Delphine Diaw Diallo | Photography

Delphine Diaw Diallo is a French-Senegalese photographer, who is recognized as one of the World's Best Emerging Photographers in 2009. Her portfolio is a collection of portraits, collages, and commercial work.

Delphine created the Magic Photos Studio (below) in homage to Malick Sidibe's photo studio, using collages, adding drawings, and colours to her photographs to underline the emotions conveyed.

From left to right, top-down:

1st and 2nd: "Highness" series

3rd and 4th: "Portraits" series

5th to 8th: "Magic Photo Studios"

For more on Delphine's work, visit www.delphinediawdiallo.com

Kalahari 47° | Anton Crone

South African photographer Anton Crone took some pictures of the scene in the Kalahari desert which covers Botswana, parts of Namibia and South Africa. The photos were baked in the desert in the summer heat of 47°, to create a vintage photo finish.

Namibia's "Hereros" | African Adaptation of Victorian fashion

"Hereros" is a portrait series by Jim Naughten of Herero people dressed in Victorian era dresses and paramilitary costumes. The Herero are not a homogenous people. The majority live in central Namibia and were heavily influenced by European culture as depicted in these photographs. Other Herero counterparts such as the Himba, Kuvale, and Tjimba are known to wear traditional leather garments. During the European scramble to colonize Africa, Rhenish missionaries attempted to convert the Herero people with European fashion. Over time, it became a part of Herero tradition, and regional variations emerged such as the addition of cow horns to headdresses. 

In 1892, the first German colonists arrived in Southern Africa where the indigenous Herero and Nama people resided. By 1903, the Germans had made plans to place the Herero people in reservations, to enable the scramble for more land. In 1904, the Herero and Nama people began to fight the German forces. Over a period of four years, the Herero population decreased from 80,000 to 15,000. After killing a German soldier, it was customary for a Herero warrior to remove the soldier's uniform and wear it as a symbol of superiority in battle. Today, this tradition is continued to honour Herero ancestors during funerals, ceremonies and festivals.

[It is noted that the portraits are not intended to serve as a conventional documentary of Herero culture. The portraits do not capture the subject in a snapshot of everyday life nor with objects typical of routine or social station. The subjects were positioned and dressed in their garments to reflect the colour and vibrancy of this culture.]

For more on Jim Naughten or "Hereros", visit www.jimnaughten.com

K'naan On Artistic Censorship for Success

I came across this NY Times article written by K'naan, a Somali Canadian poet and musician. As an emerging artist, K'naan gained popularity with his second and third album, "The Dusty Foot Philosopher" and "Troubadour" which told stories of his experiences in Somalia. However, K'naan's latest album, "Country, God or the Girl", had a noticeably different tone and was adapted to present a more self-absorbed, fun style which was more suitable for the radio and the top charts. 

Illustration by Jimmy Turrell, from a photograph by Steve C. Mitchell/European Pressphoto Agency

In  this article, K'naan talks about this brief attempt to produce popularly accepted tunes. He explains  why he's given that up to find his original voice to tell the stories of Somalia, of being an immigrant, of war, and of being an artist. I enjoyed the article because it provides an intimate self-reflection of an artist, revealing some of the struggles that artists face in finding the balance between profitability and artist authenticity. [Click here to read the article.]

American Promise | Two Black Boys in the Education System

American Promise is a documentary that offers a realistic look at the harsh realities that black males face in the education system today. Filmed by Joe Brewster and Michele Stephenson, the project began 13 years ago as they focused on Idris, their son, and his best friend Seun. The film follows them on their educational journey up to their senior year of high school. American Promise was successfully funded on kickstarter with this engaging video narrated by Idris' younger brother named Miles.

The film has now been completed and is an official selection of the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. Inspired by the American Promise, filmmakers Joe Brewster and Michele Stephenson created a book with bestselling author entitled, "Promises Kept: How to Help Black Boys Succeed in School and in Life". This parenting and educational guide is designed to offer strategies on how to deal with the challenges that Black boys face in the American educational system.

Watch the trailer for the American Promise here:

The film will be released on PBS, along with the parenting book by Random House.

For more on American Promise, visit www.americanpromise.org/

Boneshaker | Frances Bodomo

Boneshaker is a film by Frances Bodomo which tells the story of a Ghanaian immigrant family that takes a road trip to a Pentecostal church in Louisiana to cure their violent daughter. There, the family encounters some challenges as they attempt to perform a traditional ritual away from home. A Ghanaian living in diaspora herself, filmmaker France Bodomo relates to the experience of immigrants. In the video below she mentions feelings of homelessness, landlessness and rootlessness which are often part of the immigration experience. The film was successfully funded on Kickstarter in 2011, and is now an official selection for the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.

Watch the film preview used for the Kickstarter campaign here:

Asa | The Way I Feel

Asa has just released a music video for her song, "The Way I Feel". The visuals are rich with symbols which set the scene of a war veteran's hospital, but allude to the ever-present suffering in the world. Asa plays the role of a nurse who sings about the way she feels as she works in a place of pain and darkness. The song is part of Asa's sophomore album entitled, "Beautiful Imperfection".

Watch the official music video:

Addis Foto Fest | Dec 3 - 8

Addis Foto Fest (AFF) is back this year for its second edition, from December 3 - 8, 2012. AFF 2012 offers a combination of photography, video art exhibitions, conferences, workshops and portfolio reviews. The festival opens with an exhibition called "Addis Transformation" which is dedicated to the 125th Ethiopian calendar anniversary of the city of Addis Ababa. This opening exhibition features various photographic documentations of a city known as one of the fastest growing metropolises.

Photos by Kyle LaMere

AFF 2010 | First Edition

AFF 2012 also presents two talks entitled, "The Photography market in Africa", and "Photojournalism and Media in Africa". In addition, there will be movie screenings of "Puma Films for Peace", "Synchronicity", and "Restless City". With 41 key participants which include curators, artists, and photographers, the festival is promising to be a great component in the field of African contemporary art and culture.

For more on Addis Foto Fest, visit www.addisfotofest.com.

The Progress Of Love

The Progress Of Love is a three-part transatlantic exhibition which explores how today's African artists reflect on universal emotions in a changing global society. The exhibition is hosted by The Menil Collection, The Pullitzer Foundation for the Arts, and the Centre for Contemporary Art. 

The Menil Collection in Houston December 2, 2012 – March 17, 2013

At the Menil Collection, The Progress of Love reveals how artists in Africa today are questioning, reflecting, and challenging received images and norms of love —sexual, familial, friendly, communal— as derived both from traditional culture and Western influences. Works by more than 20 artists from Africa, Europe, and America examine the ways in which language, mass media, cultural traditions, and socioeconomic forces foster images and expectations about love. The exhibition pays particular attention to the effects of the digital era, asking whether our ideas about love are now coming into closer alignment across the Atlantic. Zina Saro-Wiwa's Eaten By The Heart is featured at the exhibition.

Photo of artist Zina Saro-Wiwa.

The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts November 16, 2012 – April 20, 2013

The Progress of Love at The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts explores the end  of love’s spectrum. Yinka Shonibare’s Addio del Passato (2012) is featured in this series. Also featured are Mourning Class (2010-11) by Zina Saro-Wiwa and Take Care of Yourself (2007) by Sophie Calle. Mourning  Class is a multi-screen video presentation of a lamentation ritual devised by the artist, in memory of her brother and her renowned activist father, Ken Saro-Wiwa. Take Care of Yourself is a multimedia installation documenting the responses of 107 women to a break-up letter the artist had received from her lover, via e-mail.

Photo: Yinka Shonibare, MBE Addio del Passato, 2011 Digital video, color, sound, 16 min 52 sec Courtesy of James Cohan Gallery, New York and Shanghai © 2012 Yinka Shonibare, MBE

The Centre for Contemporary Art, Lagos, October 13, 2012 – January 27, 2013

At the Centre for Contemporary Art, The Progress of Love explores contemporary expressions of love with an emphasis on the performative, highlighting the growing interest in live art in Nigeria. It opens up the possibility for dialogue and interaction that may challenge audiences to rethink prejudices, expand possibilities, and engage with and in all the ways love can affect lives. Inspired by personal experiences, tradition, technology, and literature, artists represented in the performances express loss, absence, pain, and difference. In doing so, they invoke memory, challenge prejudice, and articulate togetherness in very personal ways. ”

For more details on programs, locations, and the artists visit The Progress Of Love.

Eaten By The Heart | The Progress Of Love

The Progress Of Love is a three-part transatlantic exhibition which explores how today's African artists reflect on universal emotions in a changing global society. The exhibition is hosted by The Menil Collection (in Houston, USA), The Pullitzer Foundation for the Arts (in St. Louis, USA), and the Centre for Contemporary Art (in Lagos, Nigeria). As part of the series at The Menil Collection, Eaten By The Heart is a video installation by Zina Saro-Wiwa which explores the views of Africans on kissing.

Differences in Practice of Kissing

There is a notable difference between generations, in terms of the views towards kissing as an expression of affection. In Part 1 of Eaten By The Heart (shown below), the participants describe the familiarity they have with the practice. The general awkwardness surrounding the idea would seem a little strange to those living in areas where kissing is equated with an expression of love. Anthropologists believe that kissing began in India and they reference Amazonian tribes who are still not accustomed to the practice. Perhaps our exposure to kissing in Western societies has conditioned us to expect and enjoy it as a form of love. The implications of this are quite fascinating.

Watch Part 1 of Eaten By The Heart:

Heartbreak & Expressions of Love

The video installation progresses to address topics of heartbreak. I found the responses very poetic and a beautiful communication of various appreciations of love beyond the customary kiss. The tender, vulnerable facial expressions provided visible hints of profound experiences of love and hurt. 

Adopting the practice of kissing

One participant suggested the idea that Africans “borrowed” kissing from the Europeans to “complete our love”. However the increased acceptance and use of kissing is more likely to have been the result of globalization and the decreasingly conservative disposition of younger generations.

Read more on The Progress Of Love in this post.