Through over 150 color and black and white photographs and an engaging, informed text, Black Beauty discusses the position of blacks within the beauty hierarchy of the West, as well as the kinds of work available to black models within the past century. Author Ben Arogundade also offers insight to the ways in which certain styles of black beauty have been promoted above others. In considering black icons and celebrities from Marcus Garvey, Josephine Baker, and Muhammad Ali to Billy Dee Williams, Grace Jones and Lauryn Hill, Black Beauty reveals the many differing images of those who have embodied black beauty in our culture. Portraits by Herb Ritts, Albert Watson, Richard Avedon, and other eminent photographers are included in this stunning compilation.
I am an author and creative director of limited edition books. I was born in London in 1965 to Nigerian parents. I originally wanted to be a footballer, but my father wanted me to have an academic career instead. So I trained as an architect. My first job as a young graduate was working on drawings for the Oxo Tower building on London's South Bank, adjacent to the Tate.
In 2000 I wrote my first book, 'Black Beauty' - an exploration of society's historical perceptions of the black image -- which later became the subject of a three-part BBC documentary. Following this I worked as a voiceover artist before becoming creative director at Gloria books, publishers of luxury limited edition photography books. I produced four titles while there -- 'Pele', 'Superyacht', 'New York' and 'Gerald Scarfe on the Wall'.
In July 2011 I wrote 'The Shakespeare Mash-up', and published it under my own imprint, AROGUNDADE Books. It 'remixes' the Bard's work, almost like a literary DJ if you like, and then reassemble the components to create a dramatic new story. Most recently I have released a digital edition of 'Black Beauty', as well as my debut novel 'The Sexual Language of Strangers'.
I see myself only partially as a writer - it is but one facet of a myriad of creative things that I am interested in. I hope to master as many of them as I can in the coming years. Hope you like them.
