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AFRICOBRA: Messages to the People: Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami | Miami, FL

Past exhibition
27 November 2018 - 24 March 2019
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Wadsworth Jarrell, Black Family, 1968
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Wadsworth Jarrell, Black Family, 1968
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Wadsworth Jarrell, Black Family, 1968
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Wadsworth Jarrell, Black Family, 1968

Wadsworth Jarrell USA, b. 1929

Black Family, 1968
Acrylic on canvas
46 x 36 x 2 in
116.8 x 91.4 x 5.1 cm
6823

Further images

  • (View a larger image of thumbnail 1 ) Sherman Beck, Star People, c. 1980/2016
  • (View a larger image of thumbnail 2 ) Sherman Beck, Star People, c. 1980/2016
  • (View a larger image of thumbnail 3 ) Sherman Beck, Star People, c. 1980/2016
  • (View a larger image of thumbnail 4 ) Sherman Beck, Star People, c. 1980/2016
View on a Wall
When AFRICOBRA first formed, the group selected a pair of themes to work through with every member in the group creating a piece around the theme. While this practice wouldn't...
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When AFRICOBRA first formed, the group selected a pair of themes to work through with every member in the group creating a piece around the theme. While this practice wouldn't continue past the first two themes, it helped to facilitate conversation in the early meetings as they could consider how to address the content in meaningful ways. The first theme was "The Black Family" and the second theme, famously proposed by Jeff Donaldson, was "We're Better Than Those Motherfuckers and They Know It."

This was Wadsworth's contribution towards the former, a depiction of himself and Jae with their son Wadsworth Jr. and the first of their two daughters. Featuring a brick motif rather like the Wall of Respect and Jae's "Urban Wall Suit" this piece also sees the start of the "B" motif—a variable that can mean Black, Beautiful, Bad, or any number of other things. The "Black Family" theme had been proposed by Wadsworth's wife, Jae Jarrell, and it was enthusiastically received by the group as the first theme for exploration. Jeff Donaldson said of the topic, as quoted in Wasdworth Jarrell's AFRICOBRA book, "That’s a hip idea. Black families were split apart by slaveowners the minute we arrived in America. That was their way of breaking our spirits and having control over us. We need to turn this mess around by making art that represents a whole family, with a husband, wife, and children."

In the same book, Wadsworth expanded on explaining his piece, "My 'Black family' is executed in acrylic on canvas, with pastel and hot wax. The wax was applied to achieve a degree of texture and translucency. The painting shows a family of four – a father, a mother, and two children. The male child is sitting on his mothers knee, with her arms around him, expressing that he is loved. One arm of the father is cuddling the female child, and the other arm is around his wife. He is making a strong statement that he is the provider and protector of his family. The phrase 'Black Prince' appears in the painting, denoting the life of a strong willed man whose life is lived with profundity. The 'B' is prevalent in the painting and it refers to the statement 'Black is Beautiful.' ."
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Provenance

The artist's studio, Cleveland, OH, USA

Exhibitions

Wadsworth Jarrell, Come Saturday Punch, 2019, Kavi Gupta gallery, Chicago IL, USA
AFRICOBRA: Messages to the People, curated by Jeffreen Hayes, 2018, Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami, FL, USA
AFRICOBRA 1: Ten in Search of a Nation, 1970, Black Expo, Chicago, IL, USA
AFRICOBRA 1: Ten in Search of a Nation, 1970, Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists, Boston, MA, USA
AFRICOBRA 1: Ten in Search of a Nation, 1970, The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY, USA

Publications

AFRICOBRA 50, 2018, published by Kavi Gupta Editions
Wadsworth Jarrell, 2019, published by Kavi Gupta Editions
AFRICOBRA: Experimental Art Toward a School of Thought, 2020, written by Wadsworth Jarrell, published by Duke University Press
AFRICOBRA (Final Title TBA), 2020, published by Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami (Forthcoming)
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