AFRICOBRA MANIFESTO? - 391

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AFRICOBRAMANIFESTO?“Ten in Search of a Nation”Jeff R. DonaldsonJeff R. Donaldson,Wives of Shango,1969. Watercolor onpaper, 30 22 in.Azzi-Lusenhop BlackArts MovementCollection, courtesyAfriCOBRA artists76 NkaJournal of Contemporary African Art 30 Spring 2012DOI 10.1215/10757163-1496489 1970 AfriCOBRA artists

DonaldsonNka 77

AfriCOBRA group photo for an exhibition at the Faye Gold Gallery in Atlanta, Georgia. Photo: Adger CowansThe whole thing started slow, real slow . . .suffering through an outdoor art fair in awealthier Chicago suburb one hot July dayin 1962, I asked Wadsworth Jarrell if he thought itwould be possible to start a “negro” art movementbased on a common aesthetic creed. And havinglittle else to do—the wealthy anglos were not buyingthat day—we rapped about the hip aesthetic thingsthat a “negro” group could do. When the sun wentdown, we packed up our jive, drove home to Chicago, and the lake breeze cooled the idea from ourminds. But that was cool, it was only a daydreamballoon ethered by ennui and the hot sun—we letit float. They were buoyant times. The “negro” skywas pregnant with optimistic fantasy bubbles inthose days. Education, Integration, Accommoda-78 Nka Journal of Contemporary African Art 30 Spring 2012tion, Assimilation, Overcomation, Mainstreamation. THE PROMISE OF AMERICA. We would befreed.But this was before the Washington picnic, itseloquent dream and its dynamite reality at thechurch in Birmingham. This was before the veryreal physical end of Malcolm. And the end of the“negro” in many of us. And it was before JamesChaney. Afro-American. Before Lumumba. BeforeJimmie Lee Jackson. Before Selma. Black. Beforethe Meredith March. Black Power. Before Lutluoi,Sammy Young Jr., and the others. Before Wattsand Detroit, Chicago, Harlem, and Newark. BlackNationalism. More Balloons, Separation, Self-determination. We would be free.

Jae Jarrell, Urban Wall Suit, 1970. Multicolored silk quilted patchwork, women’s size 10, hand-painted graffiti, acrylic.Azzi-Lusenhop Black Arts Movement Collection, courtesy the artistDonaldsonNka 79

AfriCOBRA member Nelson StevensAnd the atmosphere of America became moreelectrically charged, the balloons jarringly shaken,many destroyed by the thunder and by the lightningof the real Amerika. And we (Jarrell, Barbara Jones,Carolyn Lawrence, me and other artists) bestirredourselves, formed the OBAC (Organization of BlackAmerican Culture) artists’ workshop and, following Bill Walker’s lead, painted the Wall of Respect inChicago. Black History. And thinking that we haddone a revolutionary thing, we rested and noddedanew, among the few remaining balloons.And then the dreamer’s dreamer had his balloonbusted on a Memphis motel balcony. And that wasthe last balloon. And it was Chicago again and Harlem again, and San Francisco and DC and Cleveland and everywhere. And COBRA was born.1 AndLaw and Order. And off the pig. And we angrilyrealized that sleepers can die that way. Like Fredand Mark and very legally. And COBRA coiledangrily. Our coats were pulled. And the anger isgone. And yes, Imamu, it’s Nation Time.We are a family—COBRA, the Coalition ofBlack Revolutionary Artists, is now AfriCOBRA—African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists.2 It’sNATION TIME and we are searching. Our guidelines are our people—the whole family of Africanpeople, the African family tree. And in this spirit offamilyhood, we have carefully examined our rootsand searched our branches for those visual qualities that are more expressive of our people/art. Ourpeople are our standard for excellence. We strive forimages inspired by African people—experience andimages that African people can relate to directlywithout formal art training and/or experience. Artfor people and not for critics whose peopleness isquestionable. We try to create images that appealto the senses—not to the intellect. The images yousee in an AfriCOBRA exhibition may be placed inthree categories:1. definition—images that deal with the past2. identification—images that relate to the present3. direction—images that look into the futureIt is our hope that intelligent definition of the pastand perceptive identification in the present willproject nation-full direction in the future—look forus there, because that’s where we’re at.80 Nka Journal of Contemporary African Art 30 Spring 2012

This is “poster art”—images which deal withconcepts that offer positive and feasible solutionsto our individual, local, national, international, andcosmic problems. The images are designed with theidea of mass production. An image that is valuablebecause it is an original or is unique is not art—it iseconomics, and we are not economists.3 We wanteverybody to have some.Among our roots and branches we have selectedthese qualities to emphasize in our image-making—(a) the expressive awesomeness that one experiencesin African art and life in the U.S.A. like the Holiness church (which is about as close to home aswe are in this country) and the demon that is theblues, Alcindor’s dunk and Sayer’s cut, the Hipwalk and the Together talk.(c) symmetry that is free, repetition with change,based on African music and African movement.The rhythm that is easy syncopation and veryvery human. Uncontracted. The rhythm therhythm the rhythm rhythm rhythm.(f) images that mark the spot where the real and theoverreal, the plus and the minus, the abstractand the concrete—the reel and the replete meet.Mimesis.(g) organic looking, feeling forms. Machines aremade for each other like we are made for eachother. We want the work to look like the creatormade it through us.(B) This is a big one . . . Shine—a major quality, amajor quality. We want the things to shine, tohave the rich luster of a just-washed ’Fro, of spitshined shoes, of de-ashened elbows and kneesand noses. The Shine who escaped the Titanic,the “li’l light of mine,” patent leather, DixiePeach, Bar-BQ, fried fish, cars, ad shineum!(z) Color color Color color that shines, color that isfree of rules and regulations. Color that shines.Color that is expressively awesome. Color thatdefines, identifies and directs. Superreal colorfor Superreal images. The superreality that is ourevery day all day thang. Color as bright and asreal as the color dealing on the streets of Wattsand the Southside and 4th street and in Roxburyand in Harlem, in Abidjian, in Port-au-Prince,Bahia and Ibadan, in Dakar and Johannesburg and everywhere we are. Coolade colors forcoolade images for superreal people. Superrealimages for SUPERREAL people. Words can dono more with the laws—the form and content ofAfriCOBRA members Adger Cowans (left) and Frank Smith (right)Adger CowansDonaldsonNka 81

Michael Harris, A Love Supreme, 1982. Quilt with screened fabric, trapunto, appliqué, and cloth. Courtesy the artist82 Nka Journal of Contemporary African Art 30 Spring 2012

our images. We are a family. Check the unity. Allthe rest must be sensed directly. Check out theimage. The words are an attempt to posit wherewe are coming from and to introduce how we aregoing where we are going. Check out the image.Words do not define/describe relevant images.Relevant images define/describe themselves. Digon the image. We are a family of image-makersand each member of the family is free to relate toand to express our laws in her/his individual way.Dig the diversity in unity. We can be ourselvesand be together, too. Check.We hope you can dig it, it’s about you and likeMarvin Gaye says, “You’re what’s happening in theworld today, baby.”Carolyn Lawrence, Uphold Your Men, 1971. Screenprint onpaper, 30 24 in. Azzi-Lusenhop Black Arts Movement Collection,courtesy the artistJeff R. Donaldson was a member of the Organization for Black American Culture, and in 1967 heorganized the visual art workshop that created Chicago’s seminal Wall of Respect mural. As a painter,Donaldson participated in over two hundred groupand solo exhibitions internationally. He also servedas a professor, art department chair, and dean of theCollege of Fine Arts at Howard University. He diedin February 2004.NotesThe Manifesto was first published in Black World, October 1970,80–86.1. At first we were five. Jeff Donaldson, Jae Jarrell, WadsworthJarrell, Barbara J. Jones, and Gerald Williams. 1968.2. Then we were seven. Napoleon Henderson came in the fall of1969. Nelson Stevens brought us SHINE during the same period.3. Now we are ten, with Sherman Beck, Omar Lama, and Carolyn M. Lawrence. May 1970.Howard Mallory, We Must Go Home with Something,ca. 1970. Glazed and painted stoneware construction inartist-made frame, 34 24 in. Azzi-Lusenhop Black ArtsMovement Collection, courtesy the artistDonaldsonNka 83

ties that are more expressive of our people/art. Our people are our standard for excellence. We strive for . 3. direction—images that look into the future It is our hope that intelligent de nition of the past . The Manifesto was rst published in Black World, October 1970, 80–86. 1. At rst we were ve.

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