a3 blackface #62 (work of art)
Artwork Info
Key Ideas
- This painting was inspired by the artist’s 2001 trip to Japan. She created it using a traditional Japanese woodblock print technique called ukiyo-e.
- The five male figures in this painting are depicted wearing Black hairstyles and blackface. Blackface is dark makeup worn (by someone who is not Black) to mimic the appearance of a Black person and to mock Black people.
- Rozeal is a contemporary African American artist. She is best known for creating colorful paintings that blend Japanese art techniques with Black identity.
- This work is part of a painting series that explores how different cultures understand and influence each other.
Learn More
Iona Rozeal Brown (known professionally as Rozeal) is a contemporary artist. She uses her work to explore racial and cultural stereotypes. These are assumptions made about a person’s actions or behaviors based on their culture. Rozeal’s paintings combine acrylic paint, African American hip-hop culture, and Japanese woodblock prints. Her 2001 trip to Japan inspired her to use these combined elements in her work. During her travels she saw Japanese teenagers imitating Black culture, and it made her feel uncomfortable. She responded by creating paintings that highlight the similarities between Black culture and Japanese art.
Rozeal used ukiyo-e (Japanese woodblock print) style to create the five characters in this painting. Ukiyo-e is a Japanese art form that was popular in the 17th and 18th centuries. Rozeal added a modern twist to traditional-style figures by portraying them in blackface makeup, Black hairstyles, and flashy jewelry. Her artwork offers a new perspective on cultural appropriation. It blends American hip-hop and Japanese cultural elements to tell a deeper story of cultural appreciation.
The “a3” in the series title (a3 Blackface) stands for afro-asiatic allegory. The term afro-asiatic refers to the large family of languages in North Africa and the Middle East. In Rozeal’s painting series, she expands on this meaning. She uses her art to explore the ways in which different cultures interpret and influence each other.
I think hip-hop is the most influential movement of the last 30 years. It’s global. It’s universal.
Rozeal
tags: identity, place, variation, pattern
Additional Resources
Resources for Teachers
- Read the artist’s bio and explore more examples of her work.
- Watch a video of Rozeal talking about the inspiration for her work titled Sacrifice (2007).
- Read an article about the historical significance of the term blackface.
Resources for Students
- Read a biography about Rozeal.
- Read a blog post about the artist and her work.
- Read an article about the ukiyo-e art form.
Images
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a3 blackface #62
An acrylic painting depicting five male figures dressed in traditional Japanese clothing. The figures have black hair and dark skin tones.