Recently, I came across two remarkable collections of photographs having to do with people of african descent. The first if from the past and is online at the library of congress: "African American Photographs assembled for the 1900 Paris Exposition"
The archive contains hundreds of wonderful photographs, many of them from a collection assembled by W.E.B. duBois: group and single portraits, people from many different walks of life, children and soldiers, as well as landscapes, buildings, and neighborhoods. Anyone interested in photography and the history of photography is in for a treat here.
The other collection is the work of South African photographer, Pieter Hugo. a collection of his photos inspired by and depicting actors and scenarios from Nollywood (the Nigerian film industy) are on view at the Yossi Milo Gallery in NYC. The photos are often both beautiful and grotesque. They might disturb those who worry about how Africans (and people of african descent) are depicted. But I think this concern is a kind of over compensation. For me, they point to an artistic culture that has left realism in the dust. They depict a cultural imagination that stands comparison with any great fantasist of the West. Are they any more grotesque than Geo. Romero or Wes Craven or the Hellraiser movies. Are they somehow more disturbing because these are black people? Why can't we have fun, too?
The show is runs until April 17.
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