146:. This work as described by Rozeal is a visual articulation of traditional Ukiyo-e aesthetics mixed with signifiers of hip-hop culture to reflect this multicultural synergy that she was interested in understanding. This cultural hybridity reflected Asian black faced women and ultimately explored the 'rebellious' Ganguro style of the 1990s. This clash of cultures in her artwork exposed Asian appropriation of African American women. For example, Blackface #19, one of ten works in her collection, depicts a young Japanese woman sitting in a silk Kimono with traditional African Hairstyle. It is assumed that the young women illustrated in the painting is a Geisha. Geishas were female performers that wore traditional kimonos and painted their faces white who danced and sang. Poking out from beneath this traditionally worn Japanese garment are blue jeans, white adidas shoes and a thick gold chain. These Afro-Asiatic characters explored the impacts of American popular culture on Japanese culture.
194:. This style was produced in the mid-1700s and was often produced as woodblock prints and paintings and in literal terms means 'pictures of the floating world'. Artists often depict Kabuki actors, geishas, flora and fauna, landscapes, etc. Unlike early colour Ukiyo-e pieces, in which colours tended to be softer Rozeal's work is very pigmented and colourful. This was a more contemporary adaptation of ukiyo-e. Lighting and shading adds depth to pieces of work thus it is surprising Rozeal manages to maintain one-dimensionality. This means that the work is created on a flat surface, there is no depth to the illustrations.
166:, sometimes referred to as Gyaru, is a fashion style that developed in the mid-1990s. With this trend, young Japanese women would darken their skin, bleach their hair and wear brightly coloured extravagant outfits. This plays a large role in her artwork. Brown expresses mixed feelings about the trend saying that this fetishization of blackness is "pretty weird, and a little offensive" (Genocchio 2004).
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Rozeal's work looks at
African American culture and how it has touched upon other cultures around the world, specifically Japanese culture. As a child, Rozeal accounts one of her first interactions with Japanese culture when attending a Kabuki theater performance. This type of theatrical performance,
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With this curiosity and inspiration developing during her undergraduate studies, she was determined to learn and explore the
Ganguro phenomenon. Rozeal travelled abroad to Japan in 2001. Brown was interested in the artistic appropriation of African American cultural traditions. Given this, she is
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Rozeal is a contemporary
American artist known for her colourful and complex cross cultural painting technique. She best known for her narrative canvases commenting on cultural, racial and sexual identity. A large part of her work touches on the differences between appropriation and appreciation.
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for a
Bachelor of Sciences in Kinesiological Sciences. She initially wanted to pursue a career in physiotherapy but her interest drifted. After graduating, she attended the Montgomery County Community College in 1995, where she took a few classes. Her artistic career did not begin till her early
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but also hip-hop culture. Discussed in an interview in the Spring of 2003, Brown expresses that there is a well-established relationship between
African American hip-hop and the influences on Asian cultures. Rozeal indicates that music that this plays a huge role in both her life and work.
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concerned with the construction of global identity and as a result there is an emergence of the Post-Soul
Aesthetic in her artwork. Her experiences abroad helped shape her questions regarding the global reconstruction and fascination of African American culture and identity.
98:. This African-American, contemporary artist keeps her family and personal life very private. As a child, her mother was a junior high math teacher and her father was an academic advisor at the
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Rozeal's work has been exhibited around the world. She has been featured in a number of solo exhibitions at numerous galleries and institutions including:
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Later in her life, while attending school at the San
Francisco Art Institute, Rozeal's curiosity with Japanese culture grew with her encounter with the
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Anderson, Crystal S. (2007). "The Afro-Asiatic
Floating World: Post-Soul Implications of the Art of Iona Rozeal Brown".
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Pratt
Institute, San Francisco Art Institute, Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Yale University School of Art
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Ultimately, Rozeals work and portrayal of pornographic prints illustrates a set of politically powerful messages.
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Anderson, Crystal S. "The Afro-Asiatic
Floating World: Post-Soul Implications of the Art of Iona Rozeal Brown."
127:, during the late 1990s, where she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts. The artist continued her education at
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In addition to the numerous solo exhibitions Rozeal's artwork has been featured in the collections of the
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dating back to the seventeenth century, is known for its elaborate costumes and dramatized production.
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Gopnik, Blake. "Go East, Young Woman: Japan Called to Iona Rozeal Brown And She Answered".
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Gopnik, Blake. "Go East, Young Woman: Japan Called to Iona Rozeal Brown And She Answered".
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Gopnik, Blake. "Go East, Young Woman: Japan Called to Iona Rozeal Brown And She Answered".
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Rozeal, born Iona Rozeal Brown, was born in Washington, DC. in 1966 at the height of the
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Lyneise, Williams (2006). "Black on Both Sides: A Conversation with Iona Rozeal Brown".
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of Art in Brooklyn, New York in 1996. Soon after attending Pratt, Rozeal attended the
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Powell, Linda S. "30 Americans: An Inspiration for Culturally Responsive Teaching."
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Powell, Linda S. "30 Americans: An Inspiration for Culturally Responsive Teaching."
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While receiving her master's degree at Yale, Rozeal created her first collection,
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Rozeal has an extensive education. She began her education in 1991, attending the
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in New Haven, Connecticut. Here she completed her Master of Fine Arts in 2002.
314:"For Japanese Girls, Black Is Beautiful: Painting Hip-Hop as It Goes Geisha"
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409:. International Review of African American Art. pp. 39–45.
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The artist is trained in the traditional artistry of Japanese
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Cartin; et al. (2004). "Iona Rozeal Brown: Matrix 152".
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Cooks, Bridget R. "New-Now-Next: A Survey of Rising Talent."
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This introduction to Afro-Asian culture extended beyond the
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542:Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture alumni
331:Rowell, Charles H. (2015). " Rozeal [Brown".
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438:International Review of African American Art
125:Skowhegan School of painting and Sculpture
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115:twenties. She started her studies at the
407:New-Now-Next: A Survey of Rising Talent
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261:Hirschhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
177:phenomenon and childhood exposure to
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562:21st-century American women painters
552:20th-century American women painters
237:Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland
224:- The Paintings of Iona Rozeal Brown
198:Selected Exhibitions and Collections
66:Traditional Ukiyo-e Print Techniques
451:National Art Education Association.
300:National Art Education Association.
242:- Introducing... The House of Bando
228:University of Arizona Museum of Art
210:Spelman College Museum of Fine Arts
100:University of the District Columbia
567:San Francisco Art Institute alumni
279:at Skylight West commissioned for
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215:- Iona Rozeal Brown: Matrix 152
572:Painters from Washington, D.C.
557:21st-century American painters
547:20th-century American painters
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312:Genocchio, Benjamin (2004).
273:North Carolina Museum of Art
265:Virginia Museum of Fine arts
121:San Francisco Art Institute
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405:Cooks, Bridget R. (2018).
244:(2012) in New York, NY at
532:Yale School of Art alumni
275:. In 2011, she presented
206:- A3 Black on Both sides
465:African American Review
421:African American Review
269:National Gallery of Art
58:The Blackface Paintings
537:Pratt Institute alumni
144:A3 Black on Both Sides
112:University of Maryland
345:10.1353/cal.2015.0128
102:. in Washington D.C.
96:civil rights movement
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393:The Washington Post.
380:The Washington Post.
367:The Washington Post.
302:65(5) (2012): 33-40.
277:battle of yestermore
217:(2004) exhibited at
39:Washington D.C., USA
186:Style and Technique
484:Wadsworth Atheneum
318:The New York Times
219:Wadsworth Atheneum
74:Post-Soul Movement
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255:Joslyn Art Museum
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54:Notable work
522:1966 births
516:Categories
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251:- iROZEALb
235:(2010) at
150:Influences
140:Early Work
90:Early Life
85:Background
353:162985502
106:Education
45:Education
499:Callaloo
333:Callaloo
281:Performa
246:Salon 94
123:and the
71:Movement
192:Ukiyo-e
175:Ganguro
164:Ganguro
160:Ganguro
486:: 1–8.
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267:, the
263:, the
135:Career
349:S2CID
283:11.
63:Style
36:1966
29:Born
341:doi
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