Photograph by Ed Pollard, Hasselblad H4D50 - 2020.

Untitled (Kwame Brathwaite Self Portrait at AJASS Studios)

Artist Kwame Brathwaite (American, 1938 - 2023)

Dateca. 1964, printed 2017

MediumArchival pigment print

DimensionsOverall, Image: 15 × 15 in. (38.1 × 38.1 cm)
Overall, Frame: 17 × 17 in. (43.2 × 43.2 cm)

ClassificationsPhotography

Credit LineGift of Philip Martin and Portia Hein

Object number2019.34.1

On View

Not on view

DescriptionThis is a close-up image of the photographer Kwame Brathwaite. He looks directly forward at the viewer, with a partially excited looking face, and with one hand on the push-button control of a camera and the other hand raised with fingers extended. An analog camera is on a stand next to the artist. The background is muted and dark.
Label TextKwame Brathwaite American, 1938-2023 Untitled (Kwame Brathwaite Self Portrait at AJASS Studios), ca. 1964, printed 2017 Archival pigment print Known as co-founder of Grandassa, an agency that featured African American models with the famous slogan “Black is Beautiful,” Kwame Brathwaite turns the camera upon himself in this self-portrait. Like the subjects nearby who are close friends and family members, Brathwaite focuses on the most personal subject of all: the self. In this double portrait of artist and subject, Brathwaite is silhouetted against the dark background and shown side by side with his most trusted tool, the camera. The formal decisions made in staging this self-portrait show a deliberate example of self-representation. Gift of Philip Martin and Portia Hein 2019.34.1