Carol Beckwith & Angela Fisher

Photographer
Carol Beckwith & Angela Fisher

Thirty-five years ago, American-born Carol Beckwith and Australian Angela Fisher met in Kenya and began a relationship with the African continent, journeying over 270,000 miles, through 40 countries and recording 150 African cultures.

The two photographers produced 15 acclaimed books. Their defining body of work, the double volume African Ceremonies, is a pan-African study of rituals and rites of passage from birth to death, covering 93 ceremonies from 26 countries. This publication won the United Nations Award for Excellence for its “vision and understanding of the role of cultural traditions in the pursuit of world peace.” Their latest book, Painted Bodies: African Body Painting, Tattoos and Scarification, is a pan-African Study of the art of body painting that focuses on the oldest art form of decorating the body.

As of November 17, 2012

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Featured Photographs

  • © Beckwith/Fisher
  • South Sudan A Dinka boy from South Sudan lavishes endless care and affection on his animals, which he considers part of the family. He is named after his favored ox, his Namesake Ox, in the hope he will mature with the same strength and beauty. He and his Namesake Ox are as one. As he grows up, the animal will accompany him everywhere, even as he courts a potential lover by singing songs that extol both her beauty and that of the magnificent animal at his side.
    © Beckwith/Fisher
  • © Beckwith/Fisher
  • © Beckwith/Fisher
  • Niger At the annual Geerewol festival, Wodaabe male charm dancers from Niger perform the competitive Yaake dance. The men lighten their skin with yellow powder, accentuate the length of their noses with a line of pigment and brighten their eyes and teeth with kohl. The men change their facial expressions every few seconds, emphasizing their beautiful teeth and eyes. The winner, in the middle, displays his charisma by holding one eye still while rolling the other from side to side, making him irresistible to the female judges.
    © Beckwith/Fisher

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