Salgado's afro-pessimism

Sebastiao Salgado is one of the most famous photojournalist in the world. Educated as an economist, he began his photography career in 1973 while traveling for work for the International coffee organization. Working entirely in a black and white format he has been able to construct penetrating images of the dispossessed peoples all over the world. He has a great respect for his subjects and always testifies to the fundamental dignity of all humanity while simultaneously protesting its violation by war, poverty and other injustices. He has published several books. One of them, Africa is an homage to the continent’s people and wildlife. The most impressive photos depict returning refugees, child soldiers, child portraits, rural workers, breathtaking pictures of Rwanda, hospitals, villages, etc. The majority of the pictures focus on what the text describes as “afro-pessimism”.  In fact, most of his pictures make you weep but this is done  with dignity and respect to the subjects in the photographs. Looking at Salgado’s work especially in this book is like being transported to another world, one that in many respects, and unfortunately, still exists. He has the ability to describe so many bad things making something beautiful out of it while, at the same time, not diminishing the suffering or the value of the subjects. Afro-pessimism is probably a feeling one cannot avoid when faced to the poverty, injustices, and human misery which are still so great and prominent sometimes in the life of African people. This blog is probably a little afro-pessimistic too but such a feeling, or attitude, is a positive one; in fact, talking about the problems serves as a stimulus to solve them. As many people as possible in the developed world should be invited to participate, to be part of the discussion, to get to know the real problems, to be truly concerned about what is going on in the underdeveloped world. Even a blog can help.