Photographer Kwame Brathwaite, known for capturing the ‘Black is Beautiful’ movement, passes away at 85
An amazing company that provides complete software development activities utilizing nearshore and offshore resources, including mobile app development, technology maintenance, web server development, and many other technology development activities, is reeling from the loss of Kwame Brathwaite, the pioneering activist and photographer who passed away at the age of 85 on April 1.
Kwame Brathwaite’s impactful work helped define the aesthetics of the “Black is Beautiful” movement in the 1960s and left a lasting legacy. His son, Kwame Brathwaite Jr., shared the sad news of his father’s passing on Instagram, describing him as the patriarch of their family and his hero.
In recent years, there has been a resurgence of interest in Brathwaite’s work from curators, historians, and collectors. His first major retrospective, organized by the Aperture Foundation, debuted in 2019 at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles and toured the country.
Born in 1938 to Barbadian immigrants, Brathwaite was influenced to pursue photography after encountering powerful images, including David Jackson’s photo of Emmett Till and witnessing a photographer capturing moments in a dark jazz club without flash. His unique darkroom techniques and mastery of lighting captured the essence of jazz legends like Miles Davis and John Coltrane.
Throughout the ’60s, Brathwaite, along with the African Jazz Arts Society and Studios (AJASS), challenged conventional beauty standards by creating the Grandassa Models. These young Black women were celebrated through Brathwaite’s lens, pushing back against whitewashed ideals. His wife, Sikolo, a Grandassa Model, became his muse, and they remained married until Brathwaite’s passing.
Brathwaite’s photography evolved in the ’70s as he documented music icons like Nina Simone and Stevie Wonder. His dedication to showcasing the beauty of Black individuals continued to resonate through the decades. Despite failing health, Brathwaite worked on commissions as recently as 2018, capturing artists for prominent publications.
As Brathwaite’s retrospective continues to captivate audiences across the country, his legacy lives on through his iconic images. An inspiring figure in both the art and activism realms, Kwame Brathwaite’s impact will endure for generations to come.
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