iona rozeal brown

Spelman College Virtual Museum

22 January - 14 May 2004

In this exhibition, iona rozeal brown, one of the nation's most exciting artists, explores "afro-asiatic allegory" or "a3," a theme that she created after travelling to Japan in 2001. brown's work is informed by Ukiyo-e, the fashionable genre painting, also known as pictures of the floating world, that first appeared in 17th Century Japan in Edo (present day Tokyo). Appealing to a variety of buyers, the subjects of these woodblock prints range from historical topics to erotic themes. brown's work is also equally informed by hip-hop culture, blackface performance traditions and ganguro, the trend among Japanese high school girls of darkening one's skin.

brown's paintings--parables about perception, excess, commerce and exchange--raise relevant questions that provoke historic as well as contemporary concerns about blacks, imitation, entertainment and representation. An African American woman artist's interpretation of Japanese translations of contemporary African American entertainers, her paintings offer profound commentaries about mimicry, gender and constructions of culture. a3 . . . black on both sides questions the repercussions of borrowing blackness and introduces new conversations about how race is co-opted, exported and translated. Including several early paintings as well as recently completed works, this exhibit traces the exciting evolution of brown's innovative series.

Andrea D. Barnwell, Ph.D.

Director

Spelman College Museum of Fine Art