History has seen many compelling features highlighting photographers: Martin Parr. Maybe the film medium particularly shines when showcasing remarkably striking still images. Now comes one more outstanding case, directed by writer-director Yemi Bamiro, documenting the extraordinary life's work of Kwame Brathwaite—a creative force, artist and civil rights advocate who represented a distinct artistic-political vision.
In partnership with his sibling Elombe, he pioneered the expression “Black Is Beautiful” throughout the sixties by capturing the Grandassa Models in Harlem: young African American women who emerged as the groundbreaking standard for aesthetics, abandoning conventional beauty standards and the usual Eurocentric model of womanhood.
The Influence of a Simple Phrase
This powerful statement transformed into a transformative rallying cry, an visionary three-word prose poem for progress. Just declaring that African Americans were beautiful proved to be a liberating power in art, politics and culture. The artist became integral to the Black power African diaspora movement by capturing images of the legendary boxer prior to his historic Rumble in the Jungle in 1974.
He was appointed the official photographer for the musical group's continental journey, and subsequently became the resident artist for the legendary Apollo theatre, building an extraordinary archive of musical pioneers. Alongside his brother, he was the central figure behind bringing the anti-apartheid icon to speak in New York.
Personal Journey
Brathwaite's son his namesake recounts the their campaign to ensure proper recognition for his family heritage after he was painfully overlooked in the prestigious cultural museum, established by Barack Obama in 2016.
This documentary also recounts the deeply tragic genesis of the artist's interest in image making: the shocking images of the young victim, the adolescent Black murder victim whose bereaved parent defiantly insisted on an open coffin so the violent nature of racist violence could not be hidden.
Amidst Sorrow to Beauty
Through this image of horror, Brathwaite discovered a type of transformative realization that guided him toward visual representations of beauty. His photographs were eloquent of celebratory strength and typically not overtly political: he established a new visual language of pride around which political movements could gather.
This represents an captivating chronicle of artistic vision that continues to empower across generations.
