vegetarians DO NOT look

ambiˈgyoō-itē

ambiguity_ambigious 

DEFINED by MAC DICTIONARY as: uncertainty or inexactness of meaning in language • a lack of decisiveness or commitment resulting from a failure to make a choice between alternatives• double meaning • unclear • obscure

I have been hounding Mbuyi 'Trinity' Ndlovu _ my 'other' brother from my birth town Eshowe, (click to see place I was born on Google Maps) for a long time for this image_ and even Sakhile (his good friend) has been avoiding me_ incase I  begin harass him about where to find Mbuyi. It was hard work, and even though I also got myself in a sticky and rather embarrassing situation (yes I went red) when I made an attempt to answer a question conversed to me in Zulu, about receiving the image, and then tried to answer back in Zulu...I was adamant to blog this.  Ironically double meanings or ambiguities implied in words can also be prevalent in images... and this is exactly what drew me to  Mbuyi's photograph in the first place. 

•

Besides the visual power of this image_ it's 'rawness' (excuse the pun) and it's specific 'documentary style/reference' to cultural ritual and custom, that are not of my culture.  I (a white female, unmarried and a former vegetarian) also find myself intrigued by other things. For instance_I am mostly captivated by the ambiguity of the form [which has come about by the angle of view], it monumental size [which has been accentuated by close framing and its central placing] and the contrasts of colour and textures (red meat on green grass on brown soil). I am also held by the many narratives that are present in the image, the onlookers, the gatherer and the slaughterer_ all male.  I find my eye wondering around watching all the activity but at the same time coming back to the red shape and form, with splayed legs_ looking rather vulnerable and completely helpless. Even though I know what it, and can make my own associations, I always find myself back in a 'space' where I experience mixed feelings or contradictory ideas (ambivalence) about elements and actions in and around the photograph.  I am unconvinced by my own assumptions and feel uncertain about myself in relation to what my eyes show me... Is this due to my cultural make-up as I am challenged by another culture? Is this image ambiguous to me because of me?

Mbuyi emailed me this 'blurb' about his image: "I shot this image when I was at the rural areas of Eshowe, a place called Mbongolwane.  The reason I shot this image is to show people that Pick n Pay or Woolworths don't manufacture red meat, they just provide the price tag. Red meat comes from a cow.  This cow was slaughted for a wedding and it was killed by the bride. It is the culture of the Zulus."

I spoke to Mbuyi about his 'blurb'_ he told me that the bride is given the knife to make the first 'kill' (hard to find the right word) by the male elders of her husband-to-be's family, as a symbolic gesture to welcome her into their family.

Can anyone else make further comment on the ritual/ceremony that has taken place or simply share what you see or feel?

Mkhulu

LIGHT FROM INSIDE THE DARK ROOM

(Daily News_May 12_2011)

Photobooth

Moses Khubisa [MK] is a lecturer in the Department and is affectionately known a Mkhulu_ which when translated directly in Zulu means "Grandfather". He is currently exhibiting his work @ the DUT Art Gallery. The exhibition runs from the 3 May - 27 May.

Moses says:

 "I am a self-made, professional photographer, a self made teacher_ I have taught people and made a difference in their lives while I was suffering in my life. I have come far." Moses Khubisa (Daily News_May 12_2011)

Moses Khubisa 1970

In partial submission for his Master’s Degree in Photography Moses Khubisa is presenting a body of work at the DUT Art Gallery by members of the Imvunge group of street photographers that illustrates his dissertation titled "A documentation, investigation and evaluation of the Imvunge group of street photographers with specific reference to the development of photographic and business skills (1999-2008)". In addition Khubisa is exhibiting a series of wedding portraits that reflects his growth spanning 30 years behind the lens, first as a self taught street photographer, and later as an academic and lecture teaching photography at the Durban University of Technology. (insert from http://www.dut.ac.za/pages/22367 accessed on 19 May 2011)

From an orphan to the township street photographer to big city success_ that is the story of Moses Khubisa whose passion supported him decades of despair to finally fulfill his dreams" 

Anelisa Kubheka(Daily News_May 12_2011). 

Moses Khubisa: Mr and Mrs Mngadi_ 1973

Moses Khubisa: "Domestic Workers Wedding"_1978

Moses Khubisa: "Mrs Sile Zungu"_ 2009

Chatting with Moses and Bwalya (one of MK's former students) in my office this morning over a cup of tea (of course) Moses told us that the Imvunge group of street photographers was formed in 1999 and that 'Street Photographers' are mostly men from disadvantaged backgrounds who have had no training in Photography. These 'entrepreneurs' set themselves up at streets corners, in parks and at shopping centers equipped with a 35mm camera, displays of their work and offer to photograph passerbys (Bester 1999). I reminded Moses on how I loved how Tony Starkey (MK's supervisor) at the opening of his exhibition told the story of when he asked MK what Imvunge meant and Moses explained that it was the humming noise bees make.  Tony mentioned that he still didn't understand and Moses had to elaborate and said "it's when you look at a photo you say mmmmmm _ and then respond". :)

Imvungu Group_ Bongani Maphumulo 1999

Imvungu Group_ Julius Simbine 1999

Imvungu Group_ Bongani Maphumulo 1999

Then I asked Bwalya and Moses to elaborate a little on the word Mkhulu. We were chatting about how we use it as a term of endearment and shows respect/regard. Moses says he feels comfortable with being called Mkhulu as he says it describes how he feels about his responsibility to take care of all his grandchildren (the students).  He continued to explain that in his growth there had been many gaps and being regarded as the "Grandfather" makes him feel that he is able to cover the gaps with young children because he can be informal and get to know the students better.

Imvungu Group_ Bongani Maphumulo_ Pubity Ritual_ 2001

Moses says: "The secret about being Mkhulu is to say that you know more about how other people feel as they report to you and my growth lies in listening, and comes from the interaction with the students." The first thing that Moses does when he meets students is to introduce himself by telling the students of his history, and then he gets the students to write and tell him about their history.  MK feels that there are many students that share a similar background and by revealing his struggles he hopes that that will motivate them. For those students who have never been in that predicament he hopes that his tales will make them grateful for their parents. MK would like all students to achieve in their lives. Bwalya said: "The secret about Mkhulu doesn't lie in knowing, being the wiser but rather in the listening. Mkhulu does not tell you what to do but rather advises, thus taking the role of an elder".

Congratulations Mkhulu_ an inspiration_ we have come far

☕

...blogPAL Gareth visits the Department

Check out this post:

osmosisPROJECTS: blogPAL Gareth visits the Department

☕

studium and punctum

studium and punctum

this page was deleted but will be restored

art on art

Celebrating the Negative

 Whilst searching for images on Henri Cartier Bresson (HCB) for my previous post_ I 'osmosed' onto these... a commentary by others on the famous 'Decisive Moment' Photograph. 

•

HCB describes taking it:

“There was a plank fence around some repairs behind Gare St. Lazare. I was peeking through the spaces with my camera at my eye. This is what I saw. The space between the planks was not entirely wide enough for my lens, which is the reason the picture is cut off on the left.”
http://www.ethertongallery.com/html/specialprojects/negative/details/6.htm 

John Loengard: Celebrating the negative

buka lapha 1

•

A Website 'artfully' recreating the moment using Lego sets.

 

buka lapha 2

 ☕

... my bestest quote ever

Putting 

one's head, one's eye and one's heart 

on the same axis

Nov 2010_ early morning 7:00 am swim_ Salt Rock tidal pool

This morning, I was reading "A Dialogue with Photography"_ (Paul Hill and Thomas Cooper) and once again came across my all time favorite quote by Henri Cartier Bresson (HCB). Every time I read these lines,  I feel,  I discover Photography more...and one of my images jumped to mind...so  I also decided to share this with you. 

 •

"It's a way of Life"

HCB's writings and some of my favourite images
 

HCB says:
"For me the camera is a sketch book, an instrument of intuition and spontaneity, the master of the instant, which - in visual terms - questions and decides simultaneously.

In "order to give meaning" to the world, one has to feel ones self involved in what one frames through the viewfinder.

This attitude requires concentration, a discipline of the mind, sensitivity and a sense of geometry. It is by great economy of means that one arrives at simplicity of expression. One must always take photos with the greatest respect for the subject and oneself.

To take a Photograph means to recognize - simultaneously and within a fraction of a second - both the fact its self and the rigorous organization of visually perceived forms that give it its meaning. 

It is putting one's head, one's eye and one's heart on the same axis. (2005:66)

☕