Will It Ever Fall?

Images are powerful.

Do you think Apartheid had ended? Well, after this exhibit, you are definitely going to say no. The Rise and Fall of Apartheid exhibit in the International Center of Photography has nearly 500 photographs, documenting the rapid changes within a 60-year period in the country of South Africa. There were many “rises” for sure, but were there any “falls”? I’m not so sure about that.

For my first impression, I have to disagree with most of my classmates. It does not feel like a museum. In my head, a typical museum would have a lot of people, running around trying to figure out which way to go because there are so many paths crossing one another. In ICP, there was only one path. The photos are aligned in chronological order, with several short videos displayed here and there. All you have to do is walk and see. Down the wooden way, the pictures are hanged on a plain yellow wall. It is very simple, which becomes such a contrast compare to the impact on me after looking at the images.

These are not artistic photos. They are real. There are many images about segregation. Well, of course. They must be images of segregation. There are a number of them titled “Bus for non-Europeans only” or “European-only dry cleaner” or have a similar title. The photographers did not try to create a certain technical effect on their works. They are plain, but documentary and memorable. I know this probably sound old to many people, but every time I look at a photo showing the distinctive differences between the living styles of white and black, I am surprised. I saw segregation pictures for the first time when I was five years old in my first grade; the second one was when I was in fourth grade; after I arrive in American, which was right after seventh grade, I only saw more. I know this makes me sound naïve, but how long does it have to be before people can actually live in harmony? Before people can actually look at these pictures and laugh like an old man laughing at his young mistakes? So far, I would say, “Not in my life time.”

http://cdn.thedailybeast.com/content/newsweek/2012/11/25/faces-of-apartheid-at-the-icp/_jcr_content/body/inlineimage.img.503.jpg/1353725766273.cached.jpg

The second set of photos that caught my attention is the nude girls set. I stop in front of it, and look at it for a good ten-minute until the security guard suspiciously watches me as if I was about to put the whole set in my pocket. It is totally different from the rest of the exhibit. Most of the pieces there have a kind of serious and determined tone to them. This set has none. It is showing many white guys playing around with the nude girls in a nightclub. After all those images of death and pain, this set becomes an irony. I’ve always wondered whether or not these people have a hard time falling asleep at night. Unfortunately, they do not.

It is impossible to say that these images have not had any impact on us. They are very powerful. Why? Because they are the truth.

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/09/21/arts/design/21APARTHEID_SPAN/0921APARTHEID_SPAN-articleLarge.jpg