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For his fashion photography, Brathwaite turned from black and white film to color. The name of the model in Changing Times is unknown, but she perfectly captured the Grandassa Model aesthetic. She has styled her hair in a large, soft Afro. Her colorful strapless dress reveals deep brown shoulders, arms, and back. She clutches her left upper arm with her right hand, which is ornamented with bright red nails and gold rings and bracelets. Brathwaite captured her with her eyes closed and her mouth slightly open, an almost ecstatic expression. In her expression and pose, she recalls Bernini’s Ecstasy of Saint Teresa.
Brathwaite used a photographic technique that produced white sparkling effects around her head and body, increasing the sense of wonder in the image. The result is a magical work of art that declares that Black is Beautiful.
ProvenancePhilip Martin Gallery
DepartmentAmerican Art
Changing Times
Artist
Kwame Brathwaite
(1938 - 2023)
Datec. 1973
Mediumarchival pigment print
DimensionsImage: 30 × 30 in. (76.2 × 76.2 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase with funds provided by Lisa and Alan Caldwell, Terrie and John Davis, Cathleen and Ray McKinney, Dr. Amy McMichael-Thomas and Ralph Thomas, Scottie and David Neill, Mr. Olle and Dr. Emily Röstlund, and Gwynne and Dan Taylor.
CopyrightCourtesy of the artist and Philip Martin Gallery, Los Angeles
Object number2022.3.2
DescriptionIn 1962, the photographer Kwame Brathwaite founded a modeling collective for black women. Called the Grandassa Models, the collective staged yearly fashion shows called the Naturally shows. The models in the fashion shows most often wore their hair naturally (not straightened or relaxed). They also took inspiration from African textiles and often designed and sewed the dresses and gowns they modeled. Brathwaite founded the Grandassa Models to promote black female beauty. He said, “We’ve got to do something to make the women feel proud of their hair, proud of their blackness.” Women in the modeling collective had a range of skin tones, from light to deep brown, in marked contrast to the mostly light-skinned black women portrayed in Jet and Ebony magazines. The models helped popularize the phrase “Black is Beautiful,” which was used on posters to promote the shows.For his fashion photography, Brathwaite turned from black and white film to color. The name of the model in Changing Times is unknown, but she perfectly captured the Grandassa Model aesthetic. She has styled her hair in a large, soft Afro. Her colorful strapless dress reveals deep brown shoulders, arms, and back. She clutches her left upper arm with her right hand, which is ornamented with bright red nails and gold rings and bracelets. Brathwaite captured her with her eyes closed and her mouth slightly open, an almost ecstatic expression. In her expression and pose, she recalls Bernini’s Ecstasy of Saint Teresa.
Brathwaite used a photographic technique that produced white sparkling effects around her head and body, increasing the sense of wonder in the image. The result is a magical work of art that declares that Black is Beautiful.
ProvenancePhilip Martin Gallery
Status
On view