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Flex Mentallo

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  15. Flex Mentallo
    These great books are simultaneously a testament to the cultural practices that have lasted for thousands of years, a criticism of those who would ignore and destroy them, and a call to understand and support the beauty, complexity, and knowledge held within.
  16. Flex Mentallo
    The threats against these practices are not just the result of time or internal changes, but instead often come from the seizing of land by governments that refuse to recognize the ancestral use and sacredness of the land. The erasure of these cultures is not something inevitable, but instead a choice being made by outsiders.
  17. Flex Mentallo
    As much as these books records the ceremonies, they are equally critical of the threats these cultures face. The text calls attention to communities’ dwindling numbers and disruptions to their cultural practices; admitting they were only able to gain access to some of ceremonies because the communities recognize that this may be the last chances to preserve them.
  18. Flex Mentallo
    At the same time, they speak directly to their Western audience about the ways in which our culture is affecting African tradition.
  19. Flex Mentallo
    Where other photographers have exploited the cultures they record, not giving back anything, Beckwith and Fisher funded wells, set up schools and spawned small businesses; and a portion of their royalties is going back to the communities they photographed.
  20. Flex Mentallo
    The ceremonies of these African tribes are a recognition and celebration of the passing from one phase of life into another: birth and initiation, courtship and marriage, royalty and power, seasonal rites, beliefs and worship, spirits and ancestors.
  21. Flex Mentallo
    In doing so, the images within these book cannot be divorced from context, nor from the care, worth, and value that their culture imbues into these ceremonies, and in turn they refuse to ignore or dismiss value, humanity, and beauty of these cultures, these arts, and the people who maintain them.
  22. Flex Mentallo
    None of the shots ever come across as staged, nor do they ever present the subjects within as “other” or “foreign”. Instead, the book embeds as much context and history into its pages as possible, making sure that the most possible amount of information surrounding these ceremonies is present.
  23. Flex Mentallo
    The camera seems never to have any effect on the proceedings, the act of recording apparently not having interfered with what was being recorded. It is a thoroughly candid work, engaging at every step, anthropology at its finest.
  24. Flex Mentallo
    “We hope people take away the richness, diversity, beauty and creativity of African cultures.”
  25. Flex Mentallo
    “We learned the value of rites of passage that define and teach us what to expect at every stage of life,” adds Fisher.