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Dialogues@RU is published annually
by the
Writing Program at
Rutgers, The State
University of New Jersey
Volume One
Spring 2002
Without
Sanctuary:
Lynching Photographs And Museums As Their Sanctuary -
Page 4
by Soo Hee Kwon
The exhibitions of the lynching photographs have received a variety of reactions. Though audience has shifted from one mind-set to another, there is still controversy between "those attempting to make peace today" (Thomas, 6). What the images do is change the discourse of race in America. For example, some black audience members believe they are the true owners of the images and a white person should not be collecting them. Who is right or wrong in the issue of race relations is irrelevant, providing these issues are brought up in a society where conflict exists. The "true owner" matters not, as long as who ever does possess them puts them to a humanizing use. What ever it is that the museums create, whether knowledge, history, or ideology, it is with the help of the photographs that do they do this. The photographs carry their message through the museums. The goal is not to abolish racism because it will always exist. As racism still persists in today's news, the exhibit's need to make the public aware is only more necessary. Whether Allen's goal to change the world is accomplished or if it even can be, the exhibits have raised dialogue among the people and that is the start of a revolutionary visual effect.
Work Cited
Abels, Caroline. "Graphic reality; Collector says exhibit provides 'Visual Vocabulary' of Racism". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 22 September 2001, sec. B.
Allen, James. Without Sanctuary: The Story of Lynching Photography. Santa Fe, New Mexico: Twin Palms, 2000.
Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. London: Penguin Books, 1972.
Duncan, Carol. Civilizing Ritual: inside public art museums. London, New York, Routledge, 1995.
Hulser, Kathleen. "Engaging the Audience in Difficult History: The Lynching Dialogues at the New-York Historical Society", 20 October 2001, 11:30 a.m.
Moehringer, J.R. "An Obsessive Quest to Make People See." The L.A. Times, 27 Aug 2000, sec. A.
Rosler, Martha. "In, Around, and Afterthoughts (on Documentary Photography)", The Contest of Critical Histories of Photography. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1989.
Thomas, Mary. " 'Without Sanctuary' digs deeply into painful issues of inhumanity." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 29 September 2001, sec. C.
"The Message of the Lynching Exhibit", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 29 Sept 2001, sec Arts and Entertainment, feedback.