Artists tackle ten existential questions
Salgado is a Brazilian-born photographer best known for his pictures of workers in the developing world. His exhibition “In Principio” runs until 6 October at Gallery 32 in London: http://www.brazil.org.uk/gallery32
1 Does art make a difference?
Art alone doesn’t make any difference.
But art together with information, or with organisations fighting for more freedom, for more justice, for more ecology, can make a great difference.
2 Should politics and art mix?
Of course. Art cannot be an isolated item on this planet. If you visit a museum, you see a place that contains our history, our future, the evolution of our species. And this is not the property of a few people, this is the property of all humanity.
3 Is your work for the many or for the few?
I never have this question in my head. I make pictures because it’s my way of life.
4 If you were world leader, what would be your first law?
To get rid of borders. I believe that they are destroying our planet.
5 Who would be your top advisers?
I have great admiration for Kofi Annan, and for a man that worked with him named Shashi Tharoor. He is an incredible democrat, an open-minded person.
6 What, if anything, would you censor?
I would censor all the budget that goes on weapons, on armies, all this kind of thing. I would be a very strong censor in this sense.
7 If you had to banish one public figure, who would it be?
I would not banish one, I would banish many more! Mr Bush is one; Fidel Castro is another. Castro did a very nice political thing in Cuba as far as health is concerned, but as for human rights, he’s a disaster.
8 What are the rules that you live by?
Community and solidarity are essential for peace and for humanity.
9 Do you love your country?
I love Brazil very much and I love France very much, but I don’t like this closed idea of nationality.
10 Are we all doomed?
How things are organised now, there is very little hope. But with education, with a change of mentality, we can build another planet where it will be possible to live in compatibility with nature.
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