The dignity of workers – in pictures!
Workers: An Archaeology of the Industrial Age 1993
This, Salgado’s second title, is a masterful photographic survey of the plight of the worlds’ manual laborers.
Struggling to make a livng under inhumane conditions, Salgado portrays their essential dignity amidst the oppression of their daily existence. This massive tome brought attention to the crucial issues surrounding labor and wealth. Aperture, New York,
Links to information and photos by Sebastião Salgado:
Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego. An exhibition.
The New York Times Heaps of photos
Western Railroad, Bombay 1995 Photographica Italian site. 1 photo.
Zoom – Net. Article and photos
Contact Press – 3 Photos
French site with 4 photos.
Italian site with 3 photos
Zone Zero – 2 photos
Korem – 2 photos
Interview with Sebastião Salgado re Workers
And to add to the theme -the following three photos, brick workers in Vietnam . They may not be quite up to the Salgado standard -but they still provide an insight into the world of the manual worker – back breaking work but with a dignity that cannot be measured in just a pile of bricks..and as you may imagine -most of the brick workers are women.
Copyright (last 3 images) - Ray Harris. Vietnam 2009.
and leave it to Salgado for the last word..
What I want is the world to remember the problems and the people I photograph. What I want is to create a discussion about what is happening around the world and to provoke some debate with these pictures. Nothing more than this. I don’t want people to look at them and appreciate the light and the palate of tones. I want them to look inside and see what the pictures represent, and the kind of people I photograph. - Sebastiao Salgado - Excerpts from an interview with Sebastiao Salgado by Ken Lassiter, Photographer’s Forum
