a fluque. When he visited the
>> diferent countries to shoot his documentary photos,
>> children would come to him pestering to be
>> photographed. He would try to brush them off until
>> he decided that the best strategy was to take the
>> pictures so they leave him be. As it happens, his
>> children photographs were the ones that got much
>> attention. So usualy, I think, his children
>> photographs are from more willing subjects. His
>> photos being staged, hard to beleive.
>>
>>
>> peace
>> On Monday, December 05, 2005, at 04:37AM, Bill Smith
>> <wrs111445@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Gerry:
>>>
>>>  I guess the only thing I could say critical about
>> some of his work ( I saw 173 in this showing) is
>> that I had this strange feeling that it was "staged"
>> or "choreographed". I hate to say that, but can
>> anyone be that lucky/ talented to get those shots?
>> On the other hand, maybe he just shot a ton of film.
>> Who knows. Only Salgado I guess. But that doesn't
>> take anything away from the impact of the images.
>>>
>>>  Maybe he's a Breeson with a highly refined social
>> conscience or is that pure blasphemy on LUG?
>>>
>>>  Bill
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Gerry Walden <gwpics@googlemail.com> wrote:
>>>  On 05/12/05, Bill Smith wrote:
>>>> Yesterday I had the priviledge to see a rather
>> extensive showing of Salgado's work in a suburb of
>> Seoul, Korea. To say I was overwhelmed is an
>> understatement. His sensitivity to the poor human
>> condition of some and indeed suffering on several
>> continents and ability to record it on film (?) on
>> powerful portraits are amazing.
>>>>
>>>> I will never forget many of those haunting
>> images.
>>>>
>>>> Bill
>>>
>>> I am sure that is the same exhibition I saw in
>> Paris a couple of years
>>> ago and the work is fabulous, and I don't mind
>> admitting that some of
>>> the images bought tears to my eyes for their
>> beauty. And I think that
>>> is one of the problems with Salgados work - he has
>> the ability to take
>>> a poor child on the edge of starvation and elevate
>> the image to a work
>>> of art. Having said that, I don't want to decry
>> from his work in any
>>> way what so ever. For me he is probably the
>> greatest living
>>> photographer with a very strong humanitarian
>> message and fantastic
>>> prints which have to be icons of their time. I have
>> one hanging on my
>>> wall (a mere reproduction I am afraid) as i type
>> this, and it brings
>>> me a mixture of pleasure and pain every single time
>> I look at it.
>>>
>>> Gerry
>>>
>>> --
>>> Gerry Walden LBPPA
>>> Web: www.gwpics.com
>>> Stock: www.digitalrailroad.net
>>> Tel: +44 (0)23 8046 3076
>
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