Annotated Bibs #'s 9, 10, 11

Mbali Zulu KwaThema Springs, Johannesburg, 2010

by Zanele Muholi

Observation

- This is a silver print photo, which gives a sharp black and white appearance. In this photo there is a young African woman with a buzzed haircut. Her hair is cut short to a length near balding. She stares at the camera with a look of confidence and pride. She is posing in a masculine stance in which many photos of men are similar to the one above. The head tilt and arm around her back are stereotypical stances for photos featuring men. The subject is wearing a t-shirt with the Superman logo on the center of her chest.

Inference

- Muholi's photo above symbolizes lesbian pride in the black community. Muholi is a black activist for the black lesbian movement and uses photography to show that their community matters. She captures photos of women in the lesbian movement and allows them to be themselves and free of restrictions and censorship. In Thomas's essay she includes a quote by Muholi, "As an insider within the black lesbian community and a visual activist, I want to ensure that my community, especially those lesbian women who come from the marginalized townships, are included in the women's canon" (37). I believe Muholi's message is to raise awareness to people foreign of the black lesbian community and show the world that they are people too. Black women already have repression and other factors against them because of their skin color and gender, but being homosexual creates more adversity to deal with. This photo shows a young black lesbian with a Superman shirt on showing that she is strong and she is capable of dealing with any adversity and criticism thrown her way.

Work by, Lalla Essaydi

Observation

- This photo by Essaydi has three attractive women as the subjects that are focused on. They are wearing identical cloth materials/fabrics. Their clothing matches the background and setting for this image. The wall and the floor is golden and looks like its filled with gem stones. The outfits the women are wearing look like they have gem stones as well. They all have long dark beautiful hair and stare at the camera with seductive/fierce looks. The woman to the left is holding jewelry in which she is in a motion of pulling necklaces out of some type of chest box.

Inference

- Essaydi uses her artwork to explore Muslim identity and to present these images to defy the typical stereotypes. Western ideas of the Muslim woman is typical for drawing them out as women who are very discrete and mysterious because of their appearance. Westerners think of them as women who are always covered from head to toe and covering their face with veils. This image stands out to me because it features three beautiful Arabic women without veils, and they are not wearing dark colors. On Essaydi's website she states, "In my art, I wish to present myself through multiple lenses -- as artist, as Moroccan, as traditionalist, as Liberal, as Muslim.  In short, I invite viewers to resist stereotypes." I believe she achieves her goal with this photo because some foreigners may view Muslim women differently after seeing this photo. Essaydi shows the beauty that Muslim women have hidden behind veils, but also shows that you can show Muslim identity through photography by not featuring subjects covered from head to toe.

 Yinka Shonibare

Observation

- This photo by Shonibare focuses on one subject, who is staring at his reflection in the mirror. The man's ethnicity is questionable because his skin is covered with some type of dark dirt like matter. The man's hair is straight and full and it resembles hair of a white man. He is wearing s tuxedo that is clean compared to his face. The reflection in the mirror is looking back at him as if he is trying to believe in the identity he is attempting to pull off. The mirror is old fashioned and looks like its from the Victorian era.

Inference

- The first thing I thought of after seeing this photo was the history of the Blackface tradition. This was when white performers would put dark makeup on their face to subject to black stereotypes at that time for the amusement of an white audience.  In the interview with Shonibare he responds, "I think that art of every age is political you know, it's used as a means of expressing certain things about the society at the time"  (175). He also talks about the concept of "blackness" and how he didn't have to deal with this adversity until he moved to Europe after leaving Africa. He states, "I believe that my blackness began when I stepped off the plane at Heathrow. I did not have a notion or a concept of blackness until I stepped off the plane" (166). This concept of "blackness" is present in this photo with the appearance of the subject and the way he stares at himself in the mirror.