- Title Pages
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Abbreviations
- Figures
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Interlude
- 3 Born in Africa (1990)
- 4 Tears Run Dry
- 5 Singing in the Shadow of Death
- 6 Music, HIV/AIDS, and Social Change in Nairobi, Kenya
- 7 Interlude
- 8 Using Music to Combat AIDS and Other Public Health Issues in Malawi
- 9 Visual Approaches to HIV Literacy in South Africa
- 10 Ngoma Dialogue Circles (Ngoma-Dice)
- 11 Interlude
- 12 HIV/AIDS Poster Campaigns in Malawi<sup>1</sup>
- 13 Contemporary Uses of the Musical Arts in Botswana’s HIV/AIDS Health Education Initiatives
- 14 “We Are the Loudmouthed HIV-Positive People”
- 15 “C’est Le Wake Up! Africa”
- 16 Singing Songs of AIDS in Venda, South Africa
- 17 Interlude
- 18 Aesthetics and Activism
- 19 A Lady Who is an Akadongo Player
- 20 “What Shall We Do?”
- 21 Swahili AIDS Plays
- 22 Confronting AIDS through Popular Music Cultures in Kenya
- 23 Interlude
- 24 Siphithemba—We Give Hope
- 25 Young and Wise in Accra, Ghana
- 26 Singing as Social Order
- 27 “I’m a Rich Man, How Can I Die?”
- 28 Interlude
- 29 <i>Kwaito</i> and the Culture of AIDS in South Africa
- 30 Positive Disturbance
- 31 “EdzI Ndi Dolo” (“AIDS is Mighty”)
- 32 Representing HIV/AIDS in Africa
- 33 Postlude
- About the Authors
- References
- Index
Aesthetics and Activism
Aesthetics and Activism
Gideon Mendel and The Politics of Photographing the HIV/AIDS Pandemic in South Africa
- Chapter:
- (p.215) 18 Aesthetics and Activism
- Source:
- The Culture of AIDS in Africa
- Author(s):
Michael Godby
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
This chapter explores the politics of photographing the HIV/AIDS pandemic in South Africa by focusing on Gideon Mendel, a photojournalist entirely committed to biomedical treatment of the pandemic. Mendel has spent much of his career documenting the impact of HIV/AIDS on the people of South Africa, his native country. More than merely documenting, however, Mendel has served for many as a prototypical model for artist-as-activist, using his photography to effect social change in arenas such as advocacy for access to antiretroviral therapies, and contributing to or fostering broader political campaigns (such as those related to the Treatment Action Campaign). This chapter considers Mendel’s attempt to change the balance of power that exists between photographers and their subjects.
Keywords: politics, HIV/AIDS, South Africa, Gideon Mendel, photojournalist, artist-as-activist, photography, social change, antiretroviral therapies, political campaigns
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- Title Pages
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Abbreviations
- Figures
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Interlude
- 3 Born in Africa (1990)
- 4 Tears Run Dry
- 5 Singing in the Shadow of Death
- 6 Music, HIV/AIDS, and Social Change in Nairobi, Kenya
- 7 Interlude
- 8 Using Music to Combat AIDS and Other Public Health Issues in Malawi
- 9 Visual Approaches to HIV Literacy in South Africa
- 10 Ngoma Dialogue Circles (Ngoma-Dice)
- 11 Interlude
- 12 HIV/AIDS Poster Campaigns in Malawi<sup>1</sup>
- 13 Contemporary Uses of the Musical Arts in Botswana’s HIV/AIDS Health Education Initiatives
- 14 “We Are the Loudmouthed HIV-Positive People”
- 15 “C’est Le Wake Up! Africa”
- 16 Singing Songs of AIDS in Venda, South Africa
- 17 Interlude
- 18 Aesthetics and Activism
- 19 A Lady Who is an Akadongo Player
- 20 “What Shall We Do?”
- 21 Swahili AIDS Plays
- 22 Confronting AIDS through Popular Music Cultures in Kenya
- 23 Interlude
- 24 Siphithemba—We Give Hope
- 25 Young and Wise in Accra, Ghana
- 26 Singing as Social Order
- 27 “I’m a Rich Man, How Can I Die?”
- 28 Interlude
- 29 <i>Kwaito</i> and the Culture of AIDS in South Africa
- 30 Positive Disturbance
- 31 “EdzI Ndi Dolo” (“AIDS is Mighty”)
- 32 Representing HIV/AIDS in Africa
- 33 Postlude
- About the Authors
- References
- Index
