Williams College Museum of Art
Williamstown
15 Lawrence Hall Drive
413 5972429 FAX 413 4589017
WEB
You Look Beautiful Like That
dal 27/6/2003 al 31/8/2003
413.597.2429 - 413.597.3178 FAX 413.458.9017
WEB
Segnalato da

Jonathan Cannon



 
calendario eventi  :: 




27/6/2003

You Look Beautiful Like That

Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown

The exhibition will highlight the work of Keïta and Sidibe', commercial photographers who worked in Bamako, Mali, from the 1940s to the 1970s


comunicato stampa

The exhibition will highlight the work of Keïta and Sidibe', commercial photographers who worked in Bamako, Mali, from the 1940s to the 1970s. Since the early 1990s, they have received international recognition for their remarkable and engaging portraits of members of their local community.

'The black-and-white photographs in this show are absolutely stunning and riveting,' says Director Linda Shearer. 'You can't help but be affected by their bold visual impact and drawn in by their compelling subjects. I am delighted that our visitors this summer will have the opportunity to experience this unique expression of contemporary African art.'

Creative Adaptation of Conventional Photography

The title of this exhibition comes from a favorite expression in Bambara, the language widely spoken in Mali. 'You look beautiful like that' reflects the photographers' goal of making their subjects look good. The exhibition features 72 black-and-white images, the bulk of which are modern enlargements made from the photographers' original negatives. Fourteen of the pieces are postcards and portraits from the early part of the 20th century. These images show the portrait conventions used by early European and African photographers in West Africa and provide a context for the development of Keïta's and Sidibe's work.

Commercial portrait photography first came to Mali in the 1930s, as it did to much of the French West African interior. Keïta (born ca. 1921) was one of the first African photographers to work in Bamako, beginning in the 1940s. Although connected to conventions of studio portraiture, his mesmerizing portraits convey a unique expressive style that both confirms his clients' status within the community and reflects their desire to be seen as cosmopolitan. Sidibe' (born ca. 1935) adapted that expressive style for a new generation. As portrait conventions and societal roles became more flexible in the 1960s and 1970s, the subjects of his photographs took a more active, often theatrical, role in constructing their self-images. Although the names and professions of many of the sitters have been lost, their identities, aspirations, and fantasies are communicated through clothing, accessories, props, and poses. Together, the resulting body of work forms a remarkable social document and unique record of a community undergoing considerable social change.

Curator to Give a Gallery Talk

You Look Beautiful Like That: The Portrait Photographs of Seydou Keïta and Malick Sidibé has been organized by Michelle Lamuniere at the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University. Lamunière will give a gallery talk on Saturday, August 16, 2003 at 3 p.m. A 116-page catalogue published by the Harvard University Art Museums and distributed by Yale University Press accompanies the exhibition.

Tuesday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m.

Williams College Museum of Art
15 Lawrence Hall Drive, Suite 2
Williamstown MA 01267
Tel. 413.597.3178

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