COVER: Ebony G. Patterson / The International Review of African American Art / Volume 24, Number 3A / 2013

Ebony G. Patterson, Untitled Species IV (Bazile Paw), 2011, mixed media on paper, 63 x 50 inches.
Image appears on IRAAA courtesy of the artist and Monique Meloche Gallery, Chicago.

Triple Consciousness, Diasporic Art in American Context

Guest editor: Cinque Hicks

From IRAAA web site:

This year marks the 50th year since the death of WEB Du Bois whose application of the notion of "double consciousness" continues to inform discussions of African American identity. In 2013, the notion is arguably further complicated by virtue of living in a globally connected world in which national identities take on more complex hues. How might Du Bois's idea be updated and remixed for the 21st century to include artists whose work addresses the curious place of working or living in the US, but from elsewhere in the Diaspora? How is work addressing the thorny idea of "triple consciousness"?

Excerpt from ‘Ebony Patterson: Dancehall’s Body Politic’ by Jamillah James:

What differentiates Patterson’s practice from the vanguard is her direct engagement with class at the street level and her interest in self-presentation in the face of adversity within Jamaican culture. Born and raised in Kingston, she is very much engaged in the dancehall culture, not just out of sheer enjoyment, but as fodder for her own artistic practice. There is something seductively casual about Patterson’s work, which affords it an accessibility evading the works of artists such as those who worked in the 1980s and 1990s making art dealing with identity.

Features include:

Destination Venice: Curator Yacouba Konatée on Côte d’Ivoire’s Biennale Debut by Cinque Hicks

The Harmful Consequences of Postblack by Eddie Chambers

Akosua Adoma Owusu: Exploring “Threeness” by Erica Agyenow

Paul Anthony Smith: Identity Inside Out by Jody B. Cutter

Art reviews include:

Wangechi Mutu: A Fantastic Journey (Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham, NC)

Kehinde Wiley: The World Stage: Israel (Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco, CA)

Loïs Mailou Jones: Works from Every Stage of the Pioneering Black Woman Artist’s Career (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA)

David Hartt: Stray Light (Studio Museum in Harlem, NYC)

Kara Walker: Rise Up, Ye Mighty Race! (Art Institute of Chicago)

Issue also features a portfolio of works from María Magadelena Campos-Pons and an artist project by emerging photographer Rosine Kouamen, who meditates on the relationship between three discrete identities: African, American and African-American.

Order the current issue, back issues and subscriptions at the IRAAA online store: iraaa.museum.hamptonu.edu/store.