Unseen images of the Great Depression from the famed chronicler of the African diaspora.
Pierre "Fatumbi" Verger is considered one of the most outstanding photographers of the twentieth century as well as a recognized researcher in the field of African Diaspora and religion studies. Verger traveled to the United States of America in 1934 and 1937, during the Great Depression, producing a collection of exceptional images documenting the American identity and the challenging social and economic atmosphere of the time. Verger captures the complex cultural and racial diversity of the country where many citizens still confront segregation and poverty, while struggling to live a better life. His photographs constitute an extraordinary contribution to our understanding of the 1930s in the U.S., and to the growth of photojournalism, documentary and artistic photography.
The 150 images, the majority of which have never been published, were selected by Javier Escudero Rodríguez among 1110 negatives, after a meticulous research, from Verger's archive at the Pierre Verger Foundation in Salvador.
Pierre "Fatumbi" Verger (Pierre Edouard Léopold Verger, 1902-1996) was a French photographer and anthropologist who spent much of his life in Salvador, capital of the Brazilian state of Bahia. His photographs appeared in Paris-Soir, Daily Mirror, LIFE, among others and two of his photographs were shown at the historical exhibit Photography 1839-1937, organized by MoMa in New York. Verger photographed some of the most renowned figures of his time, such as Diego Rivera, Leon Trotsky and Ernest Hemingway, but his research was primarily focused on the cultural and religious traditions of indigenous populations and African descendants around the world. He worked as an ethnographer, studying the economic, cultural, and religious exchanges between Africa and the Americas, due primarily to the slave trade. After his death Verger's photographs have been exhibited widely in Brasil and in prestigious European museums such as the Museum of Ethnology in Berlin and the
Jeu de Paume in Paris.
Edited with introduction by Javier Escudero Rodríguez.
Prologue by Nancy de Souza, Deborah Willis, Alex Baradel.
published in September 2022
English edition
24,5 x 30,5 cm (hardcover, cloth binding)
160 pages (150 ill.)
ISBN : 978-88-6208-774-2
EAN : 9788862087742
in stock
