From Publishers Weekly
This striking coffee table study offers rare visages of Africa—that vast continent most often examined only through news reports of insurrection, plague and famine. Rather than view African cultures as an indistinguishable whole, seasoned photographers Beckwith and Fisher carefully focus on the varied life journeys and rituals of the peoples they have encountered over three decades of travel in 36 countries. From Ethiopia to Senegal to Namibia, they crisscross the continent to capture traditional rites of passage, starting with a Kassena woman who ritually awakens her newborn with his first cold bath in Ghana. They record a young Masai boy’s circumcision in Kenya, attend a Wodaabe charm dance in Niger and witness a Dogon funeral dance in Mali. Although the authors provide detailed captions, text is otherwise spare; instead, these arresting portraits rely almost entirely on the pair’s illuminating photography.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
The several hundred photographs in this album depict the traditional life of African peoples, as the authors captured it over three decades of work. Beckwith and Fisher have published several pricey collections devoted to the practices of particular groups (e.g.,
Nomads of Niger, 1983, and
Maasai, 1990), so this work stands as an affordable anthology of their careers. Without doubt, Beckwith and Fisher compose beautiful and arresting images, capturing a range of emotions that leap from the pictures. They are especially drawn to ceremonies, including initiation into man- or womanhood, courtship and marriage, propitiation of the spirit world, and death. Consequently, their subjects are always dressed in their best for the occasion, and striking body paint, hairstyles, masks, clothing, and ornamentation are on full display. Whether capturing the exuberance of a dance or simply an attractive face, Beckwith and Fisher exude a joy in premodern African cultures that viewers will immediately share.
Gilbert TaylorCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
