GRA 2330 Digital Photography Thursday Fall 2014

Nelson Daniel Agyei-Odame

GRA 2330 Digital Photography

Photography Exhibit

Genesis

The photo exhibit by Sebastiao Salgado was very edifying for me. As I observed the images at the exhibit it raised several questions. There were approximately one hundred and fifty images at this exhibit; broken into about twenty different categories. Most of the photographs I saw were grayscale with extreme black and white contrast. There were also different kinds of photos such as landscapes, animals, anthropology/ethnographic and more. I believe that this exhibit was targeted to everybody that is human, mainly people in first world countries. I think this because the title of the exhibit “Genesis” mean the beginning. Most of the ethnographic were of cultures that were “one with nature” with no technological advancements, they were used their natural recourses and respected the land. That’s what I think the whole point of the exhibit was, to encourage the rest of human kind to respect the earth and all its natural resources.

The kinds of photographs I saw at the exhibit first of landscapes. The first category were very beautiful pictures of the Grand Canyon that really stood out to me. As I explored the other categories in the exhibit I saw many different cultures of people that survive using natural methods. Most of these cultures were living in rainforests, jungles, deserts, and more. Some lived in huts and caves but the one that stood out to me the most were the people that lived in tree houses that were really high up. Throughout this exhibit I didn’t see anything modern or industrialized but they seemed to be surviving just fine.

One photo out of the many that I really liked was in the “Durst family gallery” This photograph was on the Grand Canyon. The photograph had a great contrast between lights and darks. It had strong horizontal lines and wide depth of field. This long shot photo really grabbed my attention because you can see the whole sky as well as the whole Grand Canyon. The sky was filled with really dramatic clouds which really stood out because of the black and white contrast.

Overall I think the exhibit was about the beauty of planet earth and communicates that we should all do more to preserve the beauty. I drew this conclusion because as I recall, all the photographs had a common theme, which was either the beauty of nature or the interactions of humans and animals with nature.

As soon as I walked in ICP I was honestly confused I didn’t know whether if I was in the right photo gallery or not until I turned around and seen the title “Genesis” in big bold red text on the wall. I walked closer and started to read the body text, and Lelia Wanick Salgado explained that Genesis was about going back to the beginning of Earth’s true form before modern technology even existed. Traveling to different parts of the world to recapture the essence, and beauty of Earth’s mountains, animals, and people that aren’t in touch with today’s modern world.

What I notice that Salgado did is that each part of the Gallery had two different sections like the large landscapes and big beautiful mountains of areas in Alaska, and another section of people in the Amazons. It was beautiful, and what I loved most was that THE museum had his books and you were allowed to sit and read them, and in one of Salgado books I read about how he had complications getting the right shot of a turtle. He explained to be a great photographer you have to have patience, because it took him forever to actually get a perfect photo. He described that he had to act like the turtle; got low and copied it’s movement. Once the turtle knew that he respected it’s territory the turtle became more comfortable.

My all time favorite photo of the Salgado show would have to be of the Adansonia trees, I think I stared at that photo for probably 10 minutes. The really high use of contrast, the photo had a bird’s eye viewpoint.

Currently featured at the International Center for Photography (ICP) is a show by Sebastiao Salgado on the topic of climate change. The collection of photographs is entitled “Genesis.” This collection of images attempts to call to our attention the state of the earth’s global climate and how it affects daily lives.

Contained in the exhibit were images taken from all around the world. It featured a total of 5 sections titled, Northern Spaces, Sanctuaries, Africa, Amazonia and Pantanal, and Planet South. Each of the sections contained several photographs which featured images from the corresponding part of the world. The photographs ranged from capturing daily life in idyllic tribal villages, to vast landscapes which peered off into the distance, and animals in their natural habitat. All of the photographs were printed in black and white. This gives the images a very bland mood, the lack of color causes the viewer to stand back and appreciate the photograph as a whole, instead of calling to our attention the various hues which might distract from the message.

The photographs of people living in tribal villages were especially eye catching. They are featured in their daily dress, going about mundane daily chores. Each seemed to lack expression on their face. Almost as if they did not fully comprehend they were being photographed. This innocence gives the images a more powerful impact. The subjects are in a natural state which is difficult to recreate with a typical subject who is conscious of the camera. The one thing which I noticed to be lacking from the exhibit were any photographs of the destruction currently taking place in the world’s forests. I went to the show expecting to see how horrible we as human beings are treating our environment, or how industrialization is destroying the ozone layer. However what I came to find was not what I had expected. There were breath taking scenes photographed from obscure angles and a variety of animals, either carelessly lounging or traveling great distances in large herds.

One photograph which I connected with was the image of a man climbing a tree. The tree is leaning drastically to the left and has barely any leaves on it. The man is perched about half way to the top on a knot which sticks out. The photo was taken from a low angle from the ground. So it appears as if he has climbed the tree high enough to reach the clouds. The man in the photo appears distant and all alone. To me this particular image translated the message of climate change. The man on the tree represents the human population and the tree symbolizes the environment. The man is climbing the tree possibly to take something from it. During the climb, his weight is increasingly bearing down on the tree. Causing it to bend significantly. This can directly translate to our current relationship with the environment. We continually take from the planet at the risk of destroying what remains. Rather than giving it time to flourish, we needlessly consume resources.

On the whole this exhibit portrays the beauty of the world and the people and animals which live in it. In spite of the title, most of the photographs have nothing to do with the climate changing, but rather shows us what exists today. In this aspect we can appreciate what we already have and possibly be more inclined to do what it takes to make it last so that future generations can develop the same respect.

On my trip to the International Center for Photography, I found that it had somewhat of a homey feel to it. It isn’t overwhelming like most museums where the share size of the building is enough to make you think how long would it take for a person to see every exhibit.

The building is small but not to the point where you bump into the people that are in there. In terms, of the amount of photos that were in the exhibit there were just about ten to twelve photos in each room that I had visited. The categories in which the photos are broken in to seem to be from country to animals to landscapes. In terms of the audience I would say that the audience varies depending on the photos and in which I saw and walked in to from the various animal photos to the nude photos. In each photo the photographer seem to be telling a story or explain the lifestyles of the various villages, people, and animals. I think the exhibit was titled genesis as a way to explain that every photo showed some kind of rebirthed of sorts.

The subject matter of the exhibit, was one of animals in there ecosystem and people in various villages doing daily actives. In the photos where there were animals, It almost seemed as if all the animals in the photo didn’t notice that the photographer wasn’t there due to the fact the all the photo seemed as if they were just in their natural environments. And, as for the people that are in the photos they just seem to be letting the photographer experience there day to day lives.

The one photo in the exhibit that I found that stood out to me the most was the one in which a whale was submerging back into the water. The photo use various technics from the shot list in which I have learned in class, from the eye-level viewpoint in which you can see the whole tail of the whale as it was going back into the water it also follow the curved line of the whales tail. The photo itself in terms of framing seems to be a medium shot as to where you can see a lot the photo be not too much which lead me to believe that it is more of a wide depth of field due to the framing.

In, summary the exhibit is about various village people’s day to day lives, the animal’s ecosystem and landscapes. The subject of the photo exhibit to me was one that took on a national geography and discover channel feel to it where it showed everything that was in the photo in the natural habitat. In terms, of emotional impact wouldn’t say that I had too much of that because, it don’t feel as if the photo were meant to emotional impact. But, I do believe that the photos are trying to communicate something and that is that every photo can be used as a learning experience as I saw in the photo that were in the exhibit.

The exhibit of Sebastio Salgado: Genesis, in the International Center for Photography, was a very interesting exhibit. There were over 100 photographs and two floors filled with photographs. The exhibit was broken up into different categories. The Categories were the Northern Space, Amazonia and Pantanal Sanctuaries, Africa, and Planet South There were many types of photos. The photos are based on landscape, portraits and wildlife. The photos were also in black and white. The photographer, Sebastio Salgado was born on February 8, 1944 in Aimorés, which is in Brazil. He is 70 years old. He earned a masters degree in economics but then switched to photography. The exhibit is called “Genesis” because the photographs face nature, humanity and climate change.

The subject matter of the exhibit is of nature itself and within nature such as animals, humans and its culture. In the photographs there were tons of photos of landscapes of different parts of the world. The photos of nature showed of glaciers, trees, leaves, lakes, and snowstorms. The whole landscape of the country/region. It showed people and how their culture is. There were people, who looked like Eskimos. People in furry coats, and people on their sleds. In other parts there were women who would wear huge lip plates. People building their own houses and hunting for food. Most of the people were nude, and it shows that they live fine without the modern technology. There were also animals such as Musk ox, walrus, penguins, sea lions, lions, zebras, giraffes, leopard, elephants, iguanas, birds and whales. What we don’t see in the exhibit is modernization.

One of the photographs that I liked is the “A Leopard in Barab River Valley” in this photograph; the leopard is the important subject. The photo is at an eye level. The photograph also has negative space. Since the entire background is pure dark. The photograph looks like it has the exposure compensation, considering that the entire background is super dark. The leopard is bright including the thin layer of rocks surrounding the leopard. It is in great high contrast. There is also a curved line. Which the layer of rocks is curved.

The exhibit is about “Genesis”, which means the beginning. Saving the earth, such as saving the water, soil and air. To protect the lands, people and animals and reverse the damage that humanity has caused. The exhibit is about the beauty of earth/nature.It shows the diversity of human communities that continue to live in harmony with their ancestral traditions and cultures, which shows a path to humanity’s rediscovery of itself in nature. Which can be an emotional impact as well.

The exhibit from Sebastião Salgado named Genesis is hosted by ICP (International Center for Photography) which shows Salgado’s photography for his Genesis project. The project took eight years to complete and shows the beauty of nature and how people interact with it. The exhibit show about 255-270 photographs that are black and white and it is separated into category of Northern Space, Sanctuaries, Africa, Planet South, and lastly Amazonia and Pantanal. The audience who went to the exhibit where for anyone who are interested in photography and who are curious about why Sebastião Salgado named his project Genesis. Salgado named this project Genesis to show people that the planet is providing resources for creatures to live and to teach people to live in harmony with the planet.

The subject matter of the exhibit is about nature and its interaction with creatures animal and human. In the exhibit the photographs shows things of nature such as trees, water, animals. The things in the photographs are all related to the untouched part of nature from human civilization. There are also native people who lives in harmony with nature and not like those in modern civilization. the people that are photographed are nude with accessories or have cloth covering part of the body. These people have functioned well with out technology and survived by what nature has provided. On the other hand all the photographs doesn’t have anything of modern civilization.

A photograph that I liked in the exhibit was in the Northern Spaces category which looked like a cave painting. The photo description is, “The porcupine caribou (rangifer tarandus granti) population in the the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is estimated around 200,00 animals. Alaska. USA. 2009.” The photograph showed porcupine caribou a sub-species of reindeer on a mountain by bird’s-eye view. The photo also showed other visual elements besides bird’s-eye view such as long shot, wide depth of field, and curved lines.

To summarize Salgado’s exhibit, Genesis, it is about the beauty of nature and to live in harmony with it. The untouched part of nature from modern civilization and the interaction of the native paints that the planet has provide greatly for civilization to advance. The exhibit definitely had an emotional impact  by telling the viewer that animals and nature are declining by human destruction without be protected.

Upon entering the exhibit, the first thing you see is text explaining the concept of Selgado’s exhibit partnered with a photograph of a land mass surrounded by water. I was slightly taken aback by the paragraph; dealing with the theme of the exhibit, it explains how the photos are representative of the fact there are areas in the world still untouched by technology, laying emphasis upon its natural beauty. It is also a statement of our need to preserve ancient cultures and the habitats of animals. Its title, Genesis, is in my opinion is meant to portray the places he photographed in biblical proportion, evident in its awe-inspiring views. The photographs are organized in terms of region: Africa, Alaska, Brazil, Indonesia, and Siberia to name a few.

The subject matter in general deals with the environment in its natural state, unaltered by the hands of civilization, just as it is intended to be. Animals are portrayed in vast amounts, particularly Porcupine caribou in Alaska (with an estimated population to be 200,000). In my opinion the portraits were very humbling. Tribes from areas so different in terms of climate, such as Africa and Alaska, both share their need to survive, hunt, and adapt to the harshness of their surroundings. It is amazing in the sense that they have no need for the things we often take for granted; there are no cell phones, their clothing is practical and suited only for their surroundings, even the mere fact that there are no paved roads in certain areas.

One photograph in particular that struck me depicted the frozen Arctic Ocean in Alaska. Selgado uses the rule of thirds to show what seems to be an endless path against the water, shooting off and eventually coming to an end as it meets the horizon. The photo is shot with a white depth of field, putting into perspective just how empty and open the space is. In terms of framing, it is a long shot. The viewpoint is at eye-level and there is a large amount of positive space (the water as compared to the horizon and sky, which is the negative space). Selgado sets the aperture small so as to focus the whole scene.

In summary, the exhibit is a portrayal of simplicity, as well as complexity, in nature and human living. Depictions of land masses, bodies of water, man and animals lead me to feelings of unfamiliarity, as living in the city my whole life has distanced me from the world’s natural settings. Its aim is to not only show that there still remains unadulterated areas, but to also enlighten us as far as the need to safe keep these sanctuaries. It offers the theme that places exist where “nature reigns in silent and pristine majesty.” There is emotional impact in its serenity and how minimalistic it is, particularly in how the people go about their lives without “our” necessities. Selgado is able to capture the raw essence of the world as it truly should be seen.