Savannah Rhythms

Upper Volta: After a photograph by Kathleen Johnson
16 x 12 inches, oil on canvas paper, 2017

The original image, a photo by Kathleen Johnson, was used on the CD Burkino Faso: Savannah Rhythms (2002) as an illustration for Allah Man Dogo, a marriage celebration of the Bobo-Dyala tribe. The reproduction of the photo is tiny and in black and white and I doubt if the photo has anything to do with the dancers, bride or groom, or the xylophones of the celebration. The gentleman in the picture appears to have a straw in his mouth, perhaps to prepare to weave a straw hat just like the one he's wearing. On the LP version, from 1981, the photo is slightly bigger and in color (even though there's hardly any), and not particularly associated with any particular recording. Allah Man Dogo (God is great) is the opening track on the album and was recorded in 1973/4 by the same Kathleen Johnson who took the photo.