Resistance, Memory, and Hope

Abstract

From October 7, 2004 through May 28, 2005, thousands of Southern California residents and visitors viewed a large-scale exhibition at the California African-American Museum in Los Angeles that simultaneously afforded a rare opportunity to explore recent South African history, to reflect on the power of documentary photography, and to discover and celebrate the life of acclaimed South African photojournalist and artist Peter Magubane. Entitled “Deconstructing Apartheid: The Photography of Peter Magubane,” the exhibition showcased eighty-four photographs and artifacts documenting the egregious practices of apartheid and the stirring resistance that eventually led to a nonracial democracy in 1994. The first comprehensive display of Magubane's iconic works in the United States, the exhibition received outstanding reviews and attracted civic leaders, teachers, students from all educational levels, and the general public to the Museum, one of the premier African-American cultural institutions in the nation. Several events augmented the educational objectives of the exhibition itself. At the opening, Peter Magubane spoke about his life and works to a large audience. Throughout the eight months of the show, South African dancers, poets, and others added additional artistic dimensions that appealed especially to young visitors, including children from many area public schools. Shortly before the exhibition closed, an academic symposium with the curator and local African scholars reviewed the current prospects for South African democracy and indicated the political, economic, social, and healthcare challenges that its residents face in the early years of the new century. Written in conjunction with the exhibition, the present essay likewise invites audiences to deepen their curiosity about South African history, politics, and culture. Seeking to locate Magubane within the longer tradition of documentary photography, it provides an overview of his decades of brilliant work in the context of the turbulent history of his native land.