Re-encoding Glamour from Ghana to England: Illustrated Magazines, Gender Norms and Black Identities through the Lens of James Barnor (1950s–1980s) - HAL Accéder directement au contenu
Article dans une revue Sources. Material & Fieldwork in African Studies Année : 2023

Re-encoding Glamour from Ghana to England: Illustrated Magazines, Gender Norms and Black Identities through the Lens of James Barnor (1950s–1980s)

Résumé

How have gender and racial norms conveyed by illustrated magazines—whose circulation exploded in Africa in the 1960s—affected photographers’ local practices? And how, in turn, have they themselves generated this gendered visual order? This article aims to shed light on this two-fold question by proposing a diachronic analysis of the influence of models of femininity transmitted by the illustrated press on the visual imagination of a Ghanaian photographer—as seen in his photographs taken between the 1950s and the 1980s. It explores the links between the publications of the pan-African magazine Drum (the most widely circulated magazine in English-speaking Africa at the time) and its translation into the art of portraiture as practiced by James Barnor (1929-), a photographer with a transnational career, between Ghana and England. Because his professional and personal career path tracked the evolution of these gendered norms, James Barnor became both the repository and the instigator of an idealized vision of “the” African woman. By means of an intersectional focus, the issues of gender norms and of racial biases are examined in parallel to better understand how the photographer appropriated throughout his career the shifting codes of a “female glamour” reinvented for Africa during the post-independence period. While numerous studies have examined the modalities of this codification, in the present paper they are addressed through an in-depth exploration of the photographer's archives, now held in Paris, and combined with an analysis of early issues of Drum. The aim is to juxtapose images intended for publication, i.e. public, with private images in order to consider how the standards of fashion photography infused Barnor’s practices which lie at the crossroad of different social worlds. The corpus composed of portraits of young women is also informed by numerous interviews with the photographer and some of his models, which provide behind-the-scenes insights relative to the published images by exploring their political and social contexts. We first look at Drum’s editorial strategy from its launch in South Africa to its expansion throughout West Africa. While the magazine initially borrowed from white Western references such as Life, it gradually became, to some extent, a showcase for black pride on the continent and in the global diaspora. Then, we study Barnor’s early studio practice as already acutely aware of the codes of femininity enacted by the magazine: this is shown through his “recycling” of the poses and the composition of the images. During the ten years he spent in England, from 1959 to 1969, his collaboration with Drum gave rise to a gallery of portraits of anonymous young women, who became ordinary icons for an ideal African femininity in the context of the diaspora. Finally, in the 1970s, Barnor’s return to Ghana saw the reuse of these codes inherited from the globalized fashion industry combined with the emerging iconography produced by African-American models as a means to create social documentary. In this way, he contributed to an aesthetic of blackness that was constructed within a transnational framework.
Comment les normes de genre et de race véhiculées par les magazines illustrés, dont la circulation explose en Afrique au détour des années 1960, se répercutent-elles dans les pratiques localisées de photographes du continent qui, à leur tour, se font prescripteurs d’un ordre visuel genré ? Le présent article éclaire cette double question, en proposant une analyse diachronique de l’influence des modèles de féminité transmis par la presse sur l’imaginaire visuel d’un photographe ghanéen, des années 1950 à 1980. Il articule les publications du titre panafricain Drum (magazine le plus distribué en Afrique anglophone à cette époque) et ses traductions dans l’art du portrait tel que pratiqué par James Barnor (1929-), photographe au parcours transcontinental, entre le Ghana et l’Angleterre. Parce sa trajectoire professionnelle et personnelle épouse les évolutions de ces normes, James Barnor devient ainsi à la fois le réceptacle et l’instigateur d’une vision idéale de « la » femme africaine. Dans une approche intersectionnelle, on croise la question des normes de genre et celle des biais raciaux, pour tenter de comprendre comment le photographe s’est approprié tout au long de sa carrière les codes mouvants d’un glamour féminin réinventé pour l’Afrique durant la période des postindépendances. Si de nombreuses études se sont interrogées sur les modalités de cette codification, elles sont ici abordées à travers l’exploration en profondeur des archives du photographe, aujourd’hui conservées à Paris, croisée à l’analyse sérielle des numéros de Drum. Le parti-pris est de mêler images destinées à la publication et images à caractère privé pour analyser comment les canons de la photographie de mode infusent les pratiques de ce producteur d’images à la croisée de différents mondes sociaux. Le corpus composé de portraits de jeunes femmes est également éclairé par de nombreux entretiens avec le photographe et certaines de ses modèles, qui nous informent sur les coulisses des images publiées en explorant leurs contextes politiques et sociaux. On se penche d’abord sur la stratégie éditoriale de Drum depuis son lancement en Afrique du Sud, et à mesure de son déploiement vers l’Afrique de l’Ouest. Si le magazine emprunte dans un premier temps aux références du monde blanc occidental comme Life, il devient progressivement, et dans une certaine mesure, une vitrine pour les fiertés noires sur le continent et dans la diaspora. Dans sa pratique de studio des années 1950, Barnor montre déjà une attention aiguë aux codes de la féminité édictés par le magazine, par la reprise de poses et de façons de composer l’image. Durant les dix années qu’il passe ensuite en Angleterre, de 1959 à 1969, sa collaboration avec Drum alimente une galerie de portraits de jeunes femmes anonymes, qui deviennent les icônes ordinaires de cette féminité africaine idéale en contexte diasporique. Enfin, dans les années 1970, le retour de Barnor au Ghana témoigne du réemploi de ces codes hérités de la photographie de mode mais aussi de l’influence nouvelle des modèles africains-américains pour produire du documentaire social. Par ce biais, il contribue à une esthétique de la blackness qui se construit dans un cadre transnational.
De que modo as normas de género e de raça veiculadas pelas revistas ilustradas, cuja divulgação explode em África, por volta dos anos 1960, se repercutem nas práticas locais de fotógrafos do continente que, por sua vez, se tornam prescritores de uma ordem visual baseada no género. O presente artigo esclarece esta dupla questão, propondo uma análise diacrónica da influência dos modelos de feminilidade, veiculados pela imprensa, sobre o imaginário visual de um fotógrafo ganense entre os anos 1950 e 1980. Articula as publicações da revista pan-africana Drum (a mais distribuída à época na África anglófona) e as suas traduções na arte do retrato, tal como foi praticado por James Barnor (1929-), fotógrafo com um percurso transcontinental entre o Gana e a Inglaterra. Pela sua trajectória profissional e pessoal, ao abraçar a evolução dessas normas, James Barnor torna-se assim ao mesmo tempo o receptor e instigador de uma visão ideal de « a » mulher africana. Numa abordagem interseccional, cruza-se a questão das normas do género com a das vias raciais, a fim de tentar compreender de que forma o fotógrafo se apropriou, ao longo da sua carreira, dos códigos movediços de um glamour feminino reinventado para África no período posterior às independências. Se há numerosos estudos que se debruçam sobre as modalidades desta codificação, neste artigo as mesmas serão abordadas por meio da exploração em profundidade dos arquivos do fotógrafo, conservados em Paris, em cruzamento com a análise serial dos números de Drum. O ponto de partida é o de juntar as imagens destinadas a publicação e as imagens de carácter privado a fim de analisar o modo como os cânones da fotografia de moda infundem as práticas deste produtor de imagens, na encruzilhada dos diferentes universos sociais. O corpus, composto de retrato de mulheres jovens, é igualmente explicado pelas numerosas entrevistas com o fotógrafo e algumas das suas modelos, que nos dão informações sobre os bastidores das imagens publicadas, explorando os respectivos contextos políticos e sociais. Debruçamo-nos em primeiro lugar sobre a estratégia editorial de Drum desde o seu lançamento na África do Sul e da sua expansão para a África ocidental. Se, num primeiro momento, a revista toma de empréstimo as referências do mundo branco ocidental, como Life, ela torna-se progressivamente, e, em certa medida, uma vitrina para os orgulhos negros no continente e na diáspora. Na sua prática de estúdio dos anos 1950, Barnor já presta uma forte atenção aos códigos de feminilidade adoptados pela revista, pela retomada de poses e de formas de composição da imagem. Durante os dez anos que passa seguidamente em Inglaterra, de 1959 a 1969, a sua colaboração com Drum alimenta uma galeria de retratos de jovens mulheres anónimas que se tornam os ícones ordinários dessa feminilidade africana, ideal em contexto diaspórico. Por fim, nos anos de 1970, o regresso de Barnor ao Gana testemunha o reemprego desses códigos herdados da fotografia de moda mas também a nova influência dos modelos afro-americanos, para produzir documentário social. Por esta via, contribui para uma estética da blackness que se constrói num quadro transnacional.
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halshs-04125872, version 1 (20-06-2023)

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Paternité - Partage selon les Conditions Initiales - CC BY 4.0

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  • HAL Id : halshs-04125872 , version 1

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Margaux Lavernhe. Re-encoding Glamour from Ghana to England: Illustrated Magazines, Gender Norms and Black Identities through the Lens of James Barnor (1950s–1980s). Sources. Material & Fieldwork in African Studies, 2023, 6 | Photos & Photographers, pp.183-217. ⟨halshs-04125872⟩

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