There have been many compelling films about visual artists: Vivian Maier. Perhaps the documentary format truly excels when presenting particularly vivid visual compositions. Now we have a new remarkable instance, by writer-director Yemi Bamiro, documenting the impressive career of Kwame Brathwaite—a photographer, musician and civil rights advocate who represented a unique politico-aesthetic approach.
Together with his brother Elombe, he pioneered the expression “Black Is Beautiful” throughout the 1960s by photographing the Harlem models in New York: emerging African American women who emerged as the sensational archetype for aesthetics, moving beyond traditional grooming practices and the predominant Eurocentric standard of womanhood.
The Influence of a Simple Phrase
The iconic phrase evolved into a radical unifying message, an visionary memorable prose poem for change. Just to assert that black people possessed beauty emerged as a empowering power in art, social movements and culture. The photographer grew into integral to the civil rights African diaspora movement by capturing images of the sports icon prior to his legendary championship fight in 1974.
He served as the primary image creator for the musical group's African tour, and later was named the resident artist for the legendary cultural institution, assembling an extraordinary portfolio of black musicians. Together with his brother, he was the central figure behind securing the South African leader to speak in the community.
Personal Journey
Brathwaite's son the younger Brathwaite is interviewed the family's mission to secure appropriate credit for his parent's achievements after he was unjustly excluded in Washington DC's Smithsonian institution, established by the political leader in 2016.
This documentary also recounts the deeply tragic inspiration of the photographer's interest in visual storytelling: the shocking images of Emmett Till, the adolescent African American murder victim whose bereaved parent defiantly insisted on an uncovered casket so the brutal truth of racist violence could not be covered up.
Through Darkness to Empowerment
From this image of horror, Brathwaite found a kind of profound understanding that guided him toward photographs of beauty. His photographs were eloquent of empowering beauty and frequently not overtly political: he curated a fresh symbolic representation of empowerment upon which political movements could gather.
This represents an captivating record of artistic vision that continues to inspire across generations.
