Malick Sidibé
Dance the Twist!

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Artist Malick Sidibé Malian, 1936–2016

CultureMalian

Titles

Dance the Twist!
Danser-le Twist

Date1965, printed 1998

PlaceMali, Africa

MediumGelatin silver print

DimensionsImage: 39 1/8 × 39 1/8 in. (99.4 × 99.4 cm)
Sheet: 49 7/8 × 50 1/4 in. (126.7 × 127.6 cm)
Frame (outer): 55 1/4 × 55 1/8 × 1 1/2 in. (140.3 × 140.1 × 3.8 cm)

Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by Nina and Michael Zilkha

Object number99.222

Not on view

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Department

Photography

Object Type

PHOTOGRAPHS

DescriptionMalick Sidibé’s joyful photographs of night- life in Bamako, Mali, captured the spirit of a country newly liberated from its colonial past. Moving from one party to the next in the wee hours, Sidibé captured young people intoxicated by the power of music, new freedom, and possibility. “People said if [I] was at a party, it gave it energy,” the artist noted. “I would let people know I’d arrived by letting off my flash. You could feel the temperature rise right away.” Caught in the bright glare, the young revelers in Sidibé’s photographs are jubilant embodiments of youth and promise.
Provenance[Deitch Projects, New York]; purchased by MFAH, 1999.
Exhibition History"Clubs of Bamako," Deitch Projects, New York, February 11–March 6, 1999; Rice University Art Gallery, Houston, March 9–April 16, 2000.

"Contemporary Art and Photography: Spotlight on the Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, September 30, 2001–February 3, 2002.

"Through an African Lens: Sub-Saharan Photography from the Museum's Collection," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, February 27–November 8, 2020.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks

Inscribed in black, recto, lower left below image: Danser-le Twist 1965
Signed in black ink, recto, lower right below image: Malick Sidibé 1998

Signed in black ink, recto, lower right below image: Malick Sidibé 1998

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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