This is an ONTD Art Moment™: Afri-Pop Art Edition ✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿
The 60s and early 70s were a particularly chaotic time with rapid changes for both society and art, and it’s only been over the past few years that we’ve really been seeing the creative input from different countries in response to the art movements that were popular back then. The Block Museum’s “Pop América, 1965-1975” exhibition challenged and reframed familiar notions of Pop Art by bringing together artists from North and South America as well as the Caribbean (which was extremely informative and is worthy of a ONTD Art Moment post itself) and is definitely worth a look.
South Americans weren’t the only people to embrace the colorful graphic imagery and references to mass culture of the Pop Art genre. Another separate Pop Art movement was happening in collectives and art groups during the Civil Rights Movement across America among Black artists, but that too was also overlooked until a few years ago. “Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power” is a traveling exhibition that shines a light on a broad spectrum of Black artistic practice from 1963 to 1983; one of the most politically, socially, and aesthetically revolutionary periods in American history. Black artists across the country worked in communities, in collectives, and individually to create a range of art responsive to the moment, and their work will be the topic of discussion today.
Imagine for the moment it’s the Mid-60s and you are Black, living in a major city in America, and the Civil Rights Movement is in full swing. There is a new sense of Black Pride, but at the same time there is a lot of struggle. The Black Panthers are extremely vocal about racial injustice (while helping the community) and at the same time there’s other changes afoot; a lot of people were being drafted into Vietnam that didn't want to go, The Free Love Movement was going on, and there was lots of psychedelic art and drugs being passed about. What’s a poor Black creative to do?
Well, for one thing, you would probably get involved with an Black Art collective and start making art that documented these changes in society. Vibrant paintings, powerful murals, collage, photography, revolutionary clothing designs and sculptures made with Black hair, melted records, and tights - the variety of artworks reflects the many viewpoints of artists and collectives at work during these explosive times. I was very fortunate to be able to go to the “Soul of A Nation” exhibition in Brooklyn, and below are some great examples of work I found there.
Some artist went the more traditional route with painting.
Berkley Hendricks. Definitely the rebirth of slick.
Some of the artists utilized found objects to create sculptures.
Others used street photography to capture that moment in time.
DeCarava: Couple Walking
Lorraine Ogrady
Lorraine Ogrady
Here are some examples where the artists utilized collage, print, and graphic design to create new works.
Barbara Jones: Unite. I wanted this badly but the museum was completely sold out of prints.
Emory Douglas was the graphic designer of record for the Black Panthers and created all sorts of collateral design, including posters, brochures, and magazines.
Afri-COBRA
AfriCOBRA (the African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists) is an African-American artists' collective formed on the South Side of Chicago. It was born out of discussions in 1962 in Chicago between Wadsworth Jarrell and Jeff Donaldson about whether a uniquely ‘Negro’ art movement could be based on a shared sensibility. Their headquarters were at the The South Side Community Art Center, and many Black artists flocked to this location for the opportunity to create art in a nurturing environment. When the group started out they began by painting images of the Black family and everyday life, and met every week to discuss each other’s work. Soon they decided to choose their own subjects; some created uplifting images of everyday people, while others like Jarrell painted portraits of leaders like Malcolm X and Angela Davis whose revolutionary politics AfriCOBRA admired.
The South Side Community Art Center, where the magic began.
In the AfriCOBRA manifesto of 1970, Donaldson summed up their collective aesthetic, and showed how AfriCOBRA departed from American and European models of pop art realism and abstraction. AfriCobra used Pop Art elements with a more targeted look. The collective’s work was based on ‘rhythm’, ‘shine … the rich lustre of a just-washed ‘fro …’ and “colour that shines, colour that is free of rules and regulations.” Type was a major component of these paintings and was used to sending visual messages about Black Pride and perseverance. The artists emulated the band culture of the day by making prints of their most popular paintings to give away at events.
Carolyn Lawrence
A portrait of Angela Davis. Note the usage of type to create an image, and the day-go colors often used in AfriCobra art.
A closer look, showing detail.
A portrait of Malcolm X.
BONUS IMAGE:
Not sure if this was from the “Soul of A Nation” exhibition or the “Half the Picture: A Feminist Look at the Collection” exhibition that was next to it but I absolutely loved this so I’m including it.
I hope you have enjoyed yet another edition of ONTD Alternative Art History this fine Labor Day. Today I would like to talk about inspiration. Seeing this exhibit was like drinking cold water on a hot day and nourished my creativity. Creatives of ONTD, what inspires you? It could be an artist, nature, an author or genre if you’re a writer, walking around your neighborhood, anything. I’d like to hear about it!
Extra Credit: Reading Assignment
Soul of A Nation Exhibition Catalogue
AfriCobra: Experimental Art toward a School of Thought
Sources
+ My pictures from the show
+ A Brooklyn Museum intern sitting on the front lawn eating a ham sandwich from home who created some of the copy for my Afri-COBRA section
+ Soul of a Nation: Brooklyn
+ Soul of a Nation: Los Angeles
+ Soul of a Nation: London
+ Soul of a Nation: Houston
South Americans weren’t the only people to embrace the colorful graphic imagery and references to mass culture of the Pop Art genre. Another separate Pop Art movement was happening in collectives and art groups during the Civil Rights Movement across America among Black artists, but that too was also overlooked until a few years ago. “Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power” is a traveling exhibition that shines a light on a broad spectrum of Black artistic practice from 1963 to 1983; one of the most politically, socially, and aesthetically revolutionary periods in American history. Black artists across the country worked in communities, in collectives, and individually to create a range of art responsive to the moment, and their work will be the topic of discussion today.
Imagine for the moment it’s the Mid-60s and you are Black, living in a major city in America, and the Civil Rights Movement is in full swing. There is a new sense of Black Pride, but at the same time there is a lot of struggle. The Black Panthers are extremely vocal about racial injustice (while helping the community) and at the same time there’s other changes afoot; a lot of people were being drafted into Vietnam that didn't want to go, The Free Love Movement was going on, and there was lots of psychedelic art and drugs being passed about. What’s a poor Black creative to do?
Well, for one thing, you would probably get involved with an Black Art collective and start making art that documented these changes in society. Vibrant paintings, powerful murals, collage, photography, revolutionary clothing designs and sculptures made with Black hair, melted records, and tights - the variety of artworks reflects the many viewpoints of artists and collectives at work during these explosive times. I was very fortunate to be able to go to the “Soul of A Nation” exhibition in Brooklyn, and below are some great examples of work I found there.
Some artist went the more traditional route with painting.
Berkley Hendricks. Definitely the rebirth of slick.
Some of the artists utilized found objects to create sculptures.
Others used street photography to capture that moment in time.
DeCarava: Couple Walking
Lorraine Ogrady
Lorraine Ogrady
Here are some examples where the artists utilized collage, print, and graphic design to create new works.
Barbara Jones: Unite. I wanted this badly but the museum was completely sold out of prints.
Emory Douglas was the graphic designer of record for the Black Panthers and created all sorts of collateral design, including posters, brochures, and magazines.
Afri-COBRA
AfriCOBRA (the African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists) is an African-American artists' collective formed on the South Side of Chicago. It was born out of discussions in 1962 in Chicago between Wadsworth Jarrell and Jeff Donaldson about whether a uniquely ‘Negro’ art movement could be based on a shared sensibility. Their headquarters were at the The South Side Community Art Center, and many Black artists flocked to this location for the opportunity to create art in a nurturing environment. When the group started out they began by painting images of the Black family and everyday life, and met every week to discuss each other’s work. Soon they decided to choose their own subjects; some created uplifting images of everyday people, while others like Jarrell painted portraits of leaders like Malcolm X and Angela Davis whose revolutionary politics AfriCOBRA admired.
The South Side Community Art Center, where the magic began.
In the AfriCOBRA manifesto of 1970, Donaldson summed up their collective aesthetic, and showed how AfriCOBRA departed from American and European models of pop art realism and abstraction. AfriCobra used Pop Art elements with a more targeted look. The collective’s work was based on ‘rhythm’, ‘shine … the rich lustre of a just-washed ‘fro …’ and “colour that shines, colour that is free of rules and regulations.” Type was a major component of these paintings and was used to sending visual messages about Black Pride and perseverance. The artists emulated the band culture of the day by making prints of their most popular paintings to give away at events.
Carolyn Lawrence
A portrait of Angela Davis. Note the usage of type to create an image, and the day-go colors often used in AfriCobra art.
A closer look, showing detail.
A portrait of Malcolm X.
BONUS IMAGE:
Not sure if this was from the “Soul of A Nation” exhibition or the “Half the Picture: A Feminist Look at the Collection” exhibition that was next to it but I absolutely loved this so I’m including it.
I hope you have enjoyed yet another edition of ONTD Alternative Art History this fine Labor Day. Today I would like to talk about inspiration. Seeing this exhibit was like drinking cold water on a hot day and nourished my creativity. Creatives of ONTD, what inspires you? It could be an artist, nature, an author or genre if you’re a writer, walking around your neighborhood, anything. I’d like to hear about it!
Extra Credit: Reading Assignment
Soul of A Nation Exhibition Catalogue
AfriCobra: Experimental Art toward a School of Thought
Sources
+ My pictures from the show
+ A Brooklyn Museum intern sitting on the front lawn eating a ham sandwich from home who created some of the copy for my Afri-COBRA section
+ Soul of a Nation: Brooklyn
+ Soul of a Nation: Los Angeles
+ Soul of a Nation: London
+ Soul of a Nation: Houston