Untitled

Artist Zwelethu Mthethwa South African, born 1960

Date2005

MediumGelatin-silver print

Dimensions17 x 22 1/2 in. (43.2 x 57.2 cm)
Frame: 28 1/2 x 32 1/2 in. (72.4 x 82.6 cm)

ClassificationsPhotography

Credit LineGift of Allen G. Thomas Jr. in honor of Lawrence J. Wheeler

Object number2014.14.44

On View

Not on view

Label TextZwelethu Mthethwa presents viewers with honest, reverent, and poignant images of emigrant workers living on the periphery of society in South Africa. Mthethwa draws on a history of portraiture and documentary photography to create his compelling images that articulate issues related to Black masculinity and post-apartheid South Africa.

The black and white image Untitled differs from Mthethwa’s more colorful recent work and features a scene between three men as one receives a haircut. Seemingly unaware of the camera or lost in thought all three men look downward or away from the camera, implicating the viewer as an observer of a private and intimate moment. The blurred edges of the barber’s head and shaver give the image an intriguing sense of movement. The close zoom of the camera leaves out many contextual details so that the true emphasis of the image is on the humanity and reality of the visceral moment Mthethwa has shared with viewers.
[L. Dougherty, 2014]ProvenanceCreated South Africa, 2005; collection of the artist; [Jack Shainman Gallery, New York]; Allen G. Thomas Jr., Wilson, NC, 2005; given to NCMA, 2014.
Exhibition HistoryRaleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "Private Eye: Allen G. Thomas Jr. Photography Collection," September 13, 2014–March 22, 2015. Object Rights Statement

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