The Expanded Subject: New Perspectives in Photographic Portraiture from Africa - Hardcover

Joshua I Cohen; Sandrine Colard

 
9783777426327: The Expanded Subject: New Perspectives in Photographic Portraiture from Africa
Hardcover
ISBN 10: 3777426326 ISBN 13: 9783777426327
Publisher: Hirmer, 2016

Synopsis

From 19th-century studio practice through the independence era, African photography has best been known for modes of portraiture that crystallize the sitter’s identity and social milieu. Even portraits by contemporary artists are often interpreted as windows into African realities. This exhibition reconsiders African contemporary photographic portraiture by presenting four practitioners whose concerns range well beyond questions of social identity. Sammy Baloji, Mohamed Camara, Saïdou Dicko, and George Osodi expand their subjects’ interpretive possibilities, exemplifying a new creativity and versatility in portrait-making. While each artist employs different strategies, they all challenge the assumption that photographic portraits serve as mirrors of the “self.” Baloji’s montages dislocate the subject historically, Camara probes the boundaries of the portrait genre, Dicko expresses uncertainty at the possibility of representation, and Osodi engages his subjects as platforms for political commentary. The four artists enlist portraiture as a point of departure for exploring subjectivity, history, and photographic form. The Expanded Subject offers new insights into the expressive and conceptual range of African photo-portraiture today.

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About the Author

Sandrine Colard is Assistant Professor of Art History at Rutgers University-Newark, a writer and an independent curator. She specialises in modern and contemporary African arts and photography, with a focus on Central Africa.

From the Back Cover

From 19th-century studio practice through the independence era, African photography has best been known for modes of portraiture that crystallize the sitter’s identity and social milieu. Even portraits by contemporary artists are often interpreted as windows into African realities. This exhibition reconsiders African contemporary photographic portraiture by presenting four practitioners whose concerns range well beyond questions of social identity. Sammy Baloji, Mohamed Camara, Saïdou Dicko, and George Osodi expand their subjects’ interpretive possibilities, exemplifying a new creativity and versatility in portrait-making. While each artist employs different strategies, they all challenge the assumption that photographic portraits serve as mirrors of the “self.” Baloji’s montages dislocate the subject historically, Camara probes the boundaries of the portrait genre, Dicko expresses uncertainty at the possibility of representation, and Osodi engages his subjects as platforms for political commentary. The four artists enlist portraiture as a point of departure for exploring subjectivity, history, and photographic form. The Expanded Subject offers new insights into the expressive and conceptual range of African photo-portraiture today.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Publisher
Hirmer
Publication date
2016
Language
English
ISBN 10 
3777426326
ISBN 13 
9783777426327
Binding
Hardcover
Edition number
1
Number of pages
128