african commune of bad relevant artists

Presenting Barbara Jones-Hogu

The National Conference of Artists was holding its annual conference at Howard University in April

1972. The Ira Aldrich Theater was packed with a standing room only audience to hear a panel

discussion on trends in African and African-American art. Barbara Jones was to be the last of the

panelists to make a presentation. The speaker preceding her gave an engrossing talk about

African art history, making the old, fresh news for most in the audience. As the speaker continued

far beyond the allocated time, I looked at Barbara and could sense anxiety in her face. “Just one

quick thing more....” the speaker said, really feeling it, but at that point it seemed clear that Barbara

was not going to give her presentation. The “oops, we’re out of time” announcement went out. The

obligatory “we’ll try to arrange time later” was spoken. The theater began to buzz with people

scampering out to get lunch. Barbara seemed deflated when she descended the stage. She said

to me in a subdued voice “I didn’t get to make my presentation”. I know how eagerly that she had

looked forward to giving that talk, having traveled 700 miles

to do so

. Her subject was the

development

of the AFRICOBRA and it’s philosophy. That scenario, pretty much began her three

decades long

absence from the art World.

One of the preeminent print makers on the scene in Chicago in1967, Barbara Jones was at Robert

Paige’

s studio when we first met. During that period she was in the midst of concluding graduate

study in the

Institute of Design at Illinois Institute of Technology, working on the Wall of Respect,

and exhibiting at

several galleries

, including the

5 in Search show at WJ Studio

. With titles like

“Land Where My Father Died” or “I Am My

Brother’s Keeper,” BJ’s work

broke new ground in socio-

political expression which, as a matter of

fact,

set a high bar

for others to

reach. It was BJ who laid

the cornerstone for one of the important

elements of AFRICOBRA - the use of

lettering or

statements within, or as part of, the composition.

She was one of the few artists at the time to

compose works based upon African masks.

Her stark serigraph titled “

Unite,

”which was completed in 19

69 as part of her thesis at the Institute

of Design

, captured the spirit of the age with a

clarity

and boldness that was unmatched by works of

other artists during the period. In it one

senses the

somber, dramatic stance taken by John

Thomas and Tommy Evans during the medal

ceremony at the

1968 Olympics; recollects clinched

fist greetings that brothers gave one another in

public; and once again

one

feels

the clarion call for

unity

vibrating

in gatherings and

events where

social and political

issues were discussed.

It is

carried over into a

poster

that she

designed

following a discussion in which we lamented the fact

that January 1st

always celebrated

s the

passing of the old year with no contemplation or

reflection upon the

day

in 1863

that

slaves were

set free in the South by Presidential decree.

That

was before Kwanzaa

caught hold and became

widely celebrated by a lot of people.