AFRICOBRA: Experimental Art Toward a School of Thought

Author: Wadsworth A. Jarrell
Page Count: 264
Publisher: Duke University Press Books
Year: 2020
Size: 7 × 10  in.

Formed on the South Side of Chicago in 1968 at the height of the civil rights, Black Power, and Black Arts movements, the AFRICOBRA collective created a new artistic visual language rooted in the culture of Chicago’s Black neighborhoods. The collective’s aesthetics, especially the use of vibrant color, capture the rhythmic dynamism of Black culture and social life. In this publication, painter, photographer, and collective cofounder Wadsworth A. Jarrell tells the definitive story of the group’s creation, history, and artistic and political principles. From accounts of the painting of the groundbreaking  Wall of Respect  mural and conversations among group members to documentation of

AFRICOBRA’s exhibits in Chicago, New York, and Boston, Jarrell outlines how the collective challenged white conceptions of art by developing an artistic philosophy and approach wholly divested of Western practices. Featuring nearly a hundred color images of artworks, exhibition ephemera, and photographs, this book is at once a sourcebook history of AFRICOBRA and the story of visionary artists who rejected the white art establishment in order to create uplifting art for all Black people.