Jae Jarrell facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jae Jarrell
Born	Elaine Annette Johnson 1935 (age 89–90)
Education	Bowling Green State University School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Occupation	Clothing designer Artist
Years active	1935- present
Spouse(s)	Wadsworth Jarrell
Children	2

Elaine "Jae" Jarrell (born in 1935) is an American artist. She is famous for her fashion designs. She was also a key part of the Black Arts Movement in the 1960s. Jae Jarrell helped start AfriCOBRA, a group of artists.

Early Life and Learning

Jae Jarrell grew up in Glenville, a historic neighborhood in Cleveland, Ohio. Her grandparents taught her about fabrics and sewing when she was young. Her uncle also owned a shop that sold fabrics and sewing tools. His success made her want to open her own store one day.

Her mother also helped her love for art grow. She took Jae to vintage shops. There, she taught Jae to appreciate the skill used to make clothes. Jarrell once said she liked making unique clothes. She also loved vintage items because they held "secrets of the past."

Jarrell went to Bowling Green State University in Ohio. Later, she moved to Chicago to study at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. In the late 1950s and early 60s, she met Wadsworth Jarrell at art school. They became classmates. They later married in 1967.

Her Artistic Journey

Starting in Chicago

When Jae Jarrell first moved to Chicago, she worked at Motorola. A co-worker helped her choose the name "Jae." This name came from reversing the letters of her maiden name, Elaine Annette Johnson. After that, Jarrell opened her own vintage shop. It was near Hyde Park and called "Jae of Hyde Park."

Chicago was very important for both Jae and Wadsworth. It was the city where they helped create AfriCOBRA. Jarrell felt Chicago was an open-minded city. She believed this helped AfriCOBRA succeed.

After getting married, Jae and Wadsworth had two children. Their first child, Wadsworth Jr., was born in 1968. Later, they had their daughter, Jennifer. The family then moved to New York for a short time. After that, Jarrell moved to Washington D.C.. There, she continued her art studies at Howard University.

Joining AfriCOBRA

Most of Jarrell's art came from her time with AfriCOBRA. This group of African American artists wanted to use African art styles. They also wanted to inspire change and Black pride. AfriCOBRA grew from another group called COBRA. Their main idea was about Black pride and feeling strong.

AfriCOBRA even had a special statement called a manifesto. Jeff Donaldson, one of the founders, wrote it. It explained what AfriCOBRA's art stood for. He said their art would fit into three types:

• Definition: Art about the past.
• Identification: Art about the present.
• Direction: Art about the future.

Donaldson also listed six important qualities for AfriCOBRA's art:

• Expressive Awesomeness: A powerful feeling, like in African art.
• Symmetry and Rhythm: Repeating patterns with changes, like African music.
• Mimesis: Mixing abstract and real ideas.
• Organic looking: Art that looks natural, as if the artist was a tool of creation.
• Shine: Art that looks bright and polished.
• Color: Bright, free, and powerful colors.

These ideas guided Jae Jarrell's art while she was part of AfriCOBRA.

Jae Jarrell and the group wanted to use art to build a positive community. They wanted to promote Black pride. Jarrell said they aimed to create "an explosion of positive imagery." They wanted to show Black leaders in new ways. She felt their work helped people learn more about their history.

AfriCOBRA was sometimes linked to groups like the Black Panther Party. However, Jarrell saw AfriCOBRA as a group focused on positivity and empowering African Americans. She said they looked at history to find times of African strength. They avoided focusing on negative things like segregation.

When Jarrell made art for AfriCOBRA, she created unique clothes. She saw the body as a way to show identity and inspire change. Her pieces showed the group's goal: to create an African American style that celebrated Black power and community. She made textile designs on leather or suede. She would tie-dye, screen print, hand paint, and add designs to them. Her most famous pieces from this time are the Revolutionary Suit (1968), Ebony Family (1968), and Urban Wall Suit (1969).

Revolutionary Suit (1968)

The Revolutionary Suit (1968) is a two-piece outfit. It shows Jarrell's style from the late 1960s. The suit has a jacket without a collar and an A-line skirt. These were popular styles at the time. It also has a colorful, fake bandolier. This stands out against the suit's salt-and-pepper color. This piece inspired ideas about wearing clothes for protest. A magazine called Jet wrote about it. They criticized white fashion for copying the bandolier. They said it was a symbol of protest against unfair treatment.

Ebony Family (1968)

Jarrell's Ebony Family suit (1968) followed AfriCOBRA's theme of the Black Family. It represents the strength of Black families. This suit also shows AfriCOBRA's love for African art. It uses bright, vivid "Cool-ade" colors. These colors were like the bright orange, red, yellow, green, and purple of Kool-aid drinks. Jarrell made the suit like a poster. It was shaped like a dashiki, a traditional West African men's dress. The suit shows a colorful Black family. Their faces look like African masks.

Urban Wall Suit (1969)

Jarrell's Urban Wall Suit (1969) was inspired by graffiti and concert posters. These were common on the streets of Chicago's African American neighborhoods. Jarrell wanted the suit to be like a community message board. It has images of posters saying "Vote Democrat." It also has graffiti like "Black Princess" and "Miss Attitude." Jarrell reused fabric scraps for this suit. This followed AfriCOBRA's idea of reinventing things. She used small pieces from her store to make a patchwork that looked like bricks. Velvet ribbon was used as the "mortar." These scraps were different colors and patterns, like stripes and polka dots.

The AfriCOBRA group saw themselves as a "family." They worked together, mixing their styles. This showed unity and strength in their art. It also allowed their individual styles to shine. This "family" approach helped them fight against unfair ideas about Black families. Their combined efforts gave a voice to the community. It shared their message through art. Jae Jarrell and her husband worked with this art family for a cause they believed in. They later moved on from the group. However, Jarrell says AfriCOBRA still influences her art today.

She explained that AfriCOBRA is "like a family." She said you can never truly leave your family. You can grow and understand others who take different paths. But you always share a special connection, trust, and respect.

Recent Artworks

In recent years, Jarrell has started sculpting and making furniture. Some of her newer works were shown in an exhibition called "How to Remain Human." This was at the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland. These works include "Maasai Collar Vest" (2015), "Shields and Candelabra Vest" (2015), and "Jazz Scramble Jacket" (2015).

The "Maasai Collar Vest" (2015) looks like the beautiful clothes and jewelry of the Maasai people in Africa. This piece shows her pride in her African heritage. This theme is seen in all her work. Jarrell also uses African art and culture in "Shields and Candelabra Vest" (2015). She made this piece from cactus plants. They were turned into frames for bright African shields.

For her "Jazz Scrabble Jacket" (2015), Jarrell combined jazz and blues music with the board game Scrabble. Like a crossword puzzle, she crossed the names of important musicians. This piece explores how music helped build scenes, styles, power, and history for African American communities.

Art Shows and Collections

Jarrell's art has been shown in many important exhibitions. These include:

• "Witness: Art and Civil Rights in the Sixties" (2014) at the Brooklyn Museum of Art.
• "How to Remain Human" (2015) at the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland.
• "The Freedom Principle: Experiments in Art and Music, 1965 to Now" (2015) at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (MoCAC).
• "Soul of a Nation" (2019) at The Broad in Los Angeles. This show featured her revolution-themed clothing.

Her clothing designs are owned by private collectors. They are also part of a permanent collection at the Brooklyn Museum of Art.

Images for kids

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  Jae Jarrell looking at her art at the Brooklyn Museum.