Artist: Seydou Keïta (Bamako (present-day Mali)). Untitled (“Twin” portrait) (ca. 1953). Modern print, dimensions variable.

PRIMARY MATERIALS FOR October 17

View the photograph: Seydou Keïta, Untitled (“Twin” portrait)

Go and see a high-quality reproduction of this photograph in the exhibition catalog that I have put on reserve for you in the library:

Seydou Keïta / André Magnin (ed.) ; texts by André Magnin and Youssouf Tata Cissé.
TR647 .K44 1997.

View high-quality reproductions of modern prints of some other portraits by Keïta, reproduced by Google Arts and Culture (and drawn from the collection of a wealthy Swiss art collector: Jean Pigozzi).

Browse the new-ish digital “Archive of Malian Photography,” which features digitized negatives or modern prints of photographs (mostly portraits, some candids) taken by other photographers from Mali, working at either the same time as Keïta was working, or slightly later.

RESEARCH ACTIVITY (Complete BEFORE you come to class):

Research and curate 5 photographs by Seydou Keïta/other West African photographers; bring in to share

As part of your curated image collection, write and bring in a short paragraph (approx. 150-200 words) explaining why you chose the photographs you did. Your reasons may be connected with any aspect of the photograph/s.

Intertexts/dialogues:

Malick Sidibé (Bamako-based studio photographer, active around the same time as Keïta/slightly later, see Archive of Malian Photography)

Félix Diallo (Kita-based and Bamako-based studio photographer, active around the same time as Keïta/slightly earlier, see Archive of Malian Photography)

Tijani Sitou (Bamako-based studio photographer, member of the generation that came after Keïta)

Mama Casset (West African studio photographer, active in Senegal around the same time as Keïta/slightly earlier)

Meïssa Gaye (West African studio photographer, active in Senegal around the same time as Keïta)

Jean Depara (Central African studio photographer, active in Congo around the same time as Keïta/slightly later)

Philippe Koudjina (West African studio photographer, member of the generation that came after Keïta)

Samuel Fosso (Central African studio photographer and contemporary artist, whose work draws heavily on earlier studio portraiture)

Atong Atem (South Sudanese/Australian photographer and contemporary artist, whose work draws heavily on African traditions of studio portraiture)

Santu Mofokeng, Black Photo Album: Look at Me (pathbreaking artist’s project that engages with early studio portraiture in South Africa)

Zanele Muholi (South African photographer and contemporary artist, whose work draws heavily on African traditions of studio portraiture)