A Different Light is the first in-depth study of the work of Sebastiao Salgado, widely considered the greatest documentary photographer of our time. For more than three decades, Salgado has produced thematic photo-essays depicting the massive human displacement brought about by industrialization and conflict. These projects usually take years to complete and include pictures from dozens of countries. Parvati Nair offers detailed analyses of Salgado's best-known photo-essays, including Workers (1993) and Migrations (2000), as well as Genesis, which he began in 2004. With Genesis, Salgado has turned his lens from human turmoil to those parts of the planet not yet ravaged by modernity. Interpreting the photographer's oeuvre, Nair engages broad questions about aesthetics, history, ethics, and politics in documentary photography. At the same time, she draws on conversations with Salgado and his wife and partner, Lelia Wanick Salgado, to explain the significance of the photographer's life history, including his roots in Brazil and his training as an economist; his perspectives; and his artistic method. Underpinning all of Salgado's major projects is a concern with displacement, exploitation, and destruction-of people, communities, and land. Salgado's images exalt reality, compelling viewers to look and, according to Nair, to envision the world otherwise.
Industry Reviews
"Through exhaustive research on Salgado's work, Nair raises critical questions on ethics, politics, history, photography, and aesthetics. Having published ten major books of photographs, Salgado is also the winner of numerous international photography awards; he actively participates with international charities, including UNICEF and the World Health Organization. Particularly poignant are the intimate conversations among Nair, Salgado, and his wife, Lelia, which add tremendous clarity to Salgado's worldview... Highly recommended for fans of Salgado's work and for those interested in photojournalism, documentary photography, and global humanitarian issues." - Shauna Frischkorn, Library Journal "An excellent study! Parvati Nair simultaneously places the work of Sebastiao Salgado within broader contexts and illuminates contemporary debates on aesthetics, ethics, and photo-documentary, with welcome emphasis on perspectives from the Global South. A must-read for all those concerned with photographs as visible evidence." Liz Wells, Plymouth University "A superb book on the most important photographer in the world today, A Different Light cuts a very wide swath: critical photojournalism, humanitarian documentation, political aesthetics, visual epistemology and historiography, representational theory, documentary ethics, the colonial gaze, the Frankfurt School, Latin America, Africa, the place of still photography in a rapidly moving world, ecology, art, profit, and concern. This is the book that the photography of Sebastiao Salgado deserves." John Mraz, author of Looking for Mexico: Modern Visual Culture and National Identity
