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Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Surma child with beaded necklace

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Dinka Boy with Namesake Ox

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BECKWITH & FISHER

Over the course of 35 years, photographers Angela Fisher and Carol Beckwith have amassed an oeuvre that is equal parts art and anthropology, as remarkable for its raw aesthetic power as it is for its unparalleled access to the ceremonies and rituals of Africa’s tribes. The rapid pace of change on the continent, as children head for the cities, has given their work fresh urgency. Even as the pair continues to find new cultures to document, they estimate that about 40 percent of the rites and ceremonies they have shot have already disappeared into the mists of history. In other words, it will not be possible for anybody to repeat what they have done. Beckwith, from Boston, and Fisher, from Adelaide, Australia, have published books individually but work best side by side, occasionally forgetting who took what shot. They have traveled more than 270,000 miles together, often in great discomfort, in pursuit of their images. Sometimes logistics have made it hard; other times, the obstacles were cultural. For instance, permission to visit the Kuba kingdom came after 12 years of trying. When they eventually arrived, the duo met children who had never seen a white face before.

“African Ceremonies” (Abrams) is their best-known work. “Painted Bodies” (Rizzoli) is a pan-African study of the art of body painting. They are now working on “African Twilight” (Rizzoli), which will cover some 140 cultures in 50 African countries, including 22 peoples they have not previously photographed. Today Beckwith and Fisher share a large, airy house in London’s Blsize Park which is where they also keep their archive: more than half a million photographs, hundreds of hours of film, as well as 200 illustrated and annotated journals from 150 African cultures. Considering the value to humanity of such a priceless resource, they are looking for a more worthy home for it (The Smithsonian in DC and London’s Royal Geographical Society have expressed interest). It is not just that “these ancient cultures are a living record of our shared past, a map of where we’ve come from,” says Beckwith, but, just as important, they are “a guide for our future.”

Beckwith and Fisher’s work has been exhibited in museums around the world and they have had comprehensive exhibitions at such institutions as the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the National Geographic Museum, the Smithsonian Museum of African Art, and the Brooklyn Museum of Art. They have made four films that also express their interest in and love for Africa. Beckwith and Fisher received the Award of Excellence from the United Nations Society of Writers and Artists “for vision and understanding of the role of cultural traditions in the pursuit of world peace,” and were specially honored by Kofi Annan in 1999. They have also been awarded the distinguished Lifetime Award by WINGS. They have lectured widely at prestigious venues such as the American Museum of Natural History, The Explorers Club, The Smithsonian Institution, the National Geographic Society, and the Royal Geographical Society. Their magazine credits include major features in National Geographic, The New York Times, Time, Vogue, and LIFE. Beckwith and Fisher are passionate about completing the record of Africa’s fast disappearing cultures, and leaving a legacy for future generations, as well as bringing these ancient timeless values into our 21st century world.

NEWS & INTERVIEWS

Meet our Artists: Carol Beckwith & Angela Fisher

May 16, 2020

“Meet our Artists: Carol Beckwith & Angela Fisher”

DIALOGUES WITH GREAT PHOTOGRAPHERS – CAROL BECKWITH AND ANGELA FISHER

Nov 1, 2014

Read an exclusive interview with Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Surma Child With Beaded Necklace

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Dinka Boy With Namesake Ox

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Afar Woman

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Dinka Boy Black Bull

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Dinka Boy Horned Bull

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Dinka Cattle Camp

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Dinka Child Imitating Horns

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Dinka Herder Purple Robe

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Dinka Man With Ash

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Dinka Woman With Beaded Corset

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Hamar Girl

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Karo Courtship Dancers

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Karo Man Ocher Painted Face

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Karo Man Painted For Courtship

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Karo Woman Wearing Cow Rie Shell

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Maasai Girl

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Mounted Tuareg Nomad

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Mursi Warrior

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Painted Chest Of Karo Man

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Painted Karo Chest

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Painted Karo Dancer

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Pokot Initiate

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Pokot Male Initiate

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Rendille Warrior

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Samburu Warrior

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Surma Boy With Painted Face

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Surma Children Painted As Twins

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Surma Girl

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Surma Man From Back

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Surma Man From Front

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Turkana Woman

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Surma

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Dinka Boy Holding Monitor Lizard

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Female Fetish Figure Voodoo Healing Shrine Seko Togo

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Karo Girl Patterned Stomach

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Karo Man With Handprint Motif

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Karo Man With Chalk Spots, Ethiopia # 84 85

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Maasai Warrior With Red Ochre Face Paint, Kenya

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Maasai Warrior With Chalk Paint, Kenya

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Maasai Warrior With Ostrich Feather Headress, Kenya

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Surma (children Playing) # 24 25

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Surma (children Playing A Game) # 26 27

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Surma (four Young Surma Friends) # 40 41

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Surma (girl With Exotic Markings) # 44

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Surma (girl Having Face Painted) # 46 47

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Surma (man With Painted Back) # 78

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Surma (three Girls With Painted Faces) # 62 63

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Two Surma Children Painted With White And Ocher, Ethiopia # 38 39

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Surma (two Children Watching) # 118 119

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Surma (two Girls Painted With Identical Designs) # 58 59

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Hadza Hunters Overlooking Their Territory, Tanzania

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Kara Boy With Chalk Makeup And Berry Adornment, Omo River, Ethiopia

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Rendille Warrior, Kenya

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Surma (girls With Painted Faces) # 112

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Turkana Woman, Kenya

Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher Young Kara Man With Chalk Paint, Omo River, Ethiopia

Carol Beckwith Angela Fisher Surma Man Painting Woman

NEWS & INTERVIEWS

Meet our Artists: Carol Beckwith & Angela Fisher

DIALOGUES WITH GREAT PHOTOGRAPHERS – CAROL BECKWITH AND ANGELA FISHER