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showed his clients examples of previous portraits he had done, allowed them to pick a pose that they would like, and then he says "I suggested a position that was better suited for them, and in effect, I determined the good position. I was never wrong". Another aspect of Keïta's style that led to his popularity as a portrait photographer was the "innovative use of props and backdrops" in all his photos. He would often use backdrops that had stark patterns. Many people cite how well these backgrounds specifically went with his female subject’s clothes but Keïta has often described this as being a coincidence. Keïta was highly sought after by his clients not only for his signature style, but the culture and elegance that a photo of themselves stamped with the words "Photo SEYDOU KEÏTA" represented.
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subcategorized by date. Every few years, Keïta would renew his studio props, which would later help establish the chronology of his work. He wanted to portray Mali's memories and traditions stating that, he wanted "to take pictures of our rural people during harvest time, and the ritual ceremonies that go about then. That is where the essence of Mali comes out." Elizabeth Bigham, a scholar at
Columbia University, describes how the period shaped his art, saying that, "his studio was born during the immense economic and demographic boom that swept Bamako in the years after World War II."
144:. In the beginning, Keïta worked as both a carpenter and photographer, taking first portraits of his family and friends, later of people in the neighborhood. He learned photography and how to develop from Pierre Garnier, a French photographic supply store owner, and from Mountaga Traoré, his mentor. In 1948 he set up his first studio in the family house in Bamako-Koura behind the main prison.
169:
in New York City. Though his work was first introduced to international audiences through his anonymous presence at this “African
Express” exhibition, he has since been identified and given recognition in later exhibitions. This is due in part to art curator André Magnin, who sought to find him after
147:
After acquiring studio space and a dark room, Keïta began shooting portraits of clients, and he eventually garnered a reputation for his style in both his photos and the way in which he shot his subjects. In an interview with art curator André Magnin, Keïta describes his process and says that he
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Seydou Keïta is unanimously regarded today as the most famous
African studio photographer of the 20th century. Discovered in the West in the early 1990s, his work, composed essentially of black and white portraits made in his studio in Bamako from 1948 to 1962, has since been exhibited in major
155:
In 1962, shortly after Mali gained independence, Keïta was offered a job by the Mali head of police and the director of Malian
National Security. He was asked to be the official government photographer, and he swiftly took the job. Though he continued working for the government for many years,
151:
Keïta did not record the identity of thousands of
Malians that passed through his studio. Since 1948, he had meticulously preserved all his negatives which he estimated ranged from 7,000 to 30,000. His archives were categorized by broad types (e.g. couples, groups, and single full-figures) then
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136:, although the exact date is unknown. He was the oldest in a family of five children. His father Bâ Tièkòró and his uncle Tièmòkò were furniture makers. Keïta developed an interest in photography when his uncle gave him a
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165:, Keïta explained that he quit photography once color became successful. In 1991, Keïta's work became known outside of West Africa when his works were shown anonymously at the
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seeing his anonymous work. Magnin was later entrusted with thousands of Keïta’s negatives, these making up the majority of his publicly displayed work.
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photographer known for his portraits of people and families he took at his portrait photography studio in Mali's capital,
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You Look
Beautiful Like That: The Portrait Photographs of Seydou Keïta and Malick Sidibé
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He remained famous in Mali despite his retirement in 1977. In an article for
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Keïta’s new job eventually lead to the shutdown of his studio in 1963.
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1109:"Fifty One Fine Art Photography Gallery - Exhib. Fifty One - current"
444:, May 24-September 29, 1996. New York, N.Y: Guggenheim Museum, 1996.
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with a film with eight shots in 1935, after returning from a trip to
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Issues of authorship in the portrait photographs of Seydou Keita ...
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1134:"Fifty One Fine Art Photography Gallery - Exhib. Fifty One - past"
1084:"Fifty One Fine Art Photography Gallery - Exhib. Fifty One - past"
971:"Fifty One Fine Art Photography Gallery - Exhib. Fifty One - past"
562:"Issues of Authorship in the Portrait Photographs of Seydou Keïta"
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492:. Grove Art Online: Oxford Art Online's Grove Dictionary of Art.
528:
Magnin, André; Cissé, Youssouf Tata (1997). André Magnin (ed.).
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Keita's work is held in the following permanent collections:
1378:
Seydou Keïta: The
Theatre of Aspiration, with Jeremy Harding
717:""Vol. 32, No. 1, Spring, 1999 of African Arts on JSTOR.""
252:, Vienna, Austria & Düsseldorf Cultural Forum, Germany
949:"In/sight: African Photographers, 1940 to the Present"
460:: Events of the Self: Portraiture and Social Identity
1291:"Interviews with Seydou Keïta and Françoise Huguier"
843:"Seydou Keïta Dies; Photographed Common Man of Mali"
437:
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museums and written about in numerous publications.
1059:"Pinacoteca Giovanni e Marella Agnelli WHY AFRICA?"
204:. Cambridge: Harvard University Art Museums, 2001.
91:
83:
75:
53:
35:
28:
900:"Fifty One Fine Art Photography Gallery - Artists"
215:Seydou Keita: Photographs, Bamako, Mali 1948-1963.
182:Keïta, Seydou, André Magnin, and Youssouf Cissé.
1198:" Saint Louis Art Museum. Accessed 20 June 2017
1185:" Saint Louis Art Museum. Accessed 20 June 2017
1258:University of Chicago Booth School of Business
723:. UCLA James S. Coleman African Studies Center
696:"The Rediscovery of Photographer Seydou Keïta"
422:University of Chicago Booth School of Business
1330:"Seydou Keïta Untitled 29/04/2011 11/06/2011"
1209:"Seydou Keïta | Minneapolis Institute of Art"
462:. Burlafingen: The Walther Collection, 2010.
454:Enwezor, Okwui, and Gabriele Conrath-Scholl.
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498:10.1093/gao/9781884446054.article.T2229320
337:, Galerie du Jour – Agnès b., Tokyo, Japan
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662:The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education
173:Keïta died on 21 November 2001 in Paris.
1038:"100% Africa - Guggenheim Museum Bilbao"
765:"" Seydou Keita" Edited by Andre Magnin"
689:
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196:Lamunière, Michelle, Seydou Keita, and
456:Contemporary African Photography from
384:, Gallery Fifty One, Antwerp, Belgium
377:, Gallery Fifty One, Antwerp, Belgium
370:, Gallery Fifty One, Antwerp, Belgium
357:Pinacoteca Giovanni e Marella Agnelli
319:, Gallery Fifty One, Antwerp, Belgium
259:, Gallery Fifty One, Antwerp, Belgium
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605:
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841:Loke, Margarett (8 December 2001).
694:Ellen, Caldwell (17 October 2016).
486:Moore, Allison (11 February 2013).
112:(1921/23 – 21 November 2001) was a
14:
925:"Seydou Keïta - Bamako Portraits"
763:Davidson, Basil (29 March 1998).
412:, Minneapolis, Minnesota: 6 items
1385:Video duration 1m 33s. Uploader
1364:Michael Rips (22 January 2006).
929:Foam Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam
264:Foam Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam
418:, New York, New York: 10 items
406:, St. Louis, Missouri: 2 items
1:
1348:"The Ghosts of Seydou Keita"
1163:The Art Institute of Chicago
442:Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
424:, Chicago, Illinois: 5 items
410:Minneapolis Institute of Art
400:, Chicago, Illinois: 8 items
398:The Art Institute of Chicago
743:"Seydou Keita Photographer"
298:Museum of Fine Arts Houston
1444:
1428:20th-century photographers
560:Bigham, Elizabeth (1999).
128:Keïta was born in 1921 in
18:
1356:Audio Slideshow from the
1063:www.pinacoteca-agnelli.it
805:– via worldcat.org.
1366:"Who Owns Seydou Keïta?"
1233:The Museum of Modern Art
863:– via NYTimes.com.
658:"Seydou Keïta 1921-2001"
266:, Amsterdam, Netherlands
262:2018: Bamako Portraits,
99:.seydoukeitaphotographer
19:For the footballer, see
328:Christophe Guye Galerie
186:. Zurich: Scalo, 1997.
1408:Portrait photographers
1387:London Review of Books
610:Magnin, André (1995).
458:the Walther Collection
404:Saint Louis Art Museum
375:Masters of Photography
317:About Africa, part one
167:Center for African Art
330:, Zurich, Switzerland
300:, USA. Archived from
294:prv.mfah.org/archives
278:African Photographers
1403:Malian photographers
532:. Scalo Publishers.
416:Museum of Modern Art
1301:on February 9, 1997
1019:. Galeriedujour.com
785:Bigham, Elizabeth.
16:Malian photographer
1423:People from Bamako
1370:The New York Times
1017:"Accueil — La Fab"
847:The New York Times
382:The Pistil's Waltz
1113:www.gallery51.com
951:. 16 January 2008
904:www.gallery51.com
879:kunsthallewien.at
821:Oxford Art Online
769:Los Angeles Times
507:978-1-884446-05-4
468:978-3-86930-157-0
346:Guggenheim Museum
282:Guggenheim Museum
271:Group exhibitions
227:978-3-86930-301-7
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61:(aged 79–80)
57:November 21, 2001
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1314:"Seydou Keïta"
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1275:External links
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1254:"Seydou Keïta"
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1183:Untitled, #162
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1413:1920s births
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1337:. Retrieved
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1295:zonezero.com
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622:(4): 91–95.
619:
616:African Arts
615:
572:(1): 56–96.
569:
566:African Arts
565:
530:Seydou Keïta
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511:. Retrieved
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302:the original
293:
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257:Seydou Keïta
256:
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184:Seydou Keïta
183:
177:Publications
172:
162:African Arts
161:
158:
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150:
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110:Seydou Keïta
109:
108:
87:Photographer
59:(2001-11-21)
30:Seydou Keïta
21:Seydou Keita
1418:2001 deaths
700:JSTOR Daily
389:Collections
353:Why Africa?
342:100% Africa
324:Some Tribes
234:Exhibitions
217:Göttingen:
76:Citizenship
1397:Categories
1339:2023-10-05
1305:2023-10-05
1214:2018-01-10
1168:2020-06-06
1023:2021-11-19
934:2018-05-04
860:2020-06-06
474:References
368:Accrochage
308:2023-10-05
84:Occupation
1143:5 October
1118:5 October
1093:5 October
1068:5 October
1043:5 October
1001:5 October
980:5 October
955:5 October
909:5 October
884:5 October
855:0362-4331
670:1077-3711
636:0001-9933
586:0001-9933
124:Biography
39:1921/1923
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