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215:. She began to apprentice at Phyllis Jewelry, a silver store on East 7th Street. Here she would meet not only her future business partners—Fumi Schmidt, a dancer and seamstress who sewed most of the creations and Olive Wong, a theatrical designer who procured textiles for Penn, but also friend and contemporary
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reviewed an exhibition of
Hammons work at Knobkerry's TriBeCa location – describing how Hammons combined the inventory of Knobkerry and some of his own work to create a constantly shifting sculptural installation. Many works created by Hammons for this exhibition only existed for the duration of the
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rug with two dozen drumsticks. Another was a deflated basketball filled with rice, placed atop a tiny lounge chair with chewing gum on its underside, all placed within a glass case with shelves holding
Japanese dolls, Indian bronzes, and wood or iron African figurines. Moving water was connected to
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fighting stick. She sets out for God, and anytime she comes across someone who tries to tell her who God is, she simply hits them with her knobkerrie and continues her search. The store changed locations numerous times, and other than a short stint in
California, remained generally in Manhattan's
168:'s urge to provide skilled training for newly freed slaves, teaching quilting and sewing. She opened a training school that grew to have over 200 students. Penn recognizes a closeness with this relative that she attributes her own career to. After attending
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mask. The show's existence was spread exclusively by word-of-mouth. This exhibition was a perfect fit for Penn's store, whose trademark clothing had always been a patchwork of culturally specific textiles.
375:'s exhibition at Gordon Robichaux Gallery, where she repeatedly came across Penn's name and mentions of Knobkerry. This oral history was ultimately compiled for a 2021 exhibition at
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was cited as an inspiration for their custom gowns. The garments were noted for their utilization of cultural assemblage as well as their ability to be worn by either sex.
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the orifices of
African masks to become small scale, functioning fountains. Also featured was a group portrait of a Black family, partially obscured by a hanging
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from the 1960s to the 1990s. Penn designed clothes that utilized global and historical textiles. Many of her clothing display strong
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The store dealt in both ready to wear garments and custom designs. The clothing were created onsite in the backroom of the shop.
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136:(1927–2020) was the owner of Knobkerry, a clothing and antiques store, gallery, cultural center, and arts space in
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342:, a frequent customer of Knobkerry, was influenced by Penn's designs for his Spring/Summer 1967 collection.
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Sara Penn was born in
Pittsburgh to an affluent African American family in 1927. Her great aunt followed
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influences. She also maintained and displayed an inventory of art objects from across the globe.
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She maintained her career as a social worker part-time even years into
Knobkerry's success.
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were sold in the museum shop to accompany a 1969 exhibition of
Pakistani craftwork at the
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246:. In the allegorical satire the South African protagonist flees a mission with only her
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Among numerous other publications, her designs were notably featured on the covers of
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was encircled with black-eyed peas. This was the first time
Hammons staged his
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Knobkerry was the site of several early exhibitions by
American artist
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594:"Art Review; The New, Irreverent Approach to Mounting Exhibitions"
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Le Sueur, Dorothy (December 7, 1969). "Third World
Reflections".
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She traveled throughout Europe in the 1950s, living briefly in
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of Sara Penn and Knobkerry after researching a catalogue for
492:"Living -- and Shopping --Easy In 'East Village' Boutiques"
679:"An East Village Boutique Where the Avant-Garde Gathered"
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Paley, Maggie (July 27, 1968). "The Big Costume Put On".
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The Adventures of the Black Girl in Her Search for God
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The Adventures of the Black Girl in Her Search for God
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It has been speculated (though never confirmed) that
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459:Sara Penn's Knobkerry: An Oral History Sourcebook
295:, a piece of lacy lingerie draped over a Yoruban
359:Knobkerry officially closed its doors in 1998.
176:, where she would take a religion class with
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775:20th-century African-American businesspeople
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238:Her store Knobkerry, was a reference to "
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740:21st-century African-American artists
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199:. Kahn and Penn were regulars at the
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755:21st-century American businesspeople
735:20th-century American businesspeople
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413:Kitto, Svetlana (October 19, 2021).
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745:21st-century African-American women
730:20th-century American businesswomen
725:20th-century African-American women
490:Taylor, Angela (December 8, 1965).
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345:Designs from Knobkerry utilizing
677:Trebay, Guy (October 21, 2021).
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765:Businesspeople from Pittsburgh
415:"A Museum Disguised as a Shop"
274:exhibition. One piece, titled
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16:American designer (1927–2020)
354:Arts and Industries Building
191:. Eventually moving back to
54:2020 (aged 92–93)
367:Svetlana Kitto compiled an
203:where she met artists like
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664:Johnson Publishing Company
576:Curtis Publishing Company
312:The Saturday Evening Post
242:", a 1932 short story by
462:. Long Island City, NY:
456:Kitto, Svetlana (2022).
43:Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
760:Artists from Pittsburgh
351:Smithsonian Institution
319:ad campaigns featuring
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178:Martin Luther King Jr.
571:Saturday Evening Post
530:Constable and Company
315:, as well as several
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770:Culture of Manhattan
618:"Chicks up Front!".
522:Shaw, George Bernard
166:Booker T. Washington
113:New York City portal
592:(January 6, 1995).
549:The Washington Post
244:George Bernard Shaw
154:Indigenous American
656:"Virginia Slims".
639:"Virginia Slims".
626:Hearst Corporation
423:Hauser & Wirth
347:Pakistani textiles
340:Yves Saint Laurent
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174:Atlanta University
138:Downtown Manhattan
82:Atlanta University
58:New York, New York
473:978-1-7377186-0-4
381:Niloufar Emamifar
329:in 1977, and for
278:, was an adorned
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645:. August 1977.
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601:. Retrieved
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66:Nationality
704:Categories
528:. London:
391:References
287:. A small
248:knobkerrie
233:knobkerrie
231:A typical
335:in 1975.
260:Alix Grès
223:Knobkerry
217:Art Smith
201:Cedar Bar
197:Wolf Kahn
189:Amsterdam
160:Biography
134:Sara Penn
23:Sara Penn
688:April 2,
603:April 1,
524:(1932).
506:April 1,
428:April 2,
373:Ken Tisa
193:New York
69:American
666:. 1975.
642:Essence
621:Esquire
326:Essence
306:Esquire
142:African
34: (
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419:Ursula
297:Gẹlẹdẹ
285:kimono
152:, and
60:, U.S.
45:, U.S.
495:(PDF)
280:Kilim
185:Paris
690:2022
605:2022
508:2022
468:ISBN
430:2022
383:and
323:for
309:and
252:Zulu
250:, a
211:and
187:and
148:and
146:East
51:Died
36:1927
32:1927
29:Born
659:Jet
332:Jet
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
