Every week I'm faced with the same struggle - which amazing photographer will be featured here today. I end up spending so much more time then should be required trying to figure out which photographer I'm most excited about. Today was especially difficult as the final two candidates works are just amazing. South African photographer David Goldblatt won out mainly because I needed to make a choice so I could eventually get on to other things (like sleeping). I also loved the fact that Goldblatt has used his cameras to record the changes in South Africa (and other parts of the continent) for more than 40 years. As someone who at times feels all over the board, I'm completely in awe of Goldblatt's complete dedication to not only the field of photography but also the subject of his home country in particular. His work has captured South Africa both pre and post apartheid and capturing the lives of both black and white individuals, families, and communities. What makes this especially interesting is that during a transition when so many images coming out of South Africa focused on the violence of this change, Goldblatt instead used his camera to show how citizens on ever side of the divide were attending to the day-to-day business of living.
His work has mostly been in black and white however Goldblatt is not letting the digital age go by as he eventually started working in color. In reading interviews and other information about this photographer, I was particularly interested in how he went from a world where all your work had to be done in black and white to switching to color. He has done it very slowly and only in a manner that stressed the importance of capturing the colors as close to reality as possible (no uber blue skies for this guy).
In addition to being featured at just about every major art museum in the world and written about in major newspapers and magazines, Goldblatt's work was recognized by the kind folks over at the Hasselblad Foundation who awarded him the International Award in Photography (basically a Nobel Prize in the field) in 2006. This summer, Goldblatt also received the prestigious Henri Cartier-Bresson (a major heavy-weight in the world of photography) award which will allow the him to continue his documentary on the city of Johannesburg.
I honestly feel like a broken record when I tell you how much I'm in awe by the wonderful photography I see on Flickr and this week is no exception. Today on Flickr Finds Africa, we're going to travel to Niger with Italian photographer Alessandro Vannucci.
Seriously, this shot is MAJOR...the stern look on the man with the crooked glasses is priceless!
Can you even begin to imagine what it must be like gathering firewood...IN THE DESERT?!?
A grown woman wonderfully captured in the body of a small child
The sand reminds me a gold dust scattered across his face....just stunning!
In addition to this set on Niger, Alessandro Vannucci also has some wonderful sets on Namibia and Algeria along with great shots in other parts of the world.
Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! There is just so much to be thankful for! I am especially grateful to all of you for joining me here on Out and About Africa and getting a glimpse of the continent through my eyes.
I will be celebrating the holiday with friends and family and basically eating my heart out until Monday so I look forward to seeing you then!
Do you like bead work? Well I have loved beads for a long time. I remember back in grad. school I would sit on the floor of my apartment and just put pieces together and would get completely absorbed in the task and then remember I had other things (i.e. studying) to do. When I moved to East Africa (round one), a lot of my beading stopped but I continued to at least collect beads. Now I have a small bundle and just need to get my head back into the game!
As you might guess, I was quite happy when Anna of Beloved Beadwork in South Africa emailed me about her shop! As you can see from these images, they make some lovely pieces, I'm especially loving the colorful group of bracelets. It's still a relatively new company (started in May of this year), but I get the strong suspicion that they are going to be major! You can see more of their work, here.
I was looking at something random yesterday and the image of a castle really caught my attention. Of course I was like "hey we got those in Africa too" so I figured I share a first cut at castles from Morocco, Ghana, Libya, Tunisia, and Ethiopia.
This one is just amazing! The colors just set the perfect tone for such a place!
Isn't the Castle hallway in Ghana stunning....
By far the most unique thing I've seen!
So loving this rock 'n roll castle in Libya
Then of course there is Gondar in Ethiopia
And what else would the Atlas Mountains be hiding??
Oh let me count the ways that I love this bedroom! Traditional rug and pillows, with very serious bed-end table/stool with simple crisp white linens. I really can't get enough of this room in the guesthouse Le Nid des Cigognes in Morocco!
Let's kick start this Tuesday with this lovely mud cloth floor pillow. I really love it against the white and yellow pillows. These are actually DIY-style pillows so click here to find the very simple instructions to get these pillows in your home in less than 30 mins!
For the longest time, I thought a blurry picture was the same as a bad picture. I would get frustrated when an image on a roll of film came back blurry and even my digital point-and-shoot got into the act by giving me instant erase options whenever a picture was blurry.
These days I feel more able to see the beauty in these types of pictures and no photographer makes it quite as stunning as Bruno Boudjelal. Boudjelal, who is French by way of Algeria, has a unique ability to capture the ordinary in a way that turns it into extraordinary. According the to photographer, his technique is more "intuitive" than technical. He does little to no framing and often doesn't even look through the lens! That's a whole lot of intuition as far as I can see, yet that ability to completely trust himself has led to stunning work.
Boudjelal's story is quite interesting and definitely comes out in his photographs. Born to a French mom and Algerian dad, Boudjelal knew nothing about his Algerian heritage when he was growing up as it was held secret. He never knew anything about his father's past in Algeria or any of his father's relative. It wasn't until he was in his early 30s when he made his first journey to Algeria to discover this origins, including one trip with his father which can imagine was very heavy with emotions.
Since his first trip to Algeria in 1993, Boudjelal returned on a consistent basis to explore his heritage documenting each step along the way through the lens of his camera. Meeting new family members and strangers as he traveled the country from east to west. Ten years later, feeling like he had planted enough roots in Algeria, he began exploring other countries on the continent including Ghana where many of these shots are taken. This is definitely a photographer to watch, especially as he discovers Africa one country at a time!
So what do you think of this "intuitive" type of photography? Have you ever taken any pictures similar to this style and then seen it as beautiful??
Welcome to a new week here on Out and About Africa. I'm very excited because it's a short week here in the land of the sometimes free, meaning by Thursday morning I'll be sleeping in!
Anywho...I want to dive right into this week's Flickr Finds Africa because I'm am always amazed at this photographers work. I've shown you a sample of his work here, but allow me to formally introduce you to Osvaldo Pieroni. His set of work in countries like Mali, Senegal and Burkina Faso grab my attention every time I'm in Flickr and searching.
In addition to his set on Africa, you should also check out his set on Trains and Bodies, Italian Summer - they all blow me away
I am so excited about today's post because I actually have a guest with me to talk to you about today's artist: Nneka Egbuna! Nneka has been in my line-up of artists to share with you for a little while but she shot straight to the top when I found out that she was in Virginia last Saturday. My family was in town this weekend so it was a no-go for me, but my trusty friend Azara was more than willing and able to represent on my behalf.
Azara actually has a few things in common with the artists which make her the perfect guest to write about Nneka:
- being from Nigeria - Azara is from the city of Jos while Nneka hails from Warri - being biracial - Azara is Russian/Nigerian while Nneka is German/Nigerian - both migrated to other pastures in their late teens - Azara to the U.S. and Nneka to Germany - both with souls as deep as the ocean's floor. So without much ado.....
I just learnt about Nneka Egbuna on Saturday night while trying to find something interesting to do. After listening to a few song’s I was hucked. I couldn’t believe she was playing so close to me and that the show was only $10. I quickly called my girls and even though Brandie was a total flake (something about family in town), I was able to get a partner in crime to come along with me.
Let's talk a bit about the artist: Nneka is Nigerian/German, and definitely seems to identify more with her Nigerian roots. Born in Warri (Niger delta area) and having lived there 'till she was 18, Nneka seems to have had some challenges in her childhood. She doesn’t speak much about the details of past, but I think her experiences comes out in her music. She seems unafraid to share her emotions about her past and the place she calls home.
When Nneka comes out on stage, she is rather small, contrary to the voice the belts out and her powerful presence on stage. She is in baggy pants, baggy top and a messy curly afro (sorta like mine when it's unsubjugated). From the interviews I saw before heading to the concert, she doesn’t seem to care much about “conventional” fashion. She also speaks in pidgin English (Nigerian version of English), contrary to expectations of a “halfcast” (bi-racial) child that grew up in Nigeria.
She sings a lot about corruption. One song in particular had the word VIP in it: Vagabon In Power, which she had us repeat during every chorus of that song (crowd participation – I like it). She also sang about the issues in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, the exploitation of the communities by oil companies, corrupt Nigerian leaders and about Ken Saro Wiwa who was an activist in the Niger Delta that was killed. When she isn't singing about the struggles of Nigerians, she has some slower more savory songs about the heart. She’s been compared to many great artists like to Erykah Badu, Neneh Cherry and Floetry. She refers to Fela Kuti, Bob Marley and Mobb Depp and Lauryn Hill as key influences.
With only 4 or 5 years of musical history, I assumed there would be a 50% hit, however I was wrong! I stood up for the entire 2 hour show. I wasn’t sure how to dance to the music because it’s a mixture of rave, african and neo-soul, but I enjoyed it thoroughly. I found her performance to be great. She’s not an entertainer per-say, more so the energy on stage and her lyrics seem to just sit in your body when you hear them. My favorite songs are Heartbreak, Kangpe, The Uncomfortable Truth (featured right above), Walking, and Mind vs. Heart.
So I have to be honest, when I first heard her speak in pidgin English, I was taken aback. She spoke in a way that transported me back to the streets of Lagos from my childhood. I didn't like it at first, however I have warmed up to unabashed way she chooses to express herself. Many Africans, including myself, typically change their accents to blend in with the European/American accent. But whether Nneka is talking to German journalists, French interviewers or a crowd of Americans, she sticks to her accent and everything about her Nigerian culture and heritage. Now when I read her quotes, I replace words like "the" with "de" and so on. It's fun.
I love that she is so consistent about how her whole career isn't about her at all, but about Nigeria and getting people to open their ears, hearts, and minds to what is happening there and she is very effective. After listening to her songs, I went back to review the issues of the Niger Delta. I was appalled at the pollution and devastation still existing there. I think this is the first time I’ve really wanted to understand the Niger Delta issue. So I have to hand it to her for getting me courageous enough to read the stories.
My only caveat with her is that I wish she would articulate the issues regarding her motivation and the issues of Nigeria a bit clearer. It’s all well and good to sing about bad leaders, bad companies and thieving people but it’s much more helpful to come up with a perspective that captures the issues / underlying problems and to suggest possible solutions. This seemed to be lacking in her lyrics and during interviews. That said, I am still impressed about her desire to raise the issue.
If Nneka is performing anywhere near your town, you gotta go and see her!
I would definitely love to get your feedback on this and for those of you interested in hearing more about Nneka, check out these interviews here, here, and here (you can see what Azara was talking about regarding her accent). You can also click here to hear one of my personal favorites from Nneka....a sweet little acoustic number!
Well, that's it for another week here on Out and About Africa! I really hope you enjoyed the week with me and I look forward to sharing so much more creativity from Africa with you next week.
Let's start the day with this beautiful image that has been sitting on my desktop for quite a while. Isn't this South African ballerina (or perhaps model in ballerina clothes) beautiful?
Honestly, words can barely express how excited I am about Kua Designs! Some people are into jewelry, others can't get enough shoes, or just clothes in general. While I love those things as well, nothing stops my heart like a good bag. I even once considered going into the business but realized I would never be able to sell anything because I would just want everything for myself! With that in mind, you can pretty much figure out that my heart skipped a beat want I clicked on Mimi Magazine and discovered Kua Designs!
Ghanian designer Ruby Buah seamlessly combines stunning the wax prints with sleek new designs to come up with these stunning clutches that go with everything from the staple little black dress to jeans and a simple top on a night out.
I love that she named the business after her mom, named Kua, but also turned it into something catchy as well: Keep Us Authentic.
Seeing all these bags is a total kid in the candy store moment for me.....I simply wouldn't know how to just choose one!
You can find out more through Kua Designs website and also through the "It's all in the Bag" article in Mimi Magazine!
I am not one to be really moved by übercontemporary spaces which is why today's Tuesday's Design post is a little surprising even to me! Yet, this bedroom has been on my mind (and desktop) since yesterday when I first saw it. Buried deep in the desert facing the Atlas Mountains of Morocco, this space by architects Karl Fournier and Olivier Marty of Studio KOseems to maintain a cozy warmth while still being very minimalist.At first, I was a bit hesitant about the lack of windows but I get the impression from the amount of light that there must be a huge window on the other side of the wall. I really love the uncluttered nature of the entire space. You don't even need to bother with bedside tables, just focus on the key essentials: bed + lamp and the rest will take care of itself. I think this minimalist approach on the bedroom really speaks to me as I have been completely uninspired to add anything else to my bedroom. No need for side tables, the floor works fine for me. Aside from the needed desk and now a new plant, this is the simplest space in my apartment and definitely my favorite precisely because it feels simple (again, your übermodernist would beg to differ if they came in here).
Now if you must leave a bedroom like that, this little cozy nock at the l'Heure Bleue Hotel is directly where I would go. Slippers off, curled into the corner with a nice glass of chilled wine and some good music going in the background. Simple, simple, simple! In fact, it makes to want wonder what I can take away from other spaces in my apartment!
So what do you think? Do these spaces work with the current style you have going throughout your home? Are you of the "less is more" school of thought?
Here is a little sneak peak for Tuesday's Design. This restaurant shot of The Grand Cafe de la Poste in Marrakesh looks like a relaxing place to rest after a visit to the souks.
Let's switch gears from all things gorgeous on Flickr to more gorgeousness from Cameroonian photographer Angèle Etoundi Essamba. I just love these images of black women and the reason why she has chosen this as her main focus of this body of work. When recently asked why this is her focus, Essamba commented:
"I wanted to challenge usual representations of black women....They also show African women in traditional roles: that of mother and caretaker, of worker in the fields. I did not recognize myself in these images and it seemed vital to me to break with it and to apply another look on African women and on myself." (read full interview here)
I think this is so true as any images of African women today continue to be so one-dimensional. Luckily, photographer like Essamba are helping to break that pattern.
