Sebastião Salgado's classic photo book Workers. An Archaeology of the Industrial Age (first published in 1993) is a tribute to the time-honored tradition of manual labor in the new millennium, when machines and computers are replacing human workers all over the world. With images of striking beauty and integrity, Salgado composes a visual elegy for the working men and women whose indomitable spirit has overcome the harshest conditions to achieve a unique grace.
Sebastião Salgado's images of the world's poor, more than those of any other living photographer, are a tribute to the human condition. Salgado describes his work as "militant photography" dedicated to "the best understanding of man"; over the decades he has given great dignity to the most isolated and neglected among us - from famine-stricken refugees in the Sahel to the indigenous peoples of South America.
With Workers, Salgado brings us a global epic that transcends image-making and becomes an affirmation of the enduring spirit of working men and women. In this volume, three hundred and fifty duotone photographs form an archaeological perspective of the activities that have defined hard work from the Stone Age through the Industrial Revolution to the present. With images of the hellish landscape of an Indonesian sulfur mine, the drama of traditional Sicilian tuna fishing and the dizzying endurance of Brazilian gold miners, Salgado uncovers layers of visual information about the ceaseless human activity at the heart of modern civilization.
Workers presents its subject on several interactive levels: Salgado's introductory text, written in collaboration with Brazilian author Eric Nepomuceno, expands on his passionate photographic iconography; extensive captions, also written by Salgado, provide a historical and factual framework. Workers honors the timeless and indomitable spirit of the manual laborer and portrays the human condition with honesty and respect.
Specifications
Title: Workers
Author: Sebastião Salgado
Publisher: TASCHEN
Size: 254 x 340 x 40 mm
Size: 400 pages
Weight: 3102 grams
Language: English
Material: Hardcover
ISBN: 9783836596329
