Leonard Gadzekpo, Ph.D.
Black American Studies
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale , IL
Abstract
The initial invention of photography, although a Western development, has been adopted and adapted by Africans and used as one of the modes of cultural expression. Very much like the European languages that have become the national official languages of most African nations and the resultant African literature in those languages, photography in all its technical variations, from pin-hole cameras to digital photography, has been embraced by some African artists and employed in the articulation of not only traditional African cultural norms but also modernity. The paper examines the underlying aesthetic values that facilitate the adaptation and adoption of photography in African Art analyzing the socio-cultural underpinnings of that development rooted in content analysis to discern if photography in African Art captures the cultural ethos of African people. Photographic images are employed as examples in the analysis.