Ebony and Jet were some of the first African American magazines in the United States.
Launched in the 1940s and 50s by Johnson Publishing Company in Chicago, which was owned by African American John H. Johnson, they helped shaped the identity of several generations of black Americans.
A new exhibit at the Studio Museum in Harlem explores how 16 artists used Ebony and Jet as inspiration for their work.
“Speaking of People: Ebony, Jet and Contemporary Art” features collages, paintings, sculptures and videos. The artists, who include Ellen Gallangher, Jeremy Okai Davis, Noel Anderson and Lorna Simpson, use material from the magazines in different ways.
Lauren Haynes, associate curator at Harlem Studio Museum, said the magazines were important because they were pioneers. “Putting images, telling stories of African Americans,” she said. “They were a way for African Americans to know from coast-to-coast, all over the country and even eventually abroad, what was happening and how that was all sort of connecting people.”
One of the pieces is a video work from Chicago-based artist Theaster Gates which questions traditional notions of beauty. It features a black model repeating phrases like “My complexion is political” and “I am beautiful.”
"It is an actual political act for a black woman to be saying, my complexion is beautiful, is political, I am beautiful, and having that just sort of repeated over and over just becomes a really interesting sort of statement,” Haynes said.
The show is on view until March.
