Malick Sidibé

Malick Sidibé (1935 – 14 April 2016) was a Malian photographer from a Fulani (Fula) village in Soloba, who was noted for his black-and-white studies of popular culture in the 1960s in Bamako, Mali. Sidibé had a long and fruitful career as a photographer in Bamako, and was a well-known figure in his community. Quotes I wanted to be the photographer of happiness. Too often is Africa's image linked to pain, poverty, misery. Denying this reality would be foolish, but Africa is not only that, and this is what I have always wanted to depict in my images. It's a world, someone's face. When I capture it, I see the future of the world. Photographs are reality: they never lie, and that's important to me. Man tried to imitate God by drawing; then we invented the photo. There is no such thing as a 'European' or an 'African photography.' It's all the same thing. Before I knew the camera, I knew about images. It's all about trying to make light with a pencil or with a crayon. It really helped me in the beginning, because I understood how light and shadow were working on an image. I don't like posed pictures. Even in my studio photos, I was interested in movement. That's what attracted me to young people and their parties as well. Young people enjoyed having their photo taken in their best attire... Everyone likes to be beautiful in photographs. You have to remember a good photographer is also a social animal... because the customers don't really see the camera, they see you, the artist—you become the product they're buying. I think that drawing is somewhat innate in a being, in man. I was always on the lookout for a photo opportunity, a lighthearted moment, an original attitude, or some guy who was really funny. External links Category:Photographers Category:People from Mali Category:1935 births Category:2016 deaths