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Photography as Art and Social Commentary

Social commentary is a method by which messages and information are conveyed to the public with the hope and intention that perceptions and attitudes will be questioned, evaluated and ultimately discarded where they do not serve positive purpose, and embraced where they do.

Various methods may be used to convey these messages and today we take a look at one method that has become and remains very popular: photography as art and as social commentary.

Photography is one of the biggest sections at David Krut Bookstore with names both local and international ranging from Roger Ballen to Nick Brandt and his dedication to wildlife conservancy issues, to Jodi Bieber on identity, to mention a few among many.

The spotlight today is on the political intersecting with the personal and the deeply moving and meaningful photographic art that results.

Seedtimes by Omar Badsha, available at David Krut Bookstore, R600
Seedtimes by Omar Badsha, available at David Krut Bookstore, R600

Born in Durban in 1945, Omar Badsha first became politically active while at high school in the wake of the 1960 Sharpeville Massacre and the government banning of the liberation organisation. From that time on he began juggling his work as artist, photographer and political activist. He became an influential voice for anti-apartheid artists and in writers circles. Badsha worked outside the main stream white-dominated commercial gallery circuit and refused to exhibit in segregated venues or state-sponsored international shows. Omar Badsha, considered a pioneer of “resistance art”, is one of South Africa’s most celebrated documentary photographers.

Seedtime showcases Badsha’s early drawings, artworks and photographic essays spanning a period of 50 years. This seminal work will add significant value to any art book collection seeking to be both relevant and timeless.

A Decade of Democracy: Witnessing South Africa, available at David Krut Bookstore, R400
A Decade of Democracy: Witnessing South Africa, available at David Krut Bookstore, R400

Continuing the profiling of meaningful art that speaks truth (and that includes truth to power), David Krut Bookstore is also showcasing A Decade of Democracy: Witnessing South Africa. This work is the kind of commentary on life and politics that lives on long after it’s time; art that adds value to any collection worth the name. Among its many accomplishments this book also articulates the ways in which South African artists have sought to use artistic endeavour to speak on their lived experiences. In this specific case, the work generates a conversation that explores the multiplicity of issues facing South Africa in way that is extraordinarily undated.

Both these books and many others are available at David Krut Bookstore The Blue House and at David Krut Bookstore Arts on Main, and also from the bookstore website.