three young men crouching in foreground, with young man at left handing a pack of cigarettes and young man at center holding a record album; two young couples standing behind young men, with their arms around each other; young women are wearing blouses with the same geometric patterning (the only difference being the direction of the patterning--horizontal on girl at left, vertical on girl at right) and skirts with the same patterning of a planet with rings; girl at left wears sunglasses; painted backdrop of buildings on city street behind figures; patterned tile floor

%C2%A9 Sory Sanl%C3%A9

Les Jeunes Mélomanes, 1974 (printed 2017)

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The Anne and Hadlai Hull Fundexpand_more  2018.27.7

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Sory Sanlé began his photographic career in 1960, two years after his country, formerly known as French Upper Volta, gained its semi-independent status from France and became the Republic of Upper Volta. With the ability to photograph the cultural shift in his country, Sanlé opened a studio (called VOLTA PHOTO) in Bobo-Dioulasso, the country’s capital city. He soon became the most sought-after photographer in the republic, which later became Burkina Faso in 1984. His portraits of youth groups, sales people, singers, and the occasional Elvis impersonator convey the excitement and restlessness of the youth culture in his newly independent country. Sanlé also travelled around Burkina Faso, throwing dance parties in the cities he visited and photographing subjects outside of his studio. On his life’s work, Sanlé simply states “the more you like something, the more you invest yourself in your passion.”

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Details
Title
Les Jeunes Mélomanes
Artist Life
born 1943
Role
Photographer
Accession Number
2018.27.7
Curator Approved

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three young men crouching in foreground, with young man at left handing a pack of cigarettes and young man at center holding a record album; two young couples standing behind young men, with their arms around each other; young women are wearing blouses with the same geometric patterning (the only difference being the direction of the patterning--horizontal on girl at left, vertical on girl at right) and skirts with the same patterning of a planet with rings; girl at left wears sunglasses; painted backdrop of buildings on city street behind figures; patterned tile floor

© Sory Sanlé

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