Ming Smith: Bigger than the Frame

IN IMAGES

Ming Smith’s exhibition “Wandering Light”, presented at Arles Festival, surveys the work of the pioneering photographer who, in 1979, became the first Black woman to have photographs acquired by the MoMA.

By Gaia Squarci. Photographs by Ming Smith.

Born in Detroit in 1947, Smith is best known for her portraits of Black cultural figures including Alvin Ailey, Nina Simone, and James Baldwin. The artist turns the same attention to everyday scenes, infusing them with a spiritual, almost metaphysical presence. Hand tinting, soft focus, and monochromatic tones produce images that “feel remembered rather than recorded”.

Time spent in Paris and Rome expanded Smith’s way of seeing rather than encouraging direct references to European art history. Her photographs are guided by body language, rhythm, and emotional resonance, allowing Black identity to remain open, complex, and continually evolving.