Twenty-five years in the past on Sept. 11, 2000, UPN debuted a comedy known as “Girlfriends” that adopted the lives of 4 Black ladies dwelling in Los Angeles.
The present’s creator, Mara Brock Akil, who’d gotten her begin writing on reveals like “South Central,” “Moesha” and “The Jamie Foxx Show,” was bored with seeing out-of-touch depictions of Black ladies on display screen. She needed to lift a mirror to Black ladies and showcase them of their fullness as fleshed out characters who’re bold, artistic, messy at occasions and most significantly nuanced.
The primary season of “Girlfriends” on DVD.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Occasions)
For eight seasons till the present was abruptly canceled in 2008, viewers tuned in to look at the tight-knit buddy group that included Joan (Tracee Ellis Ross), Toni (Jill Marie Jones), Lynn (Persia White) and Maya (Golden Brooks) navigate relationships, sexism at work, magnificence, classism, sexuality and the whole lot in between. At present, “Girlfriends,” which was added to Netflix’s catalog in 2020, is extensively thought of one of the influential TV reveals to have an effect on Black tradition.
To commemorate the twenty fifth anniversary of “Girlfriends,” DCDG & Co., an L.A.-based positive arts company, has teamed up with the forged and Loren LoRosa of iHeartRadio’s “The Breakfast Club” to independently curate an artwork exhibition that pays homage to the groundbreaking sequence. The showcase, which explores the present’s core themes together with sisterhood, ambition and self-discovery via pictures, sculpture, work, an set up and extra, can be on show from Friday via Sunday on the Line Lodge in Koreatown.
Every paintings featured within the all Black ladies exhibition was chosen by the “Girlfriends” forged and LoRosa — all of whom are first time artwork curators. The three-day occasion will even characteristic an artist discuss led by DCDG & Co. co-founder Delaney George on Saturday, which is open to the general public.
A sculpture of a Black lady’s head titled “She” by Alé Reviere was chosen for the exhibition.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Occasions)
“[This] show deserves to be celebrated and if we in the culture don’t do it, then we’re just waiting for the powers that be or networks that are transitioning to a digital space,” says David Colbert Jr., co-founder of DCDG & Co. “These moments might get passed up on.”
“Girlfriends: A Visual Tribute” is a part of DCDG & Co.’s ongoing curatorial sequence known as Iconic Visions, which invitations people in numerous artistic areas like TV, movie, music, vogue and sports activities to step into the position of curator.
When Colbert introduced the concept about doing the exhibit to his buddy Brooks — whom he met at Frieze a few years in the past — her response was a right away sure.
“We are wearable art,” says Golden Brooks. “We are visual art in the space of a TV show.”
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Occasions)
“I always want to do something special for [these milestones] because it is a bookmark of everything that “Girlfriends” has executed,” says Brooks. “We are still uplifting communities. We are still entertaining and empowering the daughters of the mothers who watch the show, so we’re kind of raising generations of young women.”
Brooks, who has been a longtime supporter of the L.A. arts group, says having an artwork exhibition to rejoice the anniversary was the proper method to mix each of her passions.
“We are wearable art. We are visual art in the space of a TV show,” she says. “This also inspired artists to celebrate how they see us as women of color, as women in a space of unity and connection, and what better way to be the springboard and the catalyst to celebrate what sisterhood looks like?”
White, who’s been drawing and portray since she was a toddler, had an analogous response to being part of the exhibit. “When they sent me the links to the art, I literally got tears in my eyes,” she says. “I was just really touched by the women and [their] different experiences.”
“Girlfriends: A Visual Tribute” additionally includes a solo exhibition put collectively by DCDG & Co. cultural curator Erika Conner, which is a group of pictures of iconic Black ladies together with Rihanna, Lil Kim and Naomi Campbell, taken by famend photographer Cheryl Fox.
Whereas the principle exhibition pays tribute to “Girlfriends,” there’s just one paintings — a blended media piece by Jillian Thompson that makes use of acrylic, thread and collage — that shows the beloved associates group’s precise faces. The entire different paintings attracts inspiration from the present’s aesthetic, fashion and themes.
Among the many paintings, which was made by artists from across the nation, there are a number of L.A.-based artists featured within the present together with Brittany Byrd, McKayla Chandler, Tiffany “Just Rock” Brown, Asari Aibangbee and Tumi Adeleye.
McKayla Chandler, a multidisciplinary artist primarily based in L.A., created an interactive set up for the exhibit known as “Mama’s Hands Only.” The set up mimics a front room and includes a sofa, rug, an leisure heart with household pictures sprinkled on high and an old-fashioned TV that shows episodes of “Girlfriends.” The point of interest of the set up, which hangs on a wall above the sofa, is a big portrait of Chandler’s mom braiding her hair as she’s executed since she was a bit of lady.
A detailed-up of multidisciplinary artist McKayla Chandler’s set up titled “Mama’s Hands Only.”
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Occasions)
“To me it feels like connection. Any young, Black woman or Black kid in general can relate to sitting in their mom’s lap and getting their hair braided,” says Chandler. “[The show] is really about these friends going through life together, going through different relationships and even bickering with each other, [then] coming back together. It’s a very special bond that they have with each other, so [with] me thinking about showing my mom here and having this place for you to sit down, look through someone’s old photographs and watch ‘Girlfriends,’ it lends to the nostalgic feeling of it all.”
Though Tiffany “Just Rock” Brown, a photographer primarily based in L.A., primarily takes pictures of males, notably male rappers, she determined to submit a number of photos for the “Girlfriends” exhibit as a result of she grew up watching the present along with her household. Her picture, titled “In This Light,” that was chosen for the present depicts two Black ladies embracing whereas on the set of Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” music video, which was shot in Nickerson Gardens.
A portray titled “Leona’s in the Upper Room” by Marie Jose is featured within the “Girlfriends: A Visual Tribute” exhibit.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Occasions)
“These girls are the epitome of what you see when you come to these areas, but they’re also the inspiration for high fashion, for all those things that don’t get acknowleged,” she says. It reminded her of the void that “Girlfriends” crammed when it debuted.
“I think there’s beautiful representation of what [Black people] have done and what we’ve accomplished, and “Girlfriends” is a real illustration of that,” says Brown. “Women that were dressed flawlessly. They were beautiful. They were successful. They were just living life and trying to find love, just regular stories. It’s very much still a space that’s missing [in television], but I think it should definitely be celebrated.”
Like Brown, Brittany Byrd, a multidisciplinary artist from L.A., was additionally launched to “Girlfriends” at a younger age. “It was just always on in my house,” says Byrd. “I just remember seeing Tracee Ellis Ross and I was like, ‘Damn, she’s beautiful!’”
For the exhibit, Byrd created a chunk titled “Episode 17,” which is impressed by an episode in Season 4 titled “Love, Peace and Hair Grease.”
“It’s mostly about Lynn and her exploring her hair through her identity as a Black woman, but whether you’re mixed or all Black, hair is something that is at the top of our minds,” says Byrd, who was nonetheless placing the ultimate touches on her 6-foot portray. “Whether it’s done or if we’re polished, we’re always just kind of seeking those questions of validity through societal beauty standards when it’s like we’re as beautiful as we feel. So I want my piece to just evoke emotion.”
As she prepares for opening evening of the exhibit, Brooks says she’s most excited to fulfill all the artists and to see how all the paintings comes collectively.
Certainly one of her favourite items within the exhibit is a large, hyperrealism portray by Alé Reviere. Fittingly titled “See Through You,” it depicts a younger lady’s face, staring intensely again on the viewer.
A portray titled “See Through You” by Alé Reviere is featured within the “Girlfriends” tribute exhibition.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Occasions)
“All of her features were just so us,” says Brooks. “The texture of her hair and the expression on her face. There was a pain. There was a sadness, but there’s also sort of this freedom and unapologetic look in her eyes.”
She provides, “Pieces like that just move me.”
