|
| Although
not a Muslim, Konte’s subjects are often Islamic. |
With
news in the Middle East and Afghanistan dominating headlines, it
isn’t unexpected that much of the photography related to Muslims
seen in the media by the public has focused on conflict and war.
Whether it’s a mourning Palestinian mother, a protesting Pakistani
activist or an armed, hooded militant, all such individuals attract
camera lenses like no other subject matter can.
It
is therefore a departure from the norm when an artist comes along
and changes the criteria for coverage; when he or she makes the
conscious decision to show another side of Muslims to a public that
is monolithically bombarded with images of crisis. This is the work
of Keba Konte, a groundbreaking photographer and artist from the San
Francisco Bay Area.
Though
not a Muslim himself, Konte is one a growing number of Americans who
have come to not only recognize the Muslim plight for justice
throughout the world, but have also pledged to help rectify the
situation. As such, Konte’s work reflects his deeply held
principles with regard to race, culture, society and politics.
Konte’s
main medium of work, photomontage on wood, is a unique approach to
art photography. By transferring camera images to wood surfaces, he
creates new and innovative presentations of his subjects. His work
has been critically acclaimed and he was recently commissioned by
the United Nations to produce pieces for that organization.
Konte
recently spoke with IslamOnline about his art and his stances on
various issues:
*IslamOnline:
What were your earliest memories of visual art in your life and at
what point did you know that you wanted to really pursue visual art
as a career?
-
Keba Konte: I remember the mobile hanging over my bed as a
child, a Mexican hand crafted tin object. I also remember
helping my mother smash 1'x1' ft. mirrors and glue them around our
fireplace. That was cool.
*
In the formative years of your youth, were there any important
figures in your life who really helped move you towards art?
- My mother's brother, [my] uncle Ron, was then and still is a
painter. He was my hero, a big strong "he-man" type
who painted these funky butterflies…
*
On your website you note, "I've got my mother's eye and my
father's hands." Tell us a bit about your parents and their
artistic lives and elaborate if you can on the depth of meaning that
quote has for you.
-
My “momz” Pam has always been a creative type. Back in the
day she [wore] an afro and had a flair for decorating our home –
colorful, asymmetrical and unique. She was also a portrait
photographer, a student of the legendary Ruth Berhart. She
built a darkroom in the basement of our house [where] she'd escape
for hours printing black and white, softly focused, sensual photos
of friends and family. Years later when I took over the darkroom,
I'd stay up all night printing and we'd have coffee together in the
morning as she critiqued my technique.
|
| An
example of Konte’s black and white photography. |
My
“pops” Benny was a carpenter/contractor. He built and remodeled
homes in San Francisco, especially Victorian types in the western
addition. I remember his paint-speckled forearms as he'd pick me up
and take me to one job site or another to "help". He was a
tall brown handsome man.
*
You hold a degree in Photojournalism from San Francisco State
University (SFSU). Was it ever your intention to work as a
photojournalist and travel the world documenting life as it happens?
If so, what were your goals: National Geographic covers? Life
Magazine? Newspaper work, etc?
-
Well, yes; something like that. I saw myself choosing a
subject/story that mattered to me and photographing it over an
extended period of time and publishing a multi-page spread in some
cool international picture magazine. Fortunately, I had the
opportunity to do just that [as I was able to photograph] Hip
Hop in apartheid South Africa, the Million Man March, the election
of Nelson Mandela and an ongoing political movement in San Francisco
Bay Area.
*
You also minored in Black Studies at SFSU. Would you consider
yourself part of a continuing trend in Black consciousness, and if
so, at what point did your passion for the African American
experience become a part of what you wanted to be as a professional
person and as a mature human being?
-
It was at SFSU in the early 90's that I made the connection between
culture, art, activism and creating a way for myself.
*
What aspects of the African American experience have impacted you
most, both in your personal life and as an artist?
-
Resistance and the quest for freedom.
*
For those of us who came of age in the mid-late 80s and early 90s,
Black consciousness and greater connectivity with our African roots
and the Diaspora was of utmost importance. Did you feel the impact
of this era, and was it at this time you began your interest in
Africa both culturally and as subject matter for your art?
- Absolutely I felt it. It was a beautiful experience filled with
reading, organizing, growing dreadlocks and traveling.
*
Africa and the Diaspora seem to be a special place for you. Have you
visited, and if so, which countries, when, and for how long?
-
I was in Cuba for a few weeks in 1991, in Senegal and Guinea
Bissau in 1992 for a month, in South Africa in 1994 for three months
and in Kenya and Tanzania for a month.
*
What specifically about Africa draws you to it for inspiration?
-
The people and our culture. I find our resourcefulness and
resilience particularly inspiring to me as a mixed media artist
using found and salvaged materials.
*
The art work you are maybe best know for are your photomontages on
wood. This is a very specific process. Could you explain what it is
and why you have chosen it as maybe your signature form over
straight photography?
-
Photomontage on wood is a technique of imbuing a photographic image
into the surface of the wood. I believe this medium has chosen
me. I love working with the photomontage as opposed to the
traditional photography because we share many similar qualities. I
am not a traditional person, my taste is very eclectic and I enjoy
the flexibility and illusion it lends me. The surface an artist
chooses has the ability to make as much of a statement as does the
image itself.
*
At what point did you take up Islam and Muslims as subject matter in
your art?
-
During the anti-Iraq war movement.
*
Why Islam? Is there something about the faith itself, or is it more
the people and their lifestyles that attract you?
-
The work I've done around Islam has usually been politically
motivated. The U.S. government is spending my tax dollars on
bombs to drop on Muslims. I'm not down with that. I have a
responsibility to respond to [the best of] my ability and speak up
by using my creative work to make a statement. In the latest
war on Muslims I created a series entitled "NOT THE ENEMY"
which had this slogan branded on the bottom of photographic images
of Muslims from around the world – South Africa, Turkey, Senegal
the U.S., etc.
Konte’s
work can be viewed on his website at: http://www.kebakonte.com/
