Contact: Karyn Brown
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥擜n Argentinian photographer recognized internationally for combining his art with humanitarian efforts will visit 幺力视频 early next month.
Sebasti谩n Suki Bel谩ustegui comes to the university March 8 for a 6-8 p.m. address in Section U of the Colvard Student Union鈥檚 second-floor Bill R. Foster Ballroom.
Free to all, the presentation will spotlight some of his efforts to document cultural diversity, specifically among minority communities and tribes.
Also free to all is 鈥淎frica in the Americas: The Heritage of African Communities in the Americas,鈥 an exhibit of Bel谩ustegui鈥檚 work on display through March 24 at the art department鈥檚 Visual Arts Center Gallery at 808 University Drive.
Self-taught in documentary photography, Bel谩ustegui has extensively chronicled since 1991 life among Latin America鈥檚 minority tribes. These and his other images have been featured over the years in National Geographic, Time, Newsweek and other major publications.
His massive鈥攎ore than three pounds鈥2003 book, 鈥淕uardians of Time: Portraits of the Spirit of Latin America,鈥 illuminates more than two dozen native communities in eight countries. The book鈥檚 prologue is provided by Nobel Prize winner Jos茅 Saramago of Portugal.
Bel谩ustegui now is working on two additional books, 鈥淎frica in the Americas鈥 and 鈥淭ribal People of Asia.鈥 For more biographical information, see .
鈥淪uki鈥檚 work really tries to bring awareness about cultural diversity, and on some level, it rescues the forgotten communities around the world,鈥 said Karina Zelaya, MSU assistant professor of Spanish.
鈥淭he thing that really sets his work apart from others is his use of light in a metaphorical sense,鈥 she continued. 鈥淗is photography looks into someone鈥檚 soul and captures their sentiment. He thinks of himself as beyond a photographer, more as a humanitarian.鈥
Bel谩ustegui鈥檚 MSU visit and the related event are supported by the College of Arts and Sciences鈥 Institute for the Humanities and classical and modern languages and literatures department, along with the College of Architecture, Art and Design鈥檚 art department.
For more on the March 8 program, contact Karyn Brown, arts and sciences communication director, at 662-325-6650 or kbrown@deanas.msstate.edu.
For more on the gallery display, contact Lori Neuenfeldt, the art department鈥檚 gallery director, at 662-325-2973 or LNeuenfeldt@caad.msstate.edu.
Information about the College of Arts and Sciences and its units is found at ; the College of Architecture, Art and Design and its units, at .
MSU is Mississippi鈥檚 leading university, available online at .