{"id":96170,"date":"2025-10-24T20:44:10","date_gmt":"2025-10-24T20:44:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/96170\/"},"modified":"2025-10-24T20:44:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T20:44:10","slug":"in-seydou-keita-a-tactile-lens-a-legendary-african-photographer-gets-his-biggest-showcase-yet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/96170\/","title":{"rendered":"In \u201cSeydou Ke\u00efta: A Tactile Lens,\u201d a Legendary African Photographer Gets His Biggest Showcase Yet"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hand-woven and dyed fabrics, elaborate gold and beaded jewelry, women with hennaed hands and feet, and military men in suits fill the work of photographer Seydou Ke\u00efta (1921\u20132001), the subject of a new exhibition, \u201cSeydou Ke\u00efta: A Tactile Lens,\u201d<\/a> at New York\u2019s Brooklyn Museum.<\/p>\n

For the show\u2014the largest North American survey of Ke\u00efta\u2019s imagery to date\u2014guest curator Catherine E. McKinley has brought together nearly 300 photographs, some never before seen, as well as personal belongings of Ke\u00efta\u2019s, including vintage cameras. Born in Bamako, Mali, during French colonial rule, Ke\u00efta developed his studio practice against a backdrop of political unrest. For a time, French law forbade photography by Africans, but Ke\u00efta persisted, gaining popularity as Bamako\u2019s most sought-after photographer. For more than a quarter century, Ke\u00efta photographed Bamakois from all walks of life\u2014government officials, intellectuals, artists, and everyday members of Mali\u2019s rising middle class.<\/p>\n

\"Seydou<\/p>\n

Seydou Keita. Untitled, 1959, printed ca. 1994-2001. Gelatin silver print. Courtesy of The Jean Pigozzi African Art Collection.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 SKPEAC\/Seydou Keita, courtesy The Jean Pigozzi ‘Collection of African Art and Danziger Gallery, NY\"Seydou<\/p>\n

Seydou Keita. Untitled, 1949-51, printed 1995. Gelatin silver print. Courtesy of The Jean Pigozzi African Art Collection.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 SKPEAC\/Seydou Keita, courtesy The Jean Pigozzi Collection of African Art and Danziger Gallery, NY<\/p>\n

Vogue sat down with McKinley to discuss the timeliness of the show, what makes Ke\u00efta\u2019s work so singular, and how design sits at the heart of his photographic oeuvre.<\/p>\n

Vogue: Exhibitions like this are years in the making. How long have you been working on it and what were some of the pivotal moments that led to it?<\/p>\n

Catherine E. McKinley: I worked on it for just under two years, but it\u2019s life work. I\u2019ve been studying African photography and textiles since college. I\u2019m almost 60, so that gives you an idea. I was first introduced to Ke\u00efta in 1991, with his show at the Museum for African Art. My fascination became an immediate love. Going to Bamako was when the real work started. I met with the Ke\u00efta family and that meeting was pivotal.<\/p>\n

\"Seydou<\/p>\n

Seydou Keita. Untitled, 1949-51, printed ca. 1994-2001. Gelatin silver print. Courtesy of the Mus\u00e9e national du Mali.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 SKPEAC\/Seydou Keita, courtesy The Jean Pigozzi Collection of African Art and Danziger Gallery, NY\"Seydou<\/p>\n

Seydou Keita. Untitled, 1953-57, printed ca. 1994-2001. Gelatin silver print. Courtesy of The Jean Pigozzi African Art Collection.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 SKPEAC\/Seydou Keita, courtesy The Jean Pigozzi Collection of African Art and Danziger Gallery, NY<\/p>\n

Why Ke\u00efta and why now?<\/p>\n

This is the most extensive North American show he\u2019s had. The fact that it hasn\u2019t happened in the 30 or so years since he was discovered is remarkable. It\u2019s a chance to offer new information, a new framework. This is an important year for him and for African photography. Important shows are opening. MoMA has a large retrospective in December<\/a>. African photography\u2019s going to be on the radar in a big way.<\/p>\n

\"Seydou<\/p>\n

Seydou Keita. Untitled, 1949-51, printed 1998. Gelatin silver print. Courtesy of The Jean Pigozzi African Art Collection.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 SKPEAC\/Seydou Keita, courtesy The Jean Pigozzi Collection of African Art and Danziger Gallery, NY\"Seydou<\/p>\n

Seydou Keita. Untitled, 1957-60, printed 1994. Gelatin silver print. Courtesy of The Jean Pigozzi African Art Collection.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 SKPEAC\/Seydou Keita, courtesy The Jean Pigozzi Collection of African Art and Danziger Gallery, NY<\/p>\n

What was the process of acquiring loans from private collections and working with the family?<\/p>\n

Jean Pigozzi is the copyright holder and has most of Ke\u00efta\u2019s works. I made an effort to find work in individual collections and institutions like the Chicago Art Institute and the Mus\u00e9e National du Mali. I wanted to represent collections that were unknown, whether family collections or small family-run archives on the continent. To my delight, some of the best materials were in those collections. Textiles held in families were superior to what was held in Western institutions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hand-woven and dyed fabrics, elaborate gold and beaded jewelry, women with hennaed hands and feet, and military men…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":96171,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[437,434,435,436,438,146,85,46,64253,12523,5101],"class_list":{"0":"post-96170","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-artsdesign","12":"tag-design","13":"tag-entertainment","14":"tag-il","15":"tag-israel","16":"tag-splitscreenimageleftinset","17":"tag-storytypeinterview","18":"tag-web"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96170","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96170"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96170\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96171"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}