Eugene Smith - Minamata - 1975

Welcome to this exclusive sale of listed books. Minamata is indeed listed in The Book of 101 Books by Andrew Roth, pages 232-233.

Minamata is a small Japanese fishing island that was the site of a severe mercury poisoning of the population (more precisely, methylmercury, the most toxic organic form of mercury) caused by discharges into the sea from a petrochemical plant over several decades (from 1932 to 1966). The island's population, mainly dependent on fishing for food, suffered from neurological, sensory, and motor disorders, and generations of children were born sometimes barely conscious, blind, with various malformations and severe brain lesions. Eugène Smith settled on this island with his wife in 1971 and lived there for four years in complete destitution to observe the effects of industrial pollution and bear witness. This book describes the fishermen's struggle against the industry in court to have these culpable actions recognized. This photographic work by Eugène Smith and his wife was presented at the Rencontres Internationales de la Photographie in Arles in 1975, during an emotional encounter with the public.

A work still relevant today because such toxic waste dumps still occur almost everywhere in the world, including in Europe, regardless of the issue of pesticides used in agriculture, which are dangerous for the farmers who spread them and for the surrounding population, especially pregnant women and children. More than 40 years later, it is Mathieu Asselin who denounces the immense damage caused by chemical agents and pesticides.

William Eugene Smith (1918 – 1978), whose rigor and high standards made him a model for generations of photographers committed to the value of testimony that the was what Americans called a 'concerned photographer', a photographer engaged, who used his camera as a weapon to defend his ideas. Eugene Smith always behaved as an independent photographer, even though he worked for the magazine Life on various occasions, and he joined the Magnum agency in 1955. Since 1980, the International Center of Photography in New York has created the W. Eugene Smith Award in his honor, a prize of $30,000 awarded annually. It is intended to help and encourage photographers working independently of fashion trends and economic imperatives of publishing to report on important aspects of the contemporary world.

Copy in very good overall condition with slight wear to the binding and dust jacket, possibly with a mark from a previous owner’s stamp on the title page (see photos). This book is part of my personal collection and has been kept with the utmost care since purchase. Shipping is protected with reinforced packaging and guaranteed international tracked postal service. For multiple purchases, combined shipping is possible with a refund of any excess postal fees paid via Paypal.

1.5 kg. without packaging