User:Pinkville/Notes 3

Pierre Rossier

this edit

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Genre works

Genre works, also called genre scenes or genre views, are pictorial representations in any of various media that represent scenes or events from everyday life, such as markets and domestic settings. Such representations may be realistic, imagined, or romanticized by the artist. Some variations of the term genre works specify the medium or type of visual work, as in genre painting, genre prints, genre photographs, and so on.

Genre photography While genre painting began, in the 17th century, with representations by Europeans of European life, the invention and early development of photography coincided with the most expansive and aggressive era of European imperialism, in the mid-to-late 19th century, and so genre photographs, typically made in the proximity of military, scientific and commercial expeditions, often depict the people of other cultures that Europeans encountered throughout the world.


 * often necessarily posed, due to lengthy exposure times, though not necessarily contrived.


 * carrying into the 20th century ? contrast with WPA-type images, but more recent work in same tradition of people like Shelby Lee Adams
 * life in the ghetto
 * some work of documentary photographers

Swenka

Swanky swenkas to strut their style The swenka fashion contest, which features men and women from hostels and townships, will go mainstream when it is staged at the Mary Fitzgerald Square in Newtown for the first time this Weekend – the winner stands to win a goat.

September 21, 2006 By Ndaba Dlamini

MEN in fancy suits parade like beauty contestants in front of an impartial judge, reveal their attractive and stylish socks, caress their silk ties, twirl their suit jacket sleeves and let their rings glitter in the light while simultaneously doing about-turns like peacocks.

These are the swenkas, or the best-dressed men in town, who over the years, have been holding competitions in dingy basements of Johannesburg inner-city buildings, in hostels and township halls. On Saturday, 23 September, the general public will have a chance to witness these groups of mostly Zulu men in their ostentatious suits parading inside the marquee at the Mary Fitzgerald Square in Newtown.

The free event, which is part of the City's Arts Alive Festival, will also feature the Onobuhle Competition, the female version of the swenka competition and the audience, on this rare occasion, can expect to see some of the most beautifully dressed people in town compete for various prizes.

The swenka competition was borne out of the 1950s hostel culture when men working in mines and factories used opulent clothing as an expression of style and flair. On Saturday nights, these men left their work clothes behind and donned highly fashionable suits to impress the judge who, in most cases, is randomly picked from the streets.

The swenka competition has evolved over the last 50 years and its entertainment value is seen as surpassing that of any fashion show. The swenkas believe in cleanliness, self-respect, chaste behaviour and support for one another in a miserable world far away from their families.

Each swenka stands before an audience and a judge and in slow motion reveals different aspects of his attire in an impressive movement characterised by theatrical poses and swaggers which border on dramatic choreography.

The winner, who is usually picked by the judge after many gruelling rounds, lives in his new world of being "someone" for the whole week until the weekend when he has to parade before another judge to hopefully reclaim his title.

Apart from showing their integrity and parading their pride, the swenka men compete for prizes ranging from goats and cows to blankets and watches. Traditionally, the prize for the most stylish suit is cash, but on special occasions such as Christmas, the winner may receive a goat or a cow.

The show will start at 10am and the audience will be treated to imbube and isichathamiya music from various groups around Gauteng.

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The swenkas are a small group of Zulu working men which formed in South Africa following the abolishment of Apartheid.

These well-dressed men are proud and considered to serve as an inspiration to others. On Saturday nights, these men leave their work clothes behind and don highly fashionable suits to impress a judge, who is a randomly picked. Traditionally, the prize for the most stylish suit is cash, but on special occasions such as Christmas, the winner may receive a goat or a cow. This traditional fashion show still happens today, but it is unclear as to precisely when it was instigated. The men follow certain set values of Swanking, such as physical cleanliness, sobriety and above all self-respect.

In 2004, Danish filmmaker Jeppe Rønde created The Swenkas, a documentary about the group.

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A swenka is a competitor in certain fashion contests in South Africa. Swenkas are usually but not exclusively male. Swenka competitions probably arose in the 1950s hostel culture associated with mine and factory workers who, on their Saturday nights off, dressed in fancy formal attire - suits, silk ties, sequined shirts and the like - as