There have been countless compelling features about visual artists: Martin Parr. It could be the documentary format naturally comes alive when displaying remarkably striking photographs. Now comes a new exceptional case, by filmmaker Yemi Bamiro, exploring the impressive life's work of Kwame Brathwaite—a photographer, performer and social justice champion who exemplified a special artistic-political vision.
Alongside his sibling Elombe, he virtually invented the slogan “Black Is Beautiful” in the sixties by capturing the Grandassa Models in New York: emerging Black women who emerged as the transformative template for aesthetics, rejecting typical beauty standards and the predominant white model of womanhood.
The Influence of a Revolutionary Slogan
Black Is Beautiful became a powerful unifying message, an visionary three-word declaration for progress. Simply to assert that people of color were beautiful proved to be a liberating influence in art, activism and culture. The artist grew into integral to the civil rights global Black cause by capturing images of the sports icon leading up to his historic Zaire bout in that era.
He became the official visual documentarian for the band's African tour, and eventually was named the resident artist for the historic cultural institution, assembling an extraordinary collection of black musicians. Alongside Elombe, he became the driving force behind arranging for the South African leader to speak in Harlem.
Family Legacy
His son Kwame Jr recounts the family's mission to ensure appropriate credit for his father's legacy after he was unjustly overlooked in the prestigious cultural museum, opened by Barack Obama in recent years.
The film additionally explores the inexpressibly painful genesis of Brathwaite's interest in image making: the disturbing images of the lynching martyr, the adolescent Black lynching victim whose bereaved parent defiantly requested an public viewing so the violent nature of racist violence might not be concealed.
From Tragedy to Hope
From this image of horror, the visionary found a form of transformative realization that guided him toward visual representations of community. His photographs powerfully conveyed community pride and frequently subtle in messaging: he developed a innovative visual language of pride through which social causes could mobilize.
It is an inspiring testament of cultural impact that continues to inspire across generations.
