Arthur Jafa

Arthur Jafa (born in Tupelo in 1960) is a filmmaker, cameraman, and artist. Over the past three decades, he has developed an interdisciplinary practice that explores the forms of expression of African-American culture through film, installations, talks, and happenings. Many of his works address and question common cultural statements about identity and ethnic affiliation. Starting from black American music and a distinctly black perspective, they highlight the potential of an explicitly African-American aesthetic.

Video, 8:12 min

In his eight-minute video APEX, Arthur Jafa pieces together hundreds of digital photographs, graphics, and film stills to form a single overwhelming visual collage. Set to a minimalist beat by Detroit techno pioneer Robert Hood, the video shows a sequence of 841 still images, pulling the viewer in with their rapid tempo and scope. Movie clips are followed by pictures of music icons like Jimi Hendrix and Iggy Pop as well as scenes of brutal violence. The work is an associative reflection on African-American culture, expressing the complexity of its experiences, history, horrors, and cultural achievements. The stated aim of Jafa’s work is to arrive at an aesthetic that matches “the power, beauty, and alienation” of African-American music in U.S. culture, thereby self-confidently achieving emancipation from the dominating “white gaze.”