Photographer's Note
THE DECORATIVE PAINTWORK OF THE HOUSES
the decoration of the outside walls is devoted to women, between november and december at the end of the rainy season. It is a collective work of all the women of the concession, but each and every house has its own decoration. Women use a traditional technique, based on pigments, and more recently on tar.
Pigments :
This is the traditional technique that is still widely used, on a wall that has first been smoothed out with a flat stone or a piece of calabash, then covered with a "banco" roughcast. Women then coat this roughcast with a few centimeter thick layer of a mixture of clayey earth and cooking water of "néré" pod. This sticky coating of a nice brown reddish color, is kept wet by a continuous spraying of water during the whole decorative painting execution. Women draw black or white patterns. The black color results from the use of graphite thinned down with water, while the white color, results from the friction of a stone, known to produce talc, magnesium silicate. Finally this decoration is protected by a decoction of "néré" pods.
Tar :
This is a much more recent technique, using tar that is added to the mixture of earth and "néré" pod cooking water, for the roughcast. This roughcast is then fully covered with white paint that will later be painted. As a result, instead of getting a dark basis when using pigments, the basis is white.
Critiques | Translate
BennyV
![Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3045 W: 35 N: 6707]](http://i1.trekearth.com/misc/g-s-g.gif){kind=small}
(34748) 2008-02-16 2:45
Bonjour Eric,
The latest addition to your Burkina Faso gallery is a classic and perfect architecture picture. Maybe only the stick on the right disturbs the view a bit, but for me this is an excellent post. Merci!
Benny
chiaretta
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 253 W: 50 N: 269]](http://i1.trekearth.com/misc/g-g-g.gif){kind=small}
(2414) 2008-02-16 2:48
Really a fantastic place...
Colors are sharp, the line of dresses hanging on the left and the sky above give more depth to the shot.
I think I prefer a crop with more sky, with the house less centered...
Bye, Chiaretta
grigand
(20290) 2008-02-16 3:30
Hi Eric,
A very nice and interesting art of this building, colors and details are very good.
Ciao
andrea
xavshot
(69835) 2008-02-16 4:31
Bonjour Eric
impressionnante cette déco. j'aime beaucoup comment tu as cadré cette photo avec le linge qui entre dans la compo par le haut. Beau ciel moutonneux également. Bien joué.
Xavier
scalerman
(26900) 2008-02-16 4:35
Eric: somewhere between Gaudi and something I've never seen before. Surreal for sure, informative, you bet. A superb TE post and note. best, c
Paolo
(41258) 2008-02-16 5:31
Hi Eric, amazing one, pure TE spirit, with this fantastic building, unusual and fantastic.
excellent POV and high quality too.
thansk, ciao
fayeulle
(27827) 2008-02-16 5:34
Bonjour Eric
Voici une photo qui nous présente une architecture en damier très originale. Sans être le sujet principal, le ciel est très spectaculaire.
Amicalement
JP
CatherineD
(4864) 2008-02-16 10:25
Bonsoir Eric,
Superbe composition et sujet très original. Le ciel floconneux est très bien assorti et j'aime bien aussi le fait que tu as inclus les tissus dans la photo, ce qui lui donne plus de légèreté. Intéressante note également.
Amicalement,
Catherine
ben4321
(9875) 2008-02-16 10:41
Fascinating architecture here Eric, I don't think I've seen anything quite like that before.
While I think your framing is excellent (I particularly like the line of washing leading in from the top corner), I can't help but feeling that your shot is missing that human factor. I suppose I just want to see one of the inhabitants of that amazing house.
Another thing I like are the patterns of the sky, which seem to sit well with those on the building.
Cheers,
Ben
niphredil76
(850) 2008-02-16 11:54
Salve Eric! What a beautiful place! You perfectly managed the light, so that all is focused and sharpened. The line of dresses is a real coup de maître! The sky above seems fabric made!
Really, a very good shot!
Laura
Morac
(27725) 2008-02-16 12:05
Bonsoir Eric,
Depuis trois soirs, la photo du jour est plus belle et plus instructive que celle de la veille.
Outre tes talents de photographe tu as aussi un talent de metteur en scène.
Extraordinaire découverte que tu nous nous offres dans cette série.
Merci de ce partage
Bonne soirée
Marc
yeti1975
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor [C: 70 W: 70 N: 204]](http://i1.trekearth.com/misc/g-g-n.gif){kind=small}
(1270) 2008-02-17 10:21
A fantastic photograph. The patterns on the house is just mesmerizing. The only thing that distracts me is the stick in the right of the frame, makes me want to reach out and remove it.
I was feeling bored, then I had this idea to look out for the people who have got more than 1000 posts on TE. There are only 10 such people as of today 2008-02-17, and you are 10th in the list. Congratulations and keep posting.
Rajib
andante
(7092) 2008-02-18 8:43
Photos loike this are the reason why I joined Te and enjoy National Geographic and Discovery channel... it shows a world beyond our current knowledge and makes wonder... TFS, Eric
Cheers,
Enrique
michiels
![Gold Star Critiquer [C: 628 W: 5 N: 251]](http://i1.trekearth.com/misc/g-n-n.gif){kind=small}
(4170) 2008-02-18 12:34
hello Eric,
Houses like candy :)) I like it very much. the sky is also very beautiful.
very nice image .
greetings, inn
nicoz
(1979) 2008-02-19 6:00
Salut Eric!
Geniale cette maison! Je veux la meme! Meme Gaudi semble un peu conservatif maintenant. J'aime bien ta compo avec ce linge qui seche dans la diago.
Bien joue,
Nicolas
omerozden
(1259) 2008-02-20 3:56
hi eric,
very neat house, very rythmic picture.
clouds and the texture composed very intelligently. this is a fantastic shot but i would also try to introduce some more earth into to the picture too.
marietom
(34611) 2008-02-21 8:19
Salut Eric,
Je rêve de voir ça en vrai un jour. Superbe graphisme, sur ces "maisons-bogolans", ça me fait penser aux tissus du même nom... (je les ai rebaptisées, du coup).
A+
Marie
nbj
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 485 W: 0 N: 62]](http://i1.trekearth.com/misc/g-n-g.gif){kind=small}
(2097) 2008-03-17 2:42
hi eric,
fantastic house! i love the pattern together with the organic shape of the house.
nana
flory
(4848) 2008-03-18 0:06
hi Eric,
this is for sure an incredible piece of art.aesthetically eyes for painting those geometrical forms and very much meticulousness.
using the graphite for the pigment black is good(insulating thermal and electric).
thanks for shows us,really impressed me!
Flori:)
ViktorVaughn
(1525) 2008-04-17 18:47
Eric,
This is one of the more fascinating shots I've seen on TE in awhile. I was drawn to your page from a shot on the home page. This is incredible architecture with the paintings on the exterior. The world continues to amaze me with unique places, and jewels like this village with these buildings. I thank you for posting such a lovely shot.
Regards,
David
keribar
(43841) 2008-04-21 10:23
Salut Eric
Cela fait quelque temps que je loupe tes photos, mais j'ai eu la chance de le redécouvrir et je m'attarde sur celle-ci
Il m'a bien semblé que nous regardions un gros tissu quadrillé alors qu'il en était bien autrement. Magnifique résultat , et cadrage impeccable - Bravo - Izzet
dilane
(861) 2008-05-20 11:27
Superbe, il y a des jours où j'aimerais peindre ainsi ma maison...c'est trop beau - le ciel est fort beau et le linge très bien positionné dans ta compo - une sacrée belle photo -
que deviens tu ? j'espère que tout va bien pour toi -
amitiés
daniel
axiotea
(21651) 2008-07-15 8:19
Bonjour Eric
Les maisons décorées offrent un bel impact graphique que tu as bien mis en valeur sous ce ciel parsemé de nuages, et sont tout simplement superbes! une note intéressante et bien détaillée!
Marilyn
bernardec
![Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Note Writer [C: 161 W: 0 N: 46]](http://i1.trekearth.com/misc/g-n-s.gif){kind=small}
(2241) 2008-10-01 10:07
Eric,
Trés belle image de l"habitat Gourounsi".
Une composition trés en recul et un ciel en volutes blanches: tout en fait une photo de trés haut niveau.
Bravo
bernard
Photo Information
-
Copyright: Eric LE PARC (eleparc)
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2146 W: 83 N: 2109]](//i1.trekearth.com/misc/g-g-g.gif)
(24063) - Genre: Lugares
- Medium: Cor
- Date Taken: 2007-04-24
- Categories: Arquitectura
- Camera: Nikon D70, Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 DX VR
- Exposição: f/10.0, 1/200 segundos
- More Photo Info: view
- Versão da Foto: Versão Original
- Date Submitted: 2008-02-16 2:34
- Favoritos: 2 [ver]
Discussions
- To yeti1975: Thanks (1)
by eleparc, last updated 2008-02-18 08:08 - To Morac: merci de cet enthousiasme (2)
by eleparc, last updated 2008-02-20 12:08 - To andante: the reason why I joined Te and enjoy National G (1)
by eleparc, last updated 2008-02-18 08:52 - To ViktorVaughn: one of the more fascinating shots I've see (1)
by eleparc, last updated 2008-04-22 02:50
