Pique-Nique a la Chaussée (Roadside Picnic), 1976

Date1976

Label Text"To the youth of Bamako, Malick Sidibe was the James Brown of photography, the godfather whose clichés described the total energy of the time." (Manthia Diawara) It's a rock and roll picnic. Young people are listening to James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, Aretha Franklin, and Mick Jagger; they dance the Jerk, the Mashed Potato, Camel Walk and Boogaloo; they hang out in clubs known as Grins; they talk politics, and they drink green tea. Intoxicating change is in the air. Looking at the vinyl record in the center of the photograph, one can almost hear the lyrics of James Brown proclaiming, "I FEEL Good," while parents protest their disapproval of the scanty clothes and provocative moves that the legendary performer inspired.

Object number97.36

Provenance[Gallery Paule Anglim, San Francisco, California]; purchased from gallery by Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, 1997

Photo CreditPhoto: Paul Macapia

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Art from Africa: Long Steps Never Broke a Back, Feb. 7 - May 19, 2002 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Oct. 2, 2004 - Jan. 2, 2005; Hartford, Connecticut, Wadsworth Atheneum, Feb. 12 - June 19, 2005; Cincinnati, Ohio, Cincinnati Art Museum, Oct. 8, 2005 - Jan. 1, 2006; Nashville, Tennessee, Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Jan. 27 - Apr. 30, 2006 [as African Art, African Voices: Long Steps Never Broke a Back]). Text by Pamela McClusky. No cat. no., pp. 253, 257, reproduced pl. 99.

Credit LineGeneral Acquisition Fund

Dimensions20 x 24 in. (50.8 x 60.96 cm)

MediumGelatin silver print