Clipart: When is too much not nearly enough?

So I haven't been exactly on top of this blog thing and the post that follow might not be particularly of interest to anyone who's not in the class. I will, however, get around to posting things that aren't required in the near future. In the mean time if you're at all interested you can read about the bienalle.

(-Arsenale Artist-) Malick Sidibé takes photos of people in his studio in Africa. They are all very similar, square, with a blank or patterned backdrop. There’s also some African music. You get a sense of an area and the people in it.
You realize though, after listening to the music that the music is popy, even recent. African, but not tribal. And the photos have more in common than just the background. Props, such as a guitar, a white guitar, repeat themselves. These people who came into the studio to have their picture taken are choosing how to represent themselves. What they will look like to those who see the photos. There is something more revealing about this than straight portraits. The desires of the subject are shown.
These are not the documentary images of Africa. They are African photos. Photos in which the subject is not passive, but acts collaboratively.