These are a few of the photographs that Gustav Fristch took while travelling in Southern Africa. As I discussed in my "Gossip column" last week, Fristch took various photographs of individuals while on his travels in Southern Africa and these images below represent his "honorific" portraiture. His focus on the ethnographic-cultural aspect of these photographs are quite clear as he encouraged his subjects to wear their own accessories and ornamentation. Unfortunately, I was not able to get more of his "repressive" photographs, nor was I able to get much information on the subjects of his photographs, other than their names and that they ranged from converted native inhabitants, Khoi San and Xhosa individuals. Where I am able, I will provide more information on a subject next to a photograph. I hope everyone enjoys these photographs.
'Joh Nakin, Mosuto native teacher, Shiloh'. Taken between 1-3 February 1864'
Thanks Gustav - it is great to have these extraordinary images available to view. Do you want to comment further on the style of the photographs? How are the portraits presented? Are there any differences you discern in the ways in which portraits are taken of "natives" in traditional garb, and the image of the teacher, for example? My initial thoughts here is that there seems to be a different relationship between subject and camera, in that the "westernised" figure looks directly into the lens, and seems to engage the viewer, whereas the "indigenised" ones seem to be averted from the direct gaze - or "camera shy".
ReplyDeleteA lot of emotion is expressed through the eyes of the subjects. I also noticed that the more "western" figures appear to be confident and look directly into the camera while the "indigenised" figures appear shy and 'uncomfortable' in front of the camera. Do we know where the originals are kept? It will also be interesting to know if there was any description of the photographs. Looking at the photographs it is quite impressive to know that it was taken in 1864, just thinking about how photography has developed.
ReplyDeleteFritsch usually used the same techniques when photographing his subjects, by having them sit or stand directly in front of him, in order to capture the entire body. What essentially made the "indigenised" figures seem so uncomfortable in their representation, as compared to Joh who is photographed as "westernised", is the fact that they did not quite understand the technology behind the production of the photographs and this made them apprehensive, and even scared, with regards to having their photographs taken. Fritsch had a massive challenge in convincing the indigenous individuals to have their photographs taken and then staying patient with them once the process of photographing them was underway. Fritsch usually had a missionary act as an intermediary to convince individuals to have their picture taken and had to pay them with a small amount of tobacco and/or money as a final incentive. Setting up the tripod camera, and then taking the photographs, would take quite a bit of time and it is in this process that his subjects would become uncomfortable and impatient while looking at the face of the camera and some would become so unnerved that they no longer wanted their photograph taken. It is for these reasons, that many of the "indigenised" figures look shy and uncomfortable.
ReplyDeleteThe photographs taken by Fristch are quite remarkable, as they are of a high quality, especially considering that he was using standard photography technology at the time. Of the original photographs, 48 of them are available in The National Library of South Africa in Cape Town in its Grey Collection, and the Berlin Museum of Ethnology has over 90 of Fritsch's portraits. Fritsch provided more information on the individuals within his photographs by writing about them on the back of the photographs.
Thank you for your interest on this subject and I hope that I was able to answer your questions in a satisfactory manner. I look forward to more of your questions, ideas and to have this conversation continue in the coming weeks.