Michele Witthaus
IT takes a sugar farmer from Natal to explain photography to the people of Johannesburg. The farmer in question is Peter Engblom, who was enticed out of his rural retreat to redesign the Bensusan Photography Museum for its new incarnation at MuseumAfrica.
For years, the Bensusan Museum was located in an old house in Parktown. Later, it found a temporary home in Braamfontein. It was little more than a collection of dusty old cameras and early photographs. There was a library of photography books and periodicals which were used by students and amateur photographers. Once in a while people put their own pictures up on the walls, but nobody except the regulars ever went there.
The new Bensusan Museum could not be more different. Occupying the upper floor of the expansive Museum-Africa in Newtown, it is a space which aims to bring an elitist pastime into the public domain. In conceptualising the space, Engblom has succeeded in making photography tantalisingly accessible to “children of all ages”, as he puts it.
Large, blond and exuding teddy bear charm, Engblom is a true South African eccentric. Besides the family farm and photography, his interests include a passion for Zulu history and he is in the process of producing a book about Zululand.
With missionary zeal and complete disregard for museum politics and city council bureaucracy, he brought together a range of sponsors, artists and craftsmen to help make the museum a fascinating place for curator Diana Wall to manage. Wall must feel like a latter-day Alice in Wonderland, transported from a rather dry and dusty place to one full of amazing objects and bright new ideas.
The early history of photography is documented in a highly practical manner. Tricks with mirrors and light (the heart of photography, after all) can be experienced hands-on by visitors. It is a “please do touch” kind of a place, in keeping with current museum thinking globally.
There is also a “Newseum” which offers visitors the chance to see the first CD photographic equipment available in South Africa, to play with hi-tech DTP and image-processing equipment, and to learn about cinematography.
In addition to the fixed exhibits, the museum will feature several exhibitions of photography at any given time. The opening show is an ambitious collection conceived by a number of curators, featuring subjects from pornography to speed traps, family snaps and police photography. There is also a poignant exhibition of pictures and writings by the late Ken Oosterbroek.
In a nod to historical correctness, pictures from MuseumAfrica’s historical collection have been selected for exhibition by David Goldblatt. Bringing the focus back to real life today, the museum also aims to be relevant to photographers working in the local community, offering encouragement and recognition to street photographers and other freelancers.
Throughout the museum, Engblom’s personal vision is evident. Everything is beautifully finished, down to tiny details such as the use of old flash guns for the light fittings. There is a fine sense of humour in the design, which includes a giant talking robot made out of cameras (“Mr Media”) and a specially commissioned “Monument to Silver Halide”. Life-size dummies are artfully arranged at strategic points (such as in the recreation of a Victorian darkroom) and the big-name photographic sponsors must be thrilled at the attractive displays created for their products.
Time will tell whether the museum will fulfil Engblom’s dream of a living, vibrant space in which ordinary people learn about photography. But if the opening weekend is anything to go by, it just may work.
Groups of school children, let loose for the first time in a museum where they could play with the exhibits, were so enthusiastic that they didn’t want to leave. A few of the more fragile displays suffered wear and tear to their knobs and levers, but nothing worse. Here’s hoping this sets a precedent in the musty old world of relics that until recently characterised our museums.