Picturing a continent in the present tense
The title of the Fitchburg Art Museum’s ‘21st-Century African Photography’ speaks for itself
Encompassing a continent, other than cartographically, is impossible. How much does Oaxaca have in common with the Yukon or Moosehead Lake with the Mojave Desert? They’re all part of North America, but the parts overwhelm the conceptual coherence of the whole.
Quite sensibly, “Africa Rising: 21st-Century African Photography” doesn’t try to be comprehensive. A survey rather than summary, it runs at the Fitchburg Art Museum through Feb. 23. FAM’s Jean Borgatti curated. Most of the 50 photographs in the show are from the museum’s collection. They’re the work of 35 photographers, from 19 of Africa’s 54 countries. A map showing which countries are represented, and which aren’t, underscores that comprehensiveness isn’t the point. Evocation, indication, and variety are (19 countries is still a lot of countries)..
An excerpt from the Boston Globe review on the exhibition. Read the full review here: Picturing a continent in the present tense.