Photo-Rapide.

New Paltz, New York:: Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art,, 2013.. Edition not stated. 8.75 x 10.75"; 116 pages. Perfect bound. Colophon: "Published on occasion of the exhibition Photo-Rapide: Francois Deschamps. Curated by Daniel Leers; on display from January 23-April14, 2013 in the Alice and Horace Chandler Gallery of the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art at the State University of New York at New Paltz."  Claire Lambe, "Malian Portrait Photography" and "Photo-Rapide": Francois Deschamps at the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art: "Deschamps riffs off the tradition of the photo studio in ways that are particularly interesting. While in Bamako, he created a studio complete with a hand-painted sign and rubber stamps, but he also went out into the community to find subjects for his project. The title Photo-Rapide comes from the fact that he carried with him a digital printer not much bigger than an iPhone so that, when he found a subject, he could immediately give them a copy of the photograph. He noted that many people, possibly sensitive to exploitation by tourists, were wary of having their photograph taken, so he was very careful to ensure that this was a quid-pro-quo. However, Deschamps didn’t just give them a print, he also carried with him cardboard frames he had made on which were printed a variety of designs and patterns all connected to Mali. The designs include traditional fabric designs, nuts and bolts, herds of goats, fish, vegetables, and images of local currency. One design is a repeat of photographs from the ubiquitous Bamako motor-cycle traffic jam. "Deschamps would offer the subject a choice of frame in much the same way a studio photographer would offer a choice of backdrops. Then he would take a photo of the subject holding the newly framed photograph. This second photograph, in addition to its own intrinsic value, must have acted as an aide-mémoiré for the specific frame the subject had chosen when the photographer came to creating his own copy for the project." Francois Deschamps, Reflections on Photo-Rapide: "In the course of the project, I gave over 500 photographs to people whom I thought of as my clients and collaborators. I picked subjects I liked or respected or who seemed to hold a strong narrative in their lives. Then the process would often get out of my hands as there would be a long line of people waiting to be photographed at which point, I would photograph anyone until I ran out of printing paper or energy. In the picture taking, I would vary the poses - close up, half-body, full body - and the backgrounds. ...  "In the final images, I would get excited by the collision of the cultural elements which occurred especially in the re-photography of the framed image. In those images there are at least three levels of choice. First the original portrait picked by the client on the camera back, then the frame chosen by the client, and finally my choice of how to photograph the resulting image in context. ... "Photo-Rapide seeks to honor my subjects and create an image which ultimately reflects positively on Malian culture.