Wednesday, April 21, 2021

Art and Activism

 


The first time I saw this photograph, I was drawn to it. Under its initial post on Twitter, it had the original photographer's name, Malick Sidibe. After a google search, it was an eye-opener to see how much work this man has done and how important and relevant it is. For so long, the pictures of Africans in publications are the national geographic archeology style of photos and the UNICEF starving kids in Africa photos. Malick's work is showcasing the actual lifestyle of the times. "This exceptional collection of black-and-white photographs provides a thorough immersion in the life of the man who was nicknamed "the eye of Bamako." The photographs reveal Malick Sidibé's capacity, starting at the beginning of the 1960s, to grasp the vitality of the youth of Bamako and impose his unique style, recognized today throughout the world." 

From searching up Malick on google, I also discovered other African photographers like Seydou Kieta, another Malian photographer who taught himself photography, built his studio, and took pictures of people around him. I describe my style of photography as lifestyle, and his work truly captures the true meaning of lifestyle photography. Another Photographer is J.D.' Okhai Ojeikere, who took photographs of the unique hairstyles all over Nigeria. 








Ever since I saw these pictures and researched these photographers' work, I wanted to do a project inspired by these men and their work. Their work has a modern look to them in some ways. They took many of the pictures were taken in the 60s and 70s, but they still feel like they could've been taken recently. For me, this project will be about connecting the diaspora back to their roots. To show our we've created our niche and subculture away from our countries. 

"To photograph is to appropriate the thing photographed. It means putting oneself into a certain relation to the world that feels like knowledge -- and, therefore, like power." This quote by Susan Sontag explains how I feel about this project and the works of these men. 

William Pope L is another artist that inspires me. After seeing the crawling performance, I was confused. Still, some research showed that it was to raise awareness for homelessness all over America and then to see his other performance works.








Work Cited 


  1. “Malick Sidibé, Mali Twist.” Fondation Cartier Pour l’art Contemporain, 13 Mar. 2018, www.fondationcartier.com/en/exhibitions/malick-sidibe-mali-twist.

  2. “J.D. ‘Okhai Ojeikere: Hairstyles | Blaffer Art Museum.” Blafferartmuseum.Org, blafferartmuseum.org/okhai-ojeikere. Accessed 19 Apr. 2021.

  3. “Seydou Keïta - The Jean Pigozzi Collection of African Art 2021.” CAACART - The Jean Pigozzi Collection of African Art, www.caacart.com/pigozzi-artist.php?m=47. Accessed 19 Apr. 2021.

  4. Sontag, Susan. “Susan Sontag.” Susansontag.Com, www.susansontag.com/SusanSontag/books/onPhotographyExerpt.shtml. Accessed 20 Apr. 2021.

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