Sheep magazine Archive 2: issues 10-17

SEYDOU KEÏTA
P H O T O G R A P H E R
Back in May, in issue 10 of ‘Sheep in the Road’, we spotlighted Malian
photographer Malick Sidibé, here is another, also from Bamako, Seydou
Keïta. Keïta’s use of repeat pattern backdrops for his portraits are widely
acknowledged, not only as a record of Malian society (1940-1960) but also
as art.
From the introduction to this book, ‘What was Seydou Keïta seeking when
his subjects walked into his studio in Bamako, Mali? Clearly he saw the
extraordinary beauty and stunning graphics of the women’s clothing – the
extravagant shapes of the sleeves and the billowing sumptuousness of the
skirts. He recognised the stately power of the queenly turbans that so many of
the women wore, lending them a commanding air. His men were dashing,
and Keïta tailored his images to emphasize the pleasing contours of an
oversizzed jacket or a short pant leg. He fashioned these pictures by layering
pattern on pattern. He understood how overlapping geometric expanses could
electrify a picture. Keïta was Matisse’s soul mate, evoking the pleasurable
charge of Matisse’s flattened panes of vibrant colour with his interlocking
black and white patterns. His eyes were open to all the seductive powers of
ornamentation and adornment. Many of his subjects were achingly beautiful
in their African splendour. He was large-hearted, bestowing on his sitters a
honed sense of how to make each as becoming as they could be. The aplomb
with which they present themselves and yet the utter ordinariness of the
storefront photograph creates a heightened mix of formality and intimacy that
is beguiling.’ [writes Kathy Ryan]
39
October 2016