Arthur Jafa Has a Message That Can Only Be Felt

Arthur Jafa b. 1960, United States Follow +

Arthur Jafa knows how to move people.

For decades, the Mississippi-born artist and filmmaker has explored the complexities of the Black experience in moving-image works that are rich with resonant imagery and sound.

His seminal film, Love Is The Message, The Message Is Death (2016), for example, weaves together home-movie clips with archival footage documenting police brutality, civil rights marches, and prominent Black figures including musicians, dancers, and athletes.

Over the course of seven-and-a-half minutes, the viewer journeys through the ebbs and flows of a spectrum of emotions—outrage, despair, joy, horror, pride, and disgust—as scenes shift dramatically in range, from the brutal assault of a young Black girl by a police officer, to a clip from Beyoncé’s music video ‘7/11’.

Rather than declaring fixed meanings, Jafa’s art commands attention to create powerful experiences.

Jafa spoke with Ocula on the occasion of his latest show, Part 1 (20 July–5 September 2024), at Champ Lacombe in Biarritz, France.

The gallery is a small space that hosts exhibitions with both familiar and new talents. It was founded in 2021 by Lucy Chadwick, formerly director of Gavin Brown’s enterprise in New York, where she first met Jafa.

Jafa’s opening in the Basque coast seaside town—not widely known for its art scene—drew an unexpectedly large turnout, resulting in streets being blocked off for the event.

Part 1 adopts a minimalist approach, with just three works on view. Jafa told Ocula, ‘It’s a very austere show.’

One film in the exhibition, titled LOML (Love Of My Life) (2022), explores the experience of grief through a blurred black-and-white abstraction, with a score that samples Michael Jackson’s ‘Someone in the Dark’. It is a tribute to Jafa’s dear friend, the musician and cultural critic Greg Tate, who passed away in 2021.

‘Many people told me that they felt a sense of sadness or melancholy from the work, despite it not representing anything concrete—just light, dark, and grain,’ Jafa remarked.

‘In the context of art, that’s a common reaction. People often try to rationalise what they see. One person even compared it to looking at a sonogram of a baby.’

Jafa is hesitant to spell out the meaning of his works, preferring instead to focus on viewers’ interpretations and experiences.

‘Even though the piece is deeply personal and non-narrative, it’s fascinating to see how it evokes specific feelings,’ he said.

Viewers in the past have reported crying or feeling uplifted from seeing Love Is The Message. What interests Jafa is this affective dimension of art.

‘I see myself as an undertaker, who explores deeper psychological themes and provoking intellectual and aesthetic responses, rather than provide straightforward messages,’ he said.

In a separate room to LOML is a print titled Black Man (2024) which resembles a worn record sleeve. Its cover imagines a fictional 1975 collaboration between Jimi Hendrix and the American rock band, War. Jafa describes it as a ‘memorial and lament’ for Hendrix’s premature death in 1970.

‘Hendrix had a massive impact, despite his mainstream career lasting merely four years. His influence aligns him with other members of the “27 Club” like Jean-Michel Basquiat and Kurt Cobain.’

Hendrix’s experiences of isolation contrasted with other musicians in a predominantly white industry. Basquiat found himself in a similarly solitary position within the American art world. In Black Man, Jafa unpacks these themes.

‘The aim is not necessarily to make explicit statements, but to engage with the complex dynamics of race, success, and survival, offering an experience rather than a specific message.’

While Jafa has staged his work in larger venues like LUMA Foundations in Arles, the more intimate setting of Champ Lacombe allows for a different approach. He described, ‘It’s akin to moving from a full-length album to an EP, allowing for a more focused presentation.’

‘My hope is for people to step into something distinctive and stirring, provoking thoughtfulness and philosophical contemplation.’ —[O]

Artworks

Main image: Arthur Jafa, Black Man (2024) (detail). Plywood, aluminium, mirrored mylar print, wood veneer. 203.2 x 205.74 cm. Courtesy the artist and Champ Lacombe, Biarritz. Photo: © Ander Sagastiberri.