Pierre Fatumi Verger
29 June 2005 (Wednesday) – Belo Horizonte to Salvador, Brazil
I wandered down along Av. Afonso Pena, much the same way as I did 3 days ago. This time round, the traffic was of course not closed and I found myself staring at the massive avenue with its heavy traffic. Wow, again, I marvelled at how this long stretch in front of Parque Municipal could be transformed into that huge, busy Sunday feira and then, reverted back to its true form by the afternoon. The amount of logistics involved!
When I came upon the Palacio des Bellas Artes (Fine Arts Palace), I entered it, figuring this might be another Niemeyer’s design. There were several renovation works going on and as I could not find anything interesting to admire, I prepared to leave. Then, just as I was out of the door, I spotted what looked to be a photography exhibition next to the exit.
It was an exhibition of the photography works of Pierre Verger, a famous French photographer. I had seen his signature around but never really found out properly who he was.
And… my goodness, I was totally blown away!
The first was an exhibit of his passport pages and indications of where he had been in his long life, starting from his first trip in the 1930s to his last trips in the late 1980s. He had travelled to nearly all continents – Europe, Asia, Africa and America. He obviously had a special love for West Africa and Brazil, visiting Senegal 10 times, Nigeria 15, Benin 23 and Brazil 26 times in his life.
As I went through the exhibits, I was in absolute awe. I was thorougly touched by his MAGIC. His brilliant works of art in medium format, taken with his Rolliflex in black-and-white, display spontaneity, rhythms, diverse expressions, lyrical compositions, play of light and shadow, of people, cities, cultures… yes, humanity… L-I-F-E!
I was especially moved by one of the exhibits showing the Faces of the World. In there, while staring at the various faces from Japan, China, Mexico, Guatemala, Benin, Togo, Peru, Italy, Brazil, Nigeria…, I found them all staring back at me with pride, joy, intensity, passion, shyness, surprise… I don’t know why but the two times when I entered the room, and then, when I wrote about this in my journal and now, here in the travelblog, I had tears welling up to my eyes. I was just so touched by everyone I saw through his lens, that he allowed me to see through his eyes. And I felt very grateful to them, and to him, for letting me see all this.
He captured LIFE, these people… so different, yet all the same, living under the same sky, sharing the same earth, captured for eternity in these images. Mr Verger had lived with them, loved them and respected them and in turn, he had been loved and respected.
His photos caught all essence of life, people at work, sleeping, performing rituals at Candombles, partying at Carnaval, sharing a hug, having a cigarette, peering shyly out of a window, leaning on each other, looking relaxed, cheering, shouting, playing music, smiling smiling smiling…
I invite you to immerse yourself in the magic of Pierre Verger at
Pierre Verger Photo Library
He had also captured many photographs of Salvador, Bahia, including many of the mysterious Candomble sessions. He had lived in Salvador til his death in 1996. There was a 50-min movie of his life, hosted by the famous Brazilian musician Gilberto Gil, who travelled all over, interviewing him just days before he passed away, and various people who knew him, even visiting some of the kings of the Benin or Togo tribes in West Africa. During his funeral, they naturally performed a sort of African rite reading a message on a wooden plate with some sort of powder and seeds. The message was: His soul is in peace, he had done all he can on earth.
Sure he had. A toast to Pierre Fatumi Verger, to his amazing life and his lifeworks! I extracted two quotes from him, translated below, one because I think it spoke a lot for me and the other, because it is beautiful.
“Comecei a viajar, não tanto pelo desejo de fazer pesquisas etnográficas ou reportagems, mas por necessidade de distancia-me, libertar-me e escapar do meio em que tinha vivido até então, cujos preconcertos e regras de conduta não me tornavam feliz…” (Pierre Verger, 1982)
“I started to travel, not in such a way as to make ethnographical researches or reports, but for the necessity to distance myself, liberate myself and escape from the way in which I have lived until then, where preconceptions and rules of behaviour did not make me happy…” (Pierre Verger, 1982)
“Mas teve uma vez que não me senti branco. Foi uma festa Geledé em plena floresta do atual Benin. Era uma noite escura, sem lua, e o pessoal bailava ao redor de certas árvores. Não tinha luz nenhuma, então conheci uma liberdade que não havia conhecido antes. Não era um branco entre os negros. A escuridão da floresta africana apagou a diferença…” (Pierre Verger, 1990)
“But there was a time when I did not feel white. It was the Geledé festival in the forests of the current Benin. It was a dark night, without moon, and the people danced around certain trees. No one had any light, then I knew a freedom that I have not known before. I was not a white among the blacks. The darkness of the African forest erased the difference…” (Pierre Verger, 1990)
I had bought a bus ticket to Salvador leaving this evening. Because of this exhibition, I had inadvertently been transported to Salvador 1 day earlier. OK, the Salvador now may be different from what Mr Verger had captured in the 1940s-1960s, but I felt it was a sign for me to fully appreciate what Salvador has to offer when I arrive tomorrow.
Tags: 02) And God Created Brazilian Women, Belo Horizonte
swesn
September 10th, 2005 at 10:39 am
Pierre Verger’s b & w photos are indicative of his understanding of humanity
graet link !