untitled, from the Serra Pelada Mine, Sebastião Salgado

Artwork Overview

untitled, from the Serra Pelada Mine, 1986
Where object was made: Brazil
Material/technique: gelatin silver print
Dimensions:
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 406 x 508 mm
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 16 0.9843 x 20 in
Mat Dimensions (Height x Width): 20 x 25 in
Credit line: Museum purchase
Accession number: 1993.0032
Not on display

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Images

Label texts

Archive Label: This photograph shows an immense open-pit gold mine at Serra Pelada, Brazil. At the time, the Brazilian government allowed and encouraged peasants, aided with only the most rudimentary machinery, to work the mine, as a way of dealing with the country’s massive unemployment. An economist by training, Salgado first made photographs to illustrate reports he was preparing as part of his work for the World Bank, then discovered that photographs conveyed his meaning more forcefully than words.

Exhibitions