Today in Visual Communication and Culture we begin discussing The Bang-Bang Club. I awoke this morning still thinking about the work these four photographers (Kevin Carter, Greg Marinovich, Ken Oosterbroek, and Joao Silva) gave the world. And then it occurred to me that the majority of my students were infants when these photographers were covering the ANC/IFP battles in South Africa and human crises around the world. Although a bit of jolt to my system, I’m all the more grateful that Marinovich and Silva have recorded their experiences on film and in print.
Silva and Marinovich, the sole survivors of the group, are still at it, on the front lines. Silva, unfortunately, recently lost both his legs in a landmine blast in Afghanistan on October 23, 2010. For more information about Joao Silva and Greg Marinovich, be sure to visit their individual websites.
