You Look Beautiful Like That: The Portrait Photographs of Seydou Keïta and Malick Sidibé

by Michelle Lamunière, Malick Sidibé (Photographer), Seydou Keïta (Photographer)

The catalog of an exhibition organized by the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard U., on view during fall 2001. It presents work from a highly regarded commercial photography studio that operated in Mali's capital, Bamako, in the decades before and after independence from France in 1960. The warm-toned b&w portraits combine formulas of Western portrait photography with local aesthetics to create images that are both souvenirs of special moments and also symbols of wealth and the sitters' status in the community. In addition to reproducing more than 70 portraits, the catalog includes excerpts of recent interviews with the photographers and an essay placing their work within the context of the history of portrait photography in West Africa. Harvard University Art Museums published the book (ISBN 1-891771-20-5); distribution is by Yale U. Press under ISBN 0-300-09188-5. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Genres: Photography, Africa

100 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book that satisfies with a thoughtful essay, winsome interviews, and phenomenal reproductions of the portrait work by both photographers, Keita and Sidibe.

Keita is the older of the two, and it's interesting to see how the formal aesthetics of traditional African style influences his portraits. Sidibe responds more vigorously to the independence from colonial rule and the freedom introduced by Afro-Cuban music.

This is an awesome book. I borrowed it via ILL, but I'm going to get a copy for myself (and recommend that my library add it to its collection). Beautiful cover, easy to hold, and perfect for study.

[Bobby Tula · Rating 5 out of 5]

And this is where I learned about the size of a swath of cloth signified regal status, regency. The early photographs of West Africa featured show the foundation on which Seydou Keïta and Malick Sidibé formed the visions of backdrops, use of props, vehicles, etcetera in their respective works.

This was the first of my first Malick Sidibé text/photographs collection section in my library.

"You Look Beautiful Like That" took my artistic impressions onto a new turn in my path as a photographer.

[Ellison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Begins with information about why folks ant to pose for photographs and mentions props. Then interviews of the two photographers who created the works. the second half is their images. Insightful.