The first African-American photographer to be included in the collections of MoMA (New York), Michigan-born Ming Smith created a series dedicated to Joséphine Baker in 1986—a body of work that has rarely been shown until now and is being exhibited in its entirety for the first time. Among the many facets of Joséphine Baker’s enduring fascination, Ming Smith chose to highlight one in particular: dance. In this deeply personal tribute, she created a series of self-portraits in which she borrows some of the diva’s most iconic attributes—the (real!) banana belt, body jewelry draped across her arms and chest. Everything in the aesthetic of these intimate stagings places them firmly in the 1980s: the transparent plastic curtain as a backdrop, the lighting, the hairstyle, the gold lamé, the makeup, and even the attitude—including an eroticism that is almost instantly recognizable as belonging to that era. Ming Smith does not aim for a historical reenactment of the 1920s; instead, she brings Joséphine into her own pop and uninhibited present. "Joséphine is me," these images seem to proclaim with joy. Yet beneath the glamour of it all, it is also the pioneering and activist photographer who takes up Joséphine’s torch—whose commitments remain just as relevant today, whether in the fight for women's visibility in the arts or in the ongoing struggle for the civil rights of Black communities and minorities.