Can a photograph ever just be a photograph? [or is there always a communicated message from a photograph as a record?] This podcast analyzes Jurgen Schadeberg’s photograph, We Won’t’ Move, shot in the shantytown of Sophiatown in 1955. Jurgen Schadeberg was a white photographer who immigrated to South Africa from Germany. He was renowned for his work in the South African magazine Drum at the beginning of South African Apartheid, from 1951 to 1959. He leverages the composition of his photograph to visualize power dynamics during South African apartheid. Jurgen Schadeberg’s image emphasizes the importance of context and artistic choice in creating a powerful, photographic record. This podcast will not only reveal the story behind Schadeberg’s photograph but also compare it to similar works by black photographers working in South Africa during apartheid.

⁠Click here for a transcription and bibliography as well as images of the works discussed in today’s episode.

This podcast is part of the Crop and Click series featuring student research on documentary photography from our collection. ⁠Click here for a portfolio of all the works discussed in the series.

Hosted and produced by Samantha Simmons. Cover art by Lucy Sherman ’23.