Seydou Keïta a Self-Taught Photographer
Seydou Keïta was a self-taught photographer from Bamako, Mali, who began by helping his carpenter father before opening his own studio in 1948. He approached portrait photography with the same careful composition as carpentry, aiming to make his clients look their best.
Keïta always emphasized that posing people well distinguished his work. His knack for finding the right position made his sitters appear attractive and self-assured, which contributed greatly to his popularity.
The Brooklyn Museum’s exhibition, “Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens,” celebrates his work and legacy, showcasing portraits from the 1950s that reflect Mali’s transition from French colonial rule to independence.
Keïta’s portraits were carefully staged: he picked the lighting, the angles, and supplied props—from radios and fountain pens to European suits—that helped sitters express their aspirations. His clientele stretched across social classes and even across borders, attracting people from neighboring countries.
A hallmark of Keïta’s photography is the use of handwoven, patterned textiles as backdrops. This technique created striking visual contrasts, inspired future artists, and is recreated in the current exhibition through vibrant textile displays.
Gold jewelry features prominently in many portraits, reflecting Mali’s cultural heritage. The exhibition also includes a variety of textiles, traditional ornaments, and mannequins in customary dress, linking Keïta’s visual style to the region’s material culture.
Keïta’s passion for photography started when he received a box camera as a child. He was largely self-taught but learned from established Malian photographers, eventually running a successful studio and supporting a large extended family.
In 1963, Keïta stopped his studio work to become an official government photographer. After retiring in 1977, he returned to find his studio looted and could no longer take portraits professionally, so he worked as a mechanic.
His studio years coincided with Mali’s pivotal era of social change. Keïta is often compared to German photographer August Sander, but while Sander’s sitters were bound by tradition, Keïta’s clients were in flux—emerging from colonial influence yet rooted in African traditions.
The exhibition’s guest curator, Catherine E. McKinley, sourced unpublished negatives and personal items for display. Nearly 300 photographs illuminate how Keïta’s sitters fused African identity with new, often Western, images and aspirations.
Keïta’s work was largely unknown in the West until 1991, when his images appeared in a New York exhibition. This discovery led to international recognition, allowing him to print his portraits large-scale and transforming the context of his work.
For Keïta’s subjects, portraits were status symbols and tools for personal identity—shared with relatives, friends, or romantic prospects. Seeing his large prints in galleries, Keïta expressed immense pride, feeling his subjects “looked so alive,” and visitors to the Brooklyn Museum can now share in that awe.
