JEFF DONALDSON

About The Artist • Born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, Jeff

Donaldson was an African-American artist and critic who helped in defining the Black Arts Movement in the United States.

• He earned a Ph.D. in African and African and American Art History from Northwestern University, and then, later in life, went to serve as the dean of the college of fine arts at Howard University in Washington DC.

• He was a part of the Organization of Black American Culture (OBAC) and also, co-founded the African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists (AfriCOBRA) in 1968.

AfriCOBRA (African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists)

• A movement that celebrated cultural expressions of contemporary Black communities in the realm of literature, theater, dance and the visual arts. • Founded in 1968 in Chicago, it is an

African American artist collective founded by five artists:• Jeff Donaldson • Wadsworth Jarrell• Jae Jarrell• Barbara Jones – Hogu• Gerald Williams

Style of Work• Donaldson used a combination of

figures, words, Christian symbols, Ancient Egyptian symbols and hieroglyphics, Afro hairdos, and decorative and psychedelic patterns made from paint, metallic foil and newspaper photographs in his works

• By connecting his work to Africa and developing a powerful transnational view, he aimed to develop an alternative history rooted in struggle to replace the demeaning stereotypes of Black people that had been presented by white, mainstream culture.

Wives of Shango, 1969Mixed media

The TransAfrican Style • According to Donaldson, this

style was characterized by “high energy color, rhythmic linear effects, flat patterning, form-filled composition and picture plane compartmentalization.”

• Donaldson and his contemporaries looked to Africa for their influences and focused on bright colors, symmetry, improvisation and images and patterns derived from that continent in their works.

Victory in the Valley of Esu by Jeff DonaldsonScreen print

1971

Urban Wall Suit by Jae JarrellSewn and painted cotton and silk

1969

“He stood up for what he believed in, he was very anti-establishment and an active participant in the civil rights movement. He made art for the people who were protesting for equal rights.”

– Marc Wehby, curator at Kravets Wehby Gallery

One For Bear Den, 1991Mixed Media

Simba, 1973Mixed Media

Wendy Robinson, 1989Acrylic on canvas

Donaldson represented the visual arts tributary of his era’s black arts movement and his art was used to illustrate his fights for equal rights

and promoting the struggle against racism.

Agony of Angola, 1974Mixed media

Soweto SoWeToo, 1979Mixed media

Patriot, 1975Mixed media

J.D. McClain’s Day in Court, 1970Pain on cardboard with ink on paper

Paternal Homage, 1971Mixed media