Brooklyn-Born Photojournalist Kwame Brathwaite Dies at 85
By Esme Franks
Kwame Brathwaite, Self-portrait, African Jazz-Art Society & Studios (AJASS), Harlem, ca. 1964. Image: artnews.com (the artist and Philip Martin Gallery, Los Angeles)
Kwame Brathwaite, the incredibly influential American photographer who proclaimed that “black is beautiful”, has died at 85. Brathwaite co-founded the African Jazz Art Society and Studios (AJASS) with his brother, Elombe Brath, as well as Grandassa Models, which, by working with dark-skinned models, expanded the racial diversity of the beauty industry.
Brathwaite used photography as a vehicle of activism to push back against the whitewashed, Eurocentric beauty values of the 20th century. In 2017, historian Tanisha C. Ford stated: “His images, carefully calibrated to reflect a moment precisely, made Black beautiful for those who lived in the 1960s, and continue to do so for a generation today who might only now be discovering his work.” Although Brathwaite’s work was directed towards a particular time in history, his images have continued to empower the Black community while simultaneously standing as a monument to the change that has occurred since the 1960s, and the progress which still needs to be made in racial representation.
Having seen a friend taking photographs without flash, Brathwaite began using Kodak Tri-K film with a Hasselblad camera, allowing him to move quickly and capture textured images, which would become his signature style. Taking a stand against the offensive language commonly used towards Black people in the 1960’s, Brathwaite told Ford: “We weren’t fond of just being coloured folks, being under the yoke of anybody else.” His photography aimed at granting independence to a community which he felt had been, and still was, constantly generalised. However, it was a teenaged encounter with photographs of Emmett Till’s brutalised body in Jet which encouraged Brathwaite to turn to documentary photography. His initial capturing of jazz performances from inside clubs expanded onto the streets, seeing him document Harlem with individual portraits. He famously photographed Nelson Mandela’s inauguration in 1994.
The annual “Miss Natural Standard Beauty Contest”, prompted AJASS to found the Grandassa Models; a group of African American female models who promoted the “Black is Beautiful” slogan. Not only did the group expand the racial diversity of the modelling industry, but they also strongly advocated for the celebration of natural beauty. AJASS productions saw the start of what we now call the Black Arts Movement, which gave opportunities to Black artists and intellectuals who were marginalised and socially excluded during the mid-20th century.
Kwame Brathwaite, Untitled (AJASS photoshoot), 60 X 60 in, 1970, Printed 2018. Image: kwamebrathwaite.com
Brathwaite’s early monochrome jazz images were shot with tenebrific tonal contrast and obscure angles, only depicting parts of an instrument or crowd with pure clarity to conceal information, to challenge and engage. His most influential and famous works, however, are the Grandassa portraits. While some were captured in black and white, others were infused with the vibrant colours of beaded jewellery, with backgrounds of blazing reds or pastel blues.
The pictures' timeless relevance can be proved by their continuing influence in contemporary art and culture today. In 2019, the singer, Rihanna, paid homage to the images in her ‘Fenty’ cosmetics marketing campaign, telling Vogue that she felt the images to be relevant to the aims of her brand; promoting racial inclusivity through beauty and fashion. Despite Brathwaite’s death, his legacy is immortalised through his empowering, striking images of racial pride and the celebration of natural beauty. As Ekow Eshun stated in the Financial Times: “From Beyoncé to Barack Obama, it’s hard to think of a Black figure who does not owe their prominence, in some measure, to the ethos of ‘Black is Beautiful’.”
Bibliography
Alex Greenberger, Kwame Brathwaite, “Influential Photographer who Proclaimed, ‘Black is Beautiful’ Dies at 85”, ARTnews, April 3, 2023
Kwame Brathwaite, “Kwame Brathwaite’s Grandassa Models” The New Yorker, March 11, 2019
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/03/18/kwame-brathwaites-grandassa-models
“What do you know about The Grandassa Models” The Grandassa Models, October 30, 2019
https://thegrandassamodels.com/f/what-do-you-know-about-the-grandassa-models
Adam Bradley, “The Photographer Who Captured the Beauty in Blackness”, The New York Times Style Magazine, June 17, 2021
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/17/t-magazine/kwame-brathwaite-photographer.html