On View
Visual Arts Gallery
Exhibition
Reckoning: Protest. Defiance. Resilience.
Created by
Jones-Hogu, Barbara, American, 1938 - 2017
Signed by
Williams, Gerald, American, born 1941
Jones-Henderson, Napoleon, American, born 1943
Lawrence, Carolyn Mims, American, born 1940
Jarrell, Jae, American, born 1935
Mallory, Howard R. Jr., American, 1930 - 2012
Stevens, Nelson, American, 1938 - 2022
Subject of
AfriCOBRA, founded 1968
Date
1971
Medium
ink on paper
Dimensions
H x W (Picture): 22 1/2 × 30 in. (57.2 × 76.2 cm)
H x W (Backing): 28 × 38 in. (71.1 × 96.5 cm)
Caption
"To build a nation, you need everybody to work together. You know? Everybody must come together and work together." - Barbara Jones-Hogu
Chicago-based artist Barbara Jones-Hogu was a founding member of the African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists (AfriCOBRA), a group seeking to create positive and culturally relevant art for the urban black community. Jones-Hogu’s use of lettering in print designs, illustrated by her dynamic repetition of the word "unite," was an important component of AfriCOBRA’s early visual aesthetic. The closed raised fist, used here to represent cohesion of purpose within the Black Arts and Black Power movements during the late 1960s and the 1970s, has been adopted by various movements and organizations to represent solidarity and resistance.
Description
Screen print of nine (9) individuals with their right fists raised, standing in two rows facing each other. The foremost figure on the right stands facing the viewer. Clad in black, the figures' bodies and hair are dark shadows while the faces are sharp planes and angles reminiscent of African masks. The background is made up of the word "Unite" repeated in the letters of varying sizes in red, blue, purple and yellow. Along the bottom of the image is the signature of the artist, along with signatures of seven other artists from the AfriCOBRA group. There is violet ink stamped "AfriCOBRA, Print #10, Copyright 1971," on the lower left. The margins around the image are covered with a brown sticky residue. There are streaks of a milky white liquid visible spattered on the image.
Classification
Visual Arts
Movement
Black Power (Black Pride)
BAM (Black Arts Movement 1965-1976)
Type
screen prints
Topic
Art
Communities
Resistance
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
Object number
2008.13
Restrictions & Rights
© Estate of Barbara Jones-Hogu, Courtesy of Lusenhop Fine Art
Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5e2a7d17c-6de9-4c1c-b52d-4cc872ab0e76

Cataloging is an ongoing process and we may update this record as we conduct additional research and review. If you have more information about this object, please contact us at NMAAHCDigiTeam@si.edu

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