Kwame Brathwaite

b. 1938, United States


Untitled (Pat on Car), 1968
Archival pigment print
38.1x38.1cm (image)
Edition of 10

Text and image courtesy Philip Martin gallery, United States

This image is part of Brathwaite’s ‘Black is Beautiful’ period/series. Inspired in part by the writings of Marcus Garvey, Kwame Brathwaite, his older brother, Elombe Brath, and the African Jazz Arts Society and Studios (AJASS), which he co-founded, popularised this phrase in the late 50s and early 60s.

AJASS staged a fashion show titled “Naturally '62: The Original African Coiffure and Fashion Extravaganza Designed to Restore Our Racial Pride and Standards.”

Brathwaite used his photographs to produce positive images of African-Americans. He believed that “artistic and political vision can affect change in popular culture — and that popular culture can affect change on culture at large.”