{"id":5278,"date":"2019-11-30T20:44:14","date_gmt":"2019-11-30T19:44:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tazmpictures.com\/site\/?p=5278"},"modified":"2025-10-16T14:13:17","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T13:13:17","slug":"episode-3-of-artisans-published","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tazmpictures.com\/site\/?p=5278","title":{"rendered":"Episode 3 of “Artisans” Published!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Eons ago (ok, October last year) I posted the first episode<\/a> in a series of mini-documentaries about jobs in the informal sector in Madagascar, about the traveling blacksmiths that wander through the city repairing umbrellas, plastic tubs, roofs…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A couple of weeks later, the second episode, <\/a>about brickmakers. And then, for a long time, nothing. I had recorded the footage for two more episodes, and with the help of my Malagasy language teacher, eventually translated the footage, but I didn’t think the stories were quite complete. My friend Safidy, who created Zanaky ny Lalana<\/a>, was busy building a new house, but we finally found the time to head back out to La Reunion Kely to gather what turned out to be excellent footage. I had repaired my drone and re-shot the aerial scenes I had missed the first time (I forgot to record!).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I didn’t realize Safidy had arranged for Benja, my subject, to create a piece of jewelry from start to finish – more than two hours of recording – and I didn’t have enough battery juice to finish. Luckily, Safidy stepped in and shot some great macro footage with his Olympus camera, supplemented with what I could gather on my iPhone and we made it work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Then came my departure from Madagascar, a long period of leave in Oregon during which I thought I’d edit video but never managed to, and a move to Burundi. Finally, a year later, I finished this episode – I think the best yet in the series, about Benja, who left his job as a truck driver and retreated to La Reunion Kely, an informal settlement in Antananarivo, to create jewelry from discarded metal or old coins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Benja made a vangovango, a traditional Malagasy bracelet, from discarded aluminum cable, and it was amazing to watch him work. In the end, I insisted on buying the finished product, for which he wanted 12,000 Malagasy francs (about $2.40) but needless to say I paid him a bit extra for his time. It was fascinating to see him work, using tools he had adapted or created from discarded materials to shape his artistic creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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And so now I am pleased to announce the completed video, which will form an integral part of my grad school application(s). I’m pretty proud of how it turned out – please give it a look so it will have lots of views by the time the selection committee has a look!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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