dropbox ice breaker 2012

SHENE cracks the ice

by sharing her images... 

Shene & Nthabs

We went on our annual 'ice-breaker' to the Durban Ice Rink on a hot humid but rainy Febraury Friday. A couple of students took photo's with DSLR's, other 'snapshot camera's' , iphones and other cellphones. Shene emailed me all her images. It was also Nthabs's birthday. She turned 20.  Sorry to Sne and Sam, first years for their injuries... I hope that will not stop you from trying again next year.

I have put them (see snippets from screenshot above)  in "Dropbox" (click on "Dropbox' to access/learn about/watch a video and download to your computer). Dropbox is another form of cloud computing (like Google Docs/Bookmarks), where one can share media, applications over the internet.

www.dropbox.com

www.wikipedia.com

Please access them there and contribute to this experience by adding your images to the folder through the link I sent.

(@_@)

bog-eyed, or drunk

Tribe_3 /_4 exhibition

bye-bye, hamba gahle,  tsimaya sintle,  bye, farewell, adieu, au revoir, ciao, adios, voorspoed,  so long, see you later,  sayonara; bon voyage; cheers; informal toodle-oo,   
see you...

Sabelo sent me these images yesterday_ I wanted to make my own post on saying goodbye to the Third years and to Lauren and Deseree (Tribe_4). Try to get to see the exhibition currently held @ the DUT Art Gallery> its up for a week_ remember to leave a comment in the guest book.

 Also see Nicole's post below_click below.

http://nicolemeiringphotography.blogspot.com/

 •

I am going to put in 2 quotes from http://www.quotegarden.com.  
They say what I feel_better than me.  

Let my blackberry take you back... top left window

  

((1))

 Gone - flitted away,
Taken the stars from the night and the sun
From the day!
Gone, and a cloud in my heart.
Alfred Tennyson

 ((2))

 Some people come into our lives and quickly go.  

Some stay for a while, 

leave footprints on our hearts, 

and we are never, ever the same.  

Flavia Weedn

 •

  lots <3

be well • do good • keep in touch osmosisSTYLE

☕ 

Buzzing off

goodbye Buzz hello Google + 

 

I opened my Gmail this morning to find in yellow highlighted text an announcement by Google that Buzz is being discontinued (like Google Wave) but you will have access to your 'stuffs' through Google Takeout!

All the more reason to publish your photographs on Google +

 Paul Strand: " I've always wanted to be aware of what's going on around me, and I've wanted to use photography as an instrument of research into and reporting on the life of my own time". http://www.photoquotes.com/showquotes.aspx?id=112&name=Strand,Paul#422

What is Google Takeaway?

Google Operating System [GOS] blogs on Google's unofficial news and gives tips. GOS reports that " Google wants to differentiate from Facebook by offering a lot of ways to export your data. Google Takeout is a feature that's included in Google+, but it's also available as a standalone service. You can use it to export your contacts, Google Buzz messages, Picasa Web photos and Profile data with one click."

 ☕

Ernest Cole: Unalterable Blackness

 ERNEST COLE 

You may escape, but you carry your prison smell with you 

Ernest Cole (Newbury 2009:174)

Mac Photobooth

The book "Defiant Images" by Darren Newbury [DN], was  shared with me. This book has one chapter dedicated to and makes commentary on Ernest Cole's [EC] "House of Bondage" book. My reading of this chapter has inspired the writings for this blog post. I ask my 'followers' to please read EC's bio by clicking on 'buka lapha'. This link has been retrieved from Omar Badsha's site: SA History Online.

buka lapha

Newbury states that the House of Bondage [HoB] is a visual record, supported by accompanying text,  of the oppressed conditions of the majority of people living during Apartheid (2009:174)_ "a damning visual critique" (2009:207). DN lists these conditions as:

• dehumanization (depriving human qualities) of the black population
• the dislocation (disturbance from usual place/injury) of families
• the distortion (pull or twist out of shape, mislead, false) of black society and culture

Newbury adds that this book is also a commentary on photography itself and an "affirmation of EC's existence". The ability as a "black South African to create a body of work in spite of the restrictions of apartheid" (2009:174) . Newbury further states, that for EC, being in exile, it was a subtext (an underlying theme) to answer a personal question that EC faced, that being: "How to free oneself from apartheid?"(2009:174)

The HoB contains 183 photographs organized into 14 sections.

1. The Mines
2. Police and Passes
3. Black Spots
4. Nightmare Rides
5. The Cheap Servant
6. For Whites Only
7. Below Subsistence
8. Education for the Servitude
9. Hospital Care
10. Heirs of Poverty
11. Shebeens and Bantu Beer
12. The Consolation of Religion
13. African Middle Class
14. Banishment

 •

TEXT and IMAGES

EC according to Newbury, was from a generation of Photographers who "believed in the autonomy (on it's own/independant) of the image and it's ability to communicate across cultural boundries" (2009:185), but Newbury says that leaving the "images to speak for themselves would have left the meaning too much to chance and given the audience too much to work with" (2009:205). Bear in mind that the audience was a Western audience as this book was banned in South Africa.

Please note: all images used below have been resourced from http://www.joburg.org.za/culture/museums-galleries/jag/ernest-cole-photographer and the captions are the text from EC's book "House of Bondage' [HoB].

Caption unknown: young boys playing

During group medical examination the nude men are herded through a string of doctors’ offices.

Which black train to take is matter of guesswork. They have no destination signs and no announcement of arrivals is made. Head car may be numbered to show its route, but number is often wrong. In confusion, passengers sometimes jump across track, and some are killed by express trains

•

 3 relevant questions asked by Newbury

• 1. Would EC have produced the same book had he been able to publish his works freely in South Africa?
• 2. To what extent is the HoB an authentic expression of EC's voice as a black South African (2009:205)? 
• 3. To what extent can HoB be read as a critique of the photographic tradition from which it emerged and was embraced (2009:205)?

During a “swoop,” police are everywhere, checking passes. Young boy is stopped for his pass as white plainclothesman looks on. Checks go on in the townships, too.

In relation to the above questions posed by Newbury, it is interesting but extreemly sad,to read an insert from EC's letter, written to the Swedish immigration authorities, as it exemplifies those questions. EC writes(2009:209):  
" Recording TRUTH at whatever the costs is one thing, but finding oneself having to live a lifetime of being the chronicler of misery, injustice and callousness is another...but the total man does not live by one experience. He is molded and shaped by the diversity of other experiences into some form of the whole man". 



Unfortunately EC never managed to escape the issue of race and develop his own works in a new direction. In the early 70's it was reported that he suffered from mental health problems, and was periodically homeless and in 1990 died 'exiled' in a New York hospital from cancer.

 ☕

FURTHER READING:
Book list_sourced from Wikipedia/ Books with 's have been order for ML Sultan Library

• House of Bondage, Random House, 1967, ISBN 0-394-42935-4

• Defiant Images: Photography and Apartheid South Africa, Darren Newbury, University of South Africa (UNISA) Press, 2009, ISBN 978-1-86888-523-7 (see Chapter 4. An 'unalterable blackness': Ernest Cole's House of Bondage)

• The Photographer, Ernest Cole, Steidl, 2010, ISBN 978-3869301372

GOOGLE BOOKMARKS list_thank-you to Nirmi Ziegler for sharing links.

View this list<https://www.google.com/bookmarks/l?threadID=Gne7DpsJTtLU/BDZco3woQso_FwJIm


OTHER BLOG posts_seminar exhibition

http://osmosisliza.blogspot.com/2011/07/seminar-ernest-cole.html 

 ☕☕

Seminar: Ernest Cole

ERNEST COLE

a seminar @ DAG

http://ernestcoleaward.org/about

“There are three things to aim at in public speaking: first, to get into your subject, then to get your subject into yourself, and lastly, to get your subject into the heart of your audience” 

Alexander Gregg: Clergyman
www.thinkexist.com 

DAG entrance: Google Maps

  

I have been asked to chair the ERNEST COLE seminar @ the Durban Art Gallery [DAG] on 25th July which is supported by an exhibition • to be opened on Sunday 24th July.


The speakers are Omar Badsha and Peter McKenzie, with Jabulani Chen Periera and Nirmi Ziegler as discussants. Mduduzi Xakaza, the director Of DAG wrote in a recent email that he hoped the seminar would be intellectually accessible to everybody, but still have a challenging element about it, so to prompt the audience to think and debate around issues that will be raised by both speakers and discussants. 

" We regard this exercise as a manner of ushering in an important era in the life of the Durban Art Gallery: an art museum that serves as a dynamic educational resource where knowledge is produced and engaged with in for a such as seminars and colloquia." Mduduzi Xakaza

 •

speakers & discussants:
very very very short bio's

• speakers: Omar Badsha [OB]

OB is a self taught award winning Artist, Political Activist and Trade Unionist. In 1999 OB established  a non-profit online history project, called  South African History Online (SAHO) which has become one of the largest online history projects in Africa. OB will speak about factors that shaped Cole's worldview and how this informed the content of his book "House of Bondage"

• discussant on OB: Nirmi Ziegler [NZ]

NZ lectures Art Theory at the Department of Fine Art and Jewellery Design at DUT and is currently busy with her PhD in online learning. NZ is an artist that focuses on the technique of papermaking, a curator and a self-employed graphic designer.

•  speaker: Peter McKenzie [PMcK]

PMcK is a Photographer, Educationist, Film-maker and a new member of DALA,  a Durban based multi- disciplinary art collective. PMcK will speak on remembering in the present. What is the relevance of Cole's archive today? How do we look at images through the filters of history.

• discussant on PMcK: Jabulani Chen Periera [JCP]

JCP is a Curator, Artist and Film-maker. JCP has volunteered her skills to the Alf Kumalo Museum, with the intention of developing a comprehensive survey and digitized archival system of Mr Kumalo’s collection.

 •

The Photography Department has made this a compulsory event for all students. I would like to encourage all students to participate in the discussions. What you feel, think and say is important ...

Click here:  another blog post on ERNEST COLE

☕

I didn't GRADUATE but I can still commemorate...

I was unfortunately on "office duty".

My lonely blue shirt hung over my chair... separated from the herd.

Every year the Photography Department is involved in photographing the DUT Graduation ceremonies that take place in Durban and Pietermaritzburg during April and September.

All students are obligated to work at 'Grad': styling; administrating; ushering and photographing.

What I love most about this time together is that between the mad rush and mayhem, there are quiet spells...

During these times we get to know each other better.

Then there are the beautiful moments... where one gets to witness proud families and individuals commemorating the celebration of the completion of their studies.

We play a vital role in that.

And in some way we 'graduate' too with another life experience.

 I know everyone has worked hard (especially staff), is tired, 

perhaps even gatvol? 

 But ...
I have made this post in a hope that students will use this 'space' to share their stories on 'Grad'... because I was not there!



☕

LOOK who popped into the Department!

SINDI NENE
2010 Idols finalist
* click SINDI NENE to read article of how judges saved her from being eliminated

It was fantastic to see Sindi @ the Department. 

She is such a beautiful gifted and inspiring individual. 

I have always admired her quirkiness and her individualistic creative approach to defining herself as a singer and entertainer_ In her presence she simply takes your BREATH away [ask Mbuyi].

We wish Sindi success and happiness.

Mbuyi, Gee, Sindi, Liza, Vernon & Bwalya

 so... WHO WAS THE PHOTOGRAPHER?

...the talented.... hear the drum beat

SIYA MEYIWA

[2009 National diploma Graduate]

I spoke with Siya this morning on the phone.  

He told me that he has been asked to be Sindi's personal photographer and that this specific shoot was for her website.  We are very PROUD of you Siya.  I hope that Siya will share many more of his photographic experiences with osmosisBLOG as he continues to shoot for celebrity clients like Sindi and others.

Below are two images from Siya's studio shoot.

...decisive moment 1

I popped into the Digital Lab today and ADAM BOND [a first year student] showed me this image he shot recently. 

...the last stretch

I wanted to share it with you as it is one of those "decisive moments" that reflects poetry in  "making meaningful connections". The power of the photographer coupled with the camera's ability to hold time still and pause the eye creates this magic. Are these just moments of luck, intuition or synchronicity...? [Synchronicity is the experience of two or more events that are apparently causally unrelated occurring together in a meaningful manner]

 I believe is all of them. 

ADAM had this to say: 
" This photograph was taken at North Beach, and it's one of my luckiest shots. I was just taking a photograph of the moon and the next thing i knew, this plane was in front of it! (that's why the plane is out of focus and the moon is sharp)"

Thanks to Adam for sharing this with us.

K.I.S.S_ the 3rd years

...wanted to congratulate the 3rd years on the style and simplicity of their exhibition.

I went to fetch the Apple Mac on Friday and took some first years to view the exhibition.

I was amazed at how many "other" students from DUT were entering and leaving. I was even happier to observe that they actually spent time looking at your works and chatting amoungst themselves. 

This I believe is because you:-

K [kept] I [it] S [simple] S [students]

Your thoughtful layout, choices of work and professionalism created by framing and hanging  has created a wonderful space, that engages with an audience and gives them a chance to appreciate your visions. 
Despite exhibiting as a group, your exhibition still marketed individual talents and aesthetics.

Thanx to you all and of course to Nathi_  @ DUT ART GALLERY
for two exciting back to back exhibitions that have laid some incredible foundations for future

Inspiration for others ...

Below are some snippets of interesting framing and ways to hang...

Jocelyn used newspaper and small black clips

Lindy used crinkly black paper

Gcobisa used big silver clips

Lauren G used ready made frames that mirrored the space

Taryn used rope