Berlin : Abdeljebbar Rachidi et ses homologues africains lancent le Réseau africain sur la solidarité et le handicap    Akhannouch préside une réunion sur la mise en œuvre des peines alternatives    Transformation numérique : l'ACAPS lance le programme "Émergence"    Droits de douane américains : Le Maroc bénéficie d'un taux avantageux    Coopération Chili-Maroc : le président du Sénat chilien plaide pour un agenda commun    CAN U17 : Le Maroc et la Zambie se quittent sur un nul blanc    Propagande algérienne sur le Sahara : La France réitère son soutien à la souveraineté du Maroc    Abdellatif Ouahbi : Les peines alternatives, une étape positive dès août 2025    Le domaine de la Santé, « un vaste champ d'action » de la coopération franco-marocaine    Guerre commerciale : l'UE prépare sa riposte aux taxes américaines    Turquie : Décès de neuf migrants en mer Égée    Fonction publique : le Conseil de gouvernement approuve des propositions de nouvelles nominations    CAN U17 : Les Camerounais dans le rouge, les Sud-africains en standby !    CAN U17 / Zambie-Maroc: Les Chipolopolos et les Lionceaux du coup d'envoi    Achraf Hakimi signe chez Under Armour !    Liga : Feu vert pour Dani Olmo et Pau Victor avec le Barça jusqu'à la fin de la saison    CSEFRS : Passation de pouvoirs entre M. Habib El Malki et Mme Rahma Bourqia    Le Conseil de gouvernement adopte un projet de décret sur le régime de sécurité sociale    Droits de douane de Trump : Entre menaces de riposte et appels au dialogue    Le Conseil de la Concurrence autorise l'acquisition par le Groupe AKDITAL de deux établissements de santé à Laâyoune    Safi : Interception record de16 Tonnes de Chira !    Le Conseil de gouvernement adopte un projet de décret-loi relatif à l'Agence nationale des eaux et forêts    SIEL 2025 : Rabat accueille la 9e semaine de la langue espagnole    Accès aux monuments historiques : Lancement de la 1ère plateforme électronique de vente de tickets    CAN U17/ Programme de la journée    Nasser Bourita reçoit le président du Parlement andin qui a exprimé son appui à l'intégrité territoriale du Maroc    Aid Al-Adha : Coût de la subvention à l'importation d'ovins en 2023-2024 atteint 437 millions de dirhams    Le FMI accorde une nouvelle ligne de crédit flexible de 4,5 milliards de dollars au Maroc    Droits de douane américains : Les Européens « prêts à réagir »    Conjoncture : la croissance de moins en moins sensible aux activités agricoles    La récolte de blé du Maroc en 2025 en dessous de la moyenne malgré les fortes pluies de mars    Le domaine de la Santé, « un vaste champ d'action » de la coopération franco-marocaine    AP-UpM: Rachid Talbi El Alami plaide pour un partenariat équilibré entre le Maroc et l'Europe    Lancement d'une nouvelle version du portail national Maroc.ma dotée d'une interface remaniée    Une subvention de 437 millions de dirhams pour l'importation d'ovins partie en fumée, sans effet notable sur les prix    Classement FIFA: le Maroc fait un bond de deux places    Les Lionnes de l'Atlas s'entraînent avant les matchs contre la Tunisie et le Cameroun    Trump impose de nouveaux tarifs douaniers et distingue les pays amis du reste du monde : 10 % pour le Maroc, 30 % pour l'Algérie et 28 % pour la Tunisie    Nouveaux droits de douane américains : 10 % pour le Maroc, le Golfe et l'Egypte... et 30 % pour l'Algérie    Le Maroc, dans le top 4 des pays au monde où l'IA est utilisée par les cadres    Le Statut de l'artiste : Désormais une réalité pour le Burkina Faso    La Côte d'Ivoire fait son cinéma au Maroc    France. Le célèbre animateur Arthur champion de la lutte contre l'antisémitisme    Francia reafirma apoyo a Marruecos sobre el Sáhara tras diálogo Macron-Tebboune    Understanding the United States' new tariff rate policies    Libye : Un ADN ancien de 7000 ans révèle une lignée de l'Afrique du Nord    Sahel : L'armée malienne répond à l'abattage de son drone Akinci    Festival Mawazine: Will Smith et Kid Cudi en têtes d'affiche    







Merci d'avoir signalé!
Cette image sera automatiquement bloquée après qu'elle soit signalée par plusieurs personnes.



History : When tribesmen sat for Irving Penn's camera in Guelmim
Publié dans Yabiladi le 12 - 02 - 2018

With his top model wife, Irving Penn photographed the blue people in Guelmim in an extraordinary exhibition. Meanwhile, Peter Fordham preferred to keep his visit to Morocco a secret that was later discovered in an antique shop in England.
Visited by celebrities, artists and talented people from all over the world, Morocco was also a preferable destination for a number of distinguished photographers. Today, Yabiladi is shedding light on three of these artists who took from their time, packed their lenses, lights and cameras to shot iconic and authentic scenes in the North African Kingdom.
And as most of the shootings that took place in Morocco had to do with fashion, culture, and ethnography, it is a must to start with the magnificent Irving Penn. The American photographer who worked for Vogue Magazine and who is mostly known for his photographing covers, portraits, still lifes, fashion, and photographic essays, has indeed been to Morocco.
The blue people in Guelmim
His visit took place in the beginning of the 70s and was part of his travel for Vogue. In fact, between 1964 and 1971, Penn flew to «Japan, Crete, Spain, Dahomey, Nepal, Cameroon, New Guinea, and Morocco» and «on these trips he was increasingly free to focus on what truly interested him : making portraits of people in natural light», says his biography. And that is exactly what happened in Morocco. Alongside his wife, Penn arrived in the Kingdom he described as «a mysterious world of Casbahs, oases, horsemen, and painted women».
In their book «Irving Penn : Centennial» (2017), Adam Kirsch, Jeff Rosenheim, and Maria Morris Hambourg brought up the details of this trip. With his spouse, cameras and crew, Penn arrived in Guelmim, determined to photograph Tuareg camel nomads or the «blue people», a nickname they gained because of their indio-blue or black linen clothes that stain their skin. However, and as pointed out in the above-mentioned book, «Penn found that these migratory tribesmen, marvelously turbaned and veiled with the Taqulmust, refused to be photographed».
The tribesmen did not trust Penn and refused to pose in front of his lenses for a reason that he seemed to neglect. «Always distrustful of government officials, they (tribesmen) likely avoided Penn in part because he and his crew were transported in a minibus marked as belonging to the Moroccan ministry of information», wrote the book.
However, the photograph managed to make these proud nomads stand in front of his camera. According to the same account, he gathered «dancers, children, old men and a troupe of blue women to sit for his camera» and the result was marvelous. His photos were featured in Vogue, showing the Guedra women, a traditional trance dance performed by the blue women, dancers a bride and a child wrapped up in cloak.
In the description that came with the photos, Penn wrote «the day seems not far off when men and women will be blended into an undifferentiated mass dressed western styles».
Penn's trip to Guelmim and his photos were documented in a making of video available on the internet. In a rare footage put together by the Metropolitan Museum, Penn installs his portable studio and takes pictures of Moroccan men and women. The video is shot by Lisa Fonssagrives Penn in 1971 when her husband visited Morocco.
A forgotten trip
From Penn's famous trip to a more discreet one made by British photographer Peter Fordham. Known for taking the photo of John Lennon's second solo album «Imagine», the man happened to tour the country in the 70s, taking photos of his trip.
However, and as strange as it might sound, Fordham's visit was discovered recently just out of the sudden. While visiting an antique market in London called the Junk Shop, Stephen Dowling, a New Zealander photographer, found the photos tracing Fordham's trip to the Kingdom.
«There, in a box next to an old dresser, I found a stack of old Kodak slide boxes, filled with old Kodachrome slides. On the side of several was Fordham's name. And inside was a time capsule of the 1970s – not of London, but of Morocco», wrote Dowling in a Peta Pixel article.
According to him, Fordham's photos were not intended to be part of an editorial shoot; they were just a way of reporting his journey and the places he visited. And as he pointed out, «the photos are not staged shots for adverts or an editorial shoot – these are pictures taken by a tourist who just happens to be an excellent photographer».
In his pictures, Fordham pictured landmarks, random people, pedestrians, roads, the car he was driving and even himself posing by the side road after a trip to the city of El Jadida.
A picnic in the Kingdom
Way before Penn and Fordham decided to fly to Morocco, American fashion photographer William Klein made beautiful models picnic there on the beach next to camels. His visit was marked by a series of photos where two models wearing swimming suits, were lounging on the sand. One was playing the flute while the other was reading the Arabic-language newspaper, Al alam. The photos scream Morocco in both their black and white and colorful versions as you can see a Moroccan teapot on the ground, two camels and a young boy curiously watching the two ladies sunbathing.
These three photographers's works of art were later made public, showcasing the Morocco they liked the most and which included the sun, the tribal vibes and the landscape.


Cliquez ici pour lire l'article depuis sa source.