Flavorwire » South Africa

Cape Town ’60s Party Photos: Never Mind the Apartheid [NSFW]

Marina Galperina — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 17:30:58 +0000

These shots of Beehived, boozed up, breast-flashing gals, slumped-over sailors and tongue-entwined couples were shot by nightclub bouncer Billy Monk between 1967 and 1969 in Cape Town, South Africa. Removing themselves from the reality of the ongoing apartheid, these festive folk fled to the Les Catacombs and nearby clubs to drunkenly dance away their ambivalence or guilt. Monk captured intimate moments and dizzy vignettes of the wilder ones and sold them their prints. Ten years after he abandoned the hobby, another photographer found the contact sheets and negatives in Monk’s studio and organized his first gallery show in 1982. Monk never made it — he was shot dead in a fight on the way to the exhibit.

Decades later, these (occasionally mildly NSFW) vintage party shots could invoke clashing feelings: amusement, disbelief, disgust, delight. Come along with us to this strange celebration and see where it takes you.

Photo Credit: Billy Monk. The Catacombs, 1967. Courtesy Michael Stevenson Gallery.

Photo Gallery: South African Township Barbershops & Salons

Tanja M. Laden — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 15:30:40 +0000

South African Township Barbershops & Salons is a compilation of photographs documenting the thriving grooming industry in communities once designated for black occupation by apartheid legislation. After working as a cover designer for Penguin Books and Harper Collins, the book’s UK-based author Simon Weller turned to freelance photography, and this vibrant and compelling collection of images is a result of his interest in South Africa’s growing pains in the wake of institutional segregation.

“A stunning and enigmatic variety of hand-painted artwork [adorn] these businesses,” he writes, “illustrating the hairstyles on offer.” From King’s Hair Clinique in Dzanani and the Boys II Men Salon in Durban, to the 3rd Class Barber Shop and the Judgment Day Hair Salon in Khayelitsha, South African Township Barbershops & Salons is a moving and visually stimulating collection of images that chronicles a phenomenon unique to post-apartheid South Africa.

Click through below to preview a selection of images from Weller’s book.

King’s Hair Clinique, Dzanani

Video of the Day: South African Hipster Runoff

Kelsey Keith — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 16:36:19 +0000

When Die Antwoord first appeared on the internet scene, the band’s underfed-kid-meets-hipster hairdos and so-dumb-it’s-believable slang set off alarm bells for the authenticity trolls among us. Were they true alt-bros? Or merely art school dropouts posing as “borderline mentally-retarded Poor Children from Ghettos covered in Generic Cheetoes Dust and Meth Crumbs”? Turns out it doesn’t matter, as the trio has been signed to Interscope Records and announced a European-American tour later this year. So very very zef. Check out the semi-demented and thoroughly entertaining video for “Zef Side” after the jump.

And in case you need a translator to understand the hip South African middle-to-trash slang, there’s a handy guide under the “About Us” section of the band’s website:

– VUIL means dirty. But it also means: cool, or once, or spif, or ace of bass.

– GE-BOOST means: turbo-boosted.

– A HAAS means: a rabbit. It’s also slang for a man likes children (in a bad way).

Oh, and:

– Anyone who says Die Antwoord is fake has got a very small totti.

And there you have it!

Bonus: Stream the Die Antwoord album $0$.

Daily Dose Pick: Summertime

Chelsea Bauch — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 18:17:04 +0000

The third in his series of fictionalized memoirs, J.M. Coetzee’s Summertime questions the author’s own relevance as a human being.

In the process of understanding why readers care about who he is, Coetzee tries to show himself as an awkward, un-sexualized man who is no more worthy of public curiosity than anyone else. Featuring a fictional interviewer, out-of-frame notes, and a series of less-than-flattering third-party accounts, Summertime is a deeply sardonic but ultimately entrancing self-portrait of the Nobel laureate.

Check out a sample of the novel, watch Coetzee’s Nobel Prize speech or read a transcript, and buy a copy of the book.

Daily Dose Pick: Roger Ballen

Paul Laster — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 19:47:31 +0000

Geologist-turned-photographer Roger Ballen takes haunting images of poor South Africans in surreal situations of their own making.

Ballen collaborates with his subjects to construct psychological settings — filled with wall drawings, odd objects, pets, and body parts — that he then documents in black-and-white. These nightmarish visions, which Ballen makes into prints and books, grant the viewer insight into the troubled minds of criminals, transients, witch doctors, and impoverished laborers who toil in gold mines.

Visit Roger Ballen’s website, check out his current show at Gagosian Gallery in New York, hear an interview with the artist, and buy his new Phaidon book.

Roger Ballen, Scavenging, 2007. From the book Roger Ballen: Boarding House by Roger Ballen, with introductory essay by David Travis, published by Phaidon Press, 2009, www.phaidon.com

Roger Ballen, Cut Loose, 2005. From the book Roger Ballen: Boarding House by Roger Ballen, with introductory essay by David Travis, published by Phaidon Press, 2009, www.phaidon.com

Roger Ballen, Boarding House, 2008. From the book Roger Ballen: Boarding House by Roger Ballen, with introductory essay by David Travis, published by Phaidon Press, 2009, www.phaidon.com

Roger Ballen, Mimicry, 2005. From the book Roger Ballen: Boarding House by Roger Ballen, with introductory essay by David Travis, published by Phaidon Press, 2009, www.phaidon.com

District 9 Reaches Hype Cloud Nine

Heather Schwedel — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 18:27:17 +0000

District 9 is currently sitting pretty with a nearly unprecedented 97 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It doesn’t come out until tomorrow, and as far as we can tell, the New York Times hasn’t reviewed it yet, so all of this attention is resulting in some major hype. The sci-fi film from first-time director and Peter Jackson protege Neill Blomkamp takes place in South Africa, where aliens complicate an already-tense societal racial divide. District 9 is bringing out exclamation points and hyperbole in critics, who, judging by their tone, haven’t seen a movie this good in…a long time. Check out our favorite lines from the reviews after the jump.

“District 9 proves that there’s intelligent alien life in the movie universe this summer.” -Entertainment Weekly

“OMG IT IS SO SUPER-GOOD I CANNOT WAIT TO GO AGAIN. YES PLEASE.” -The Awl

“This is one intense, intelligent, well-crafted action movie — one that dazzles the eye with seamless special effects but also makes you think without preaching.” -AP

“The entire project seems carried along by the scrappy energy of a bright, young filmmaker working far away from Hollywood’s prying, homogenizing eyes.” -The Village Voice

“District 9 is the most exciting science fiction movie to come along in ages; definitely the most thrilling film of the summer; and quite possibly the best film I’ve seen all year.” -The New York Observer

That’s a lot to live up to. Do you want to see the movie, or are you already having a hype backlash?