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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.
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| 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/ |
