Class 002 w/common propaganda: The role of history in contemporary culture
Class theme: What is the role of history in contemporary culture?
As we move into the future, it is important that we continue to engage the past. We invited some of our friends to help us explore the role of history in contemporary culture and these are some of the resources (‘provocations’) and motivations they brought to the discussion. This was the first of a series of enquiries, where we experiment with a new open research methodology inviting young creatives to explore their interests through an interactive homely workshop setting.
1. Julia Hope — Landwalks Across Palestine South Africa, counter-archival 'logbook' (and reference to Tantura documentary)
Motivation:
The book is an outcome of a series of workshops spanning a year between artists, archivists and architects. It hopes to be a living work, to produce more outcomes and conversations in time. The logbook provokes reflections on archiving and what it means for the creation of future worlds to move from a state of landlessness and worldlessness into a contingent future. It questions the role of memory in liberation, and how to prevent the past from being a cage of nostalgia and material heritage from freezing and depoliticising the past. Landwalks makes reference to Tantura, which exposes the massacre and genocide of the people in Tantura village during the Nakba. It discusses how the Israeli occupier state suppresses a Palestinian 'truth' (a notion challenged in the book too), through academia, in an attempt to construct a legitimised nation. It brings to mind the synthetic Israeli contemporary culture that is constructed through a process of pink and greenwashing.
2. Jean Luc Iradukunda — Vintage poster
MOTIVATION:
The poster says "The computers are coming!"
I chose this as a provocation to interrogate the ideas around how the advent and usage of different technologies allow us to capture, preserve and distribute history.
I wanted to discuss if this allows us as a society to democratise how we write our shared histories and prevent individuals or certain groups to define/enforce their versions onto others.
3. Ethan Jacobs — Burning Museum - The commodification of black suffering and the apartheid formula
MOTIVATION:
In the context of our class theme, where we examine the role of history in contemporary culture, I see the historical commodification and injustice, exemplified by the jewelry crafted on Robben Island by white individuals for their own profit, as a powerful symbol that resonates with the state of affairs in contemporary culture. This symbol signifies the enduring impact of historical injustices on our present circumstances, highlighting how the past has contributed to the complexities and inequalities that persist in our modern society.
4. bahbahroo — ZOLSNJOLS 'ZOOT LEAGUE' PHOTO SERIES
moTIVATION:
The images in the ZOLSNJOLS 'ZOOT LEAGUE' series of politicians as basketball players in a game of corruption are relevant to the role that African history plays in contemporary culture because they draw attention to the ways in which political corruption and power dynamics in modern society are rooted in historical legacies of colonization and exploitation. These images use humor and satire to critique the ways in which political elites in Africa and beyond continue to benefit from systems of oppression and inequality that have their roots in the colonial era. By connecting contemporary political issues to historical contexts, these images invite viewers to consider the ongoing impact of colonialism on African societies and the need for continued efforts to address and overcome its legacies.
5. George Rowley — ‘Woman, Native, Other: Writing Postcoloniality and Feminism’ by Trịnh Thị Minh Hà
mOTIVATION:
This is a passage from Vietnamese Feminist Trịnh Thị Minh Hà where she troubles the (colonial) separation of ‘story’ and ‘history’. She reflects on the value of storytelling and urges us to move away from (Western) approaches to history that rely on ‘facts’. Because we can never have a truly accurate account of history - Which history? Whose truth?
When we re-tell and re-produce history, we make it our own. In this way, the archives (stories) evolve and remain active. If not, they harden like stone and crumble. I hope this can inspire a more considered, active and story-full approach to hi/story.
Tips for engaging with this piece:
- We read the first section, "Truth and fact: story and history", though I suggest reading at least until pg122.
- Read it more than once!
- Don’t read for meaning; read for inspiration.
- Take time to consider the poetics
- If you don't feel to read it, listen to the recording.
Motivation:
I am really interested in the importance of archives and the potential for working with archives for contemporary cultural production. I think it is important that our generation has access to the archives and are provided an opportunity to contest historical narratives. As part of my research I explore the platform of SAHO, founded by legendary South African documentary photographer Omar Badsha. As a platform that is visited and referenced by millions around the world, I wonder how we may learn from the work of SAHO in uncovering the role of youth and marginalised communities in the ongoing documentation, preservation and contestation of history and the contemporary.
7. Moeko Selebalo — Breaking the rainbow building a nation (flag design)
MOTIVATION:
The national flag was designed by the Bureau of Heraldry, and former South African State Herald, Mr Fred Brownell, and was first used on 27 April 1994.
On the right we see the design process of the flag. With 9 illustrated iterations.
On the left is a redesigned flag using a photo referenced from Photographer Director Kristin-Lee Moolman with a hypothetical stamp of approval from the South African Bureau of Standards.
8. Jazz Gordhan — Resin magic bark and an artwork made in the Amazon
mOTIVATION:
I brought the artwork, or the print of the painting to inquire whether one can ever separate history from art, if the expression of art is not inherently carrying all of history, and all of now within it. the magic resin bark, was another provocation, of history through wood, and through water. how natural elements too possess the history and the now. It also contained a provocation on contemporary culture - and how differently that can be perceived - just like history itself..
CLASS OUTCOMES
PARTICIPANT’S NOTES THAT WERE COLLECTED AFTER THE CLASS WITH THE PURPOSE OF CREATING AN ARCHIVE OF THOUGHT IN RELATION TO THE RELATION OF THE PROVOCATIONS TO EACH OTHER.
