I went to see Zero Tolerance at MoMA PS1, Complexions Contemporary Ballet at Joyce Theater, and Genesis at the International Center of Photography with Joshua and Kevin. My favorite of these three events was the exhibit Genesis.

Genesis was the main exhibit in the International Center of Photography. It was a collection of photographs taken by Sebastiao Salgado. They show Salgado’s findings in the mountains, in Africa, and within the arctic circle. Salgado is trying to raise public awareness of global issues, especially climate change. He doe this by showing us how the environment affects many people of developing countries because they are most closely associated with the way things used to be. Therefore, the name of the collection of photographs is Genesis.

I enjoyed looking at the photos of the mountains because they were so large and beautiful. My favorite was a photograph of a small mountain range and clouds above it, and behind the clouds I could see the base of an enormous mountain. The grandeur of such mountains impresses me. I also liked that the photos hanging in one of the hallways were showing two completely different things. On one side, photos of Siberia depicted the cold climate and how people struggled to keep warm while traveling across an immense expanse of a frozen desert. On the other side, were photographs of the natives living near the equator. Unlike the people from Siberia, they were warm all the time. However, they lacked adequate food, shelter and tools. This setup of the two areas juxtaposed in one hallway, shows how close Salgado allows us to travel to see such different aspects of life, but I’m sure it took him a couple of years to take all the photos.

This exhibit demonstrates the ways so many people live using black and white photographs and short descriptions.Salgado shows the viewers that there are so many places different from ours. He did not take pictures of any of the things we are used to seeing in this industrialized, technologically advanced part of the world. By portraying only nature, he encourages people like us to think about our surroundings and how we affect them. I am glad I made this afternoon trip to this exhibit to view the parts of the world I did not see before.