AFRICOBRA

“What an amazing testimony from a founding member of one of the most important artists' collectives of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries! Kudos to Wadsworth A. Jarrell for his thoroughly engaging and art historically significant memoir.”

“The principles and philosophy of the collective AFRICOBRA in many ways defined the parameters of art making for politically conscious African American artists during the era of Black power. Who can forget their stunning manifesto that emphasized standards such as coolade color, shine, free symmetry, and mimesis at midpoint?! Now Wadsworth A. Jarrell‘s new book brings us a first-person account of this group and period from an artist who was there from the start. Beautifully illustrated, it offers a fresh perspective and significant references, and it serves as an important sourcebook for late twentieth-century practice. As the study of art moves beyond a New York--centric approach, histories coming out of major centers like Chicago are especially important. AFRICOBRA joins a growing body of literature on art making outside New York; it will allow a plethora of new chronicles to be written.”

"AFRICOBRA is a timely book as part of a movement that remains current as many art organizations are assessing their complicity in the suppression and appropriation of Black voices. This book will be of interest to scholars of African American art history and American art history in general."

"Lavishly illustrated with images of works by the Jarrells and AfriCOBRA colleagues including his wife, Donaldson, Jones-Hogu, and Nelson Stevens, the book describes the formation of the collective and its first three major exhibitions."

“AFRICOBRA is a necessary source for the study of the Black Arts Movement.... Across poetics, analytical prose, art, and archive, Jarrell argues for revisionist readings that challenge standing interpretations of AFRICOBRA as well as the contemporary collective, AFRICOBRA Now.”