photographs – archive find

Both times we’ve gone to the archives, I’ve been grabbed by some of the most mundane items. I initially expected to be excited by seeing things like her medals, awards, and accommodations. While these items are fascinating and only add to my respect for Shange as an artist and activist, I have been more intrigued with items related to her personal life.  I’ve enjoyed looking at the items that are more related to her personal life.

On Thursday, I spent a lot of time looking through her photo albums and letters. I was really intrigued with the photos of her daughter, Savannah. Some of them are clearly taken at big events like birthday celebrations, but some of them seem to be in very average, regular, every day moments.

my 5th birthday

I started to think about the function of pictures. They are often aesthetic and artistic, but they are also largely for memory and preservation. It makes me wonder what prompted someone to take these pictures and what makes a “Kodak moment.”

I’m not really sure I have a definite answer, but it has made me think back to the themes of ancestry and honoring what came before that is so present in Shange’s work. Considering the gaping holes in history resulting from colonization and imperialism, it is the mere act of taking photos of the every day can be a method of resistance. Taking pictures preserves these histories, and even says that our lives are worth remembering.

Works Cited:

Ntozake Shange Papers, 1966-2016; Box and Folder; Barnard Archives and Special Collections, Barnard Library, Barnard College. http://collections.barnard.edu/public/repositories/2/resources/377 Accessed November 7, 2019.