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Jae Jarrell (born 1935, US), Urban Wall Suit, ca. 1969. Sewn and painted cotton and silk, two piece, 37 1/2" x 27 1/2" x 1/2" (95.3 x 69.9 x 1.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum. © 2015 Jae Jarrell. (BMA-4837a) |
The G.I. Bill after
World War II (1939–1945) allowed unprecedented numbers of African Americans to
attend art schools. Since African Americans served with distinction in both WWII
and the Korean War (1951–1953), they believed opportunities in the arts would
improve. Unfortunately, discrimination and racism revived big time during the
1950s. Some African American artists continued to study in Europe. The Civil
Rights Movement of the 1960s galvanized black artists, however, into pushing
for a revival of exhibitions and studies of African American art in the US.
Many groups were formed to address the black artists’ role in modernism, while
still highlighting their community and heritage. Jae Jarrell and her husband
Wadsworth Jarrell (born 1929) were active in establishing African American art
in the forefront of American modernism.
During the late 1960s and early 1970s, critics summarily
categorized much African American art that addressed injustices in American
society as “protest art.” The trend toward positive messages in politically
aware art began with the urban mural movement of that period, pioneered in Chicago,
which sought to bring not only beauty to urban neighborhoods, but also
uplifting, positive messages about African American—and other minority—life.
After the painting of the Wall of Respect in Chicago in 1969, a collaboration by numerous
artists, five black artists formed the group COBRA (Coalition of Black
Revolutionary Artists). They were Jae Jarrell and Wadsworth Jarrell, Barbara
Jones-Hogu, Gerald Williams, and Jeff Donaldson. This group emphasized positive
images of the strong African American family, and proud and profound members of
the black community, rather than documenting injustices meted out by the US
government on minorities. Like many artists of the Harlem Renaissance (ca. 1918–1939),
these artists produced works that celebrated African American life,
neighborhoods, achievements, and their African heritage.
The group grew to ten people and the name changed in 1970 to
AfriCOBRA (African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists). It was during this period
that Jae Jarrell created Urban Wall Suit.
Many of the Africans brought to the US as slaves came from
West Africa, where there is a long, honored tradition of textile art, woven,
painted, and dyed. In Africa, most weavers are men, but in the US, before
emancipation, African women became the textile artists, producing quilts, rugs,
and clothing, often repeating patterns and motifs from Africa. Jae Jarrell
carries on that tradition as a fashion designer.
Jarrell is very proud of Urban
Wall Suit, especially because it was received with such critical acclaim
everywhere she wore it. The multi-colored two-piece suit represents a brick
wall with appliquéd mortar lines in velvet, with graffiti, posters, notices,
and tagging in acrylic paint. These are positive words representing not only
black pride, but also carrying on the tradition of African American artists
representing their particular neighborhood, and their unique contribution to
American culture.
Urban Wall Suit was
one of a group of 44 works by 29 African American artists bought by the
Brooklyn Museum in 2013 from a collector in Detroit. The group of works,
including two outfits by Jarrell, bridges the museum’s collection between
African American art of the Harlem Renaissance and contemporary African
American art.
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Urban Wall Suit,
reverse. (BMA-4837b)
|
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Jae Jarrell, Ebony Family dress, ca. 1968. (BMA-4836a) |
Studio activity: Design
an outfit based on family or neighborhood. Using a pencil, draw on a piece of
white construction paper the outline of a dress, suit, pants or shirt so that
it fills most of an 11 x 8 ½” sheet. Go over the outline with a black felt tip
marker. Using color pencils, create designs on the clothing item drawn to
reflect personal values, experiences or family history. Try to combine images
of objects of personal significance as well as words or sayings that summarize
personal feelings.
Correlations to Davis
programs: Explorations in Art
Grade 1: 6.33; Explorations in Art Grade 3: 6.32, 6.33; Explorations in Art Grade
4: 5.27-28 studio; Explorations in Art Grade 5: 1.5-6 studio, 2.9; A Personal
Journey: 1.1, 3.1, 3.3; A Community Connection: 5.2; A Global Pursuit: 2.1;
Experience Painting: 4, 9; Exploring Painting: 6; Exploring Visual Design: 11;
The Visual Experience: 10.8, 12.4
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