Just Above Midtown (JAM, for short) was a small gallery that opened in 1974 on 57th St. Dedicated to showcasing Afro-American artists, it was a place of Black artistic refuge and should have been an opportunity for these under-recognized artists to put their art into public view - instead, the gallery was evicted numerous times, acquired a growing debt, and was forced to close indefinitely.
On October 9th, 2022, the JAM archives arrived in the The Edward Steichen Galleries at the Museum of Modern Art for its first showing in 36 years. Once again this incredible exhibition of Black artwork has opened for public viewing. JAM features a diverse array of mediums and artists, and provides a platform for the visibility of Black artists.
Left to right: R.S.V.P. Fall 1976, Senga Nengudi; Black Valhalla, Noah Jemison; Hang Ups: Hair, Susan Fitzsimmons
During my most recent visit to the MoMA I made a beeline for the third floor, the location of the JAM exhibition. The size of the collection was shocking - I could hardly imagine this volume of artwork fitting within the original 724 square foot space of the original gallery. I’m no art connoisseur and frankly, the significance of many pieces evaded my grasp. Pieces ranged from vast oil paintings and traditional watercolor to the more unconventional-medium modernist abstracts. Most of my observations were those of my own reactions - confusion, awe, and at times mild disgust (see the above forty-seven year old lock of hair). I often found myself unable to interpret what I was seeing. Despite how it may sound, my personal reception of this gallery was positive. The lack of thematic or visual cohesivity was simply a testament to the diversity and individuality of each of these artists.
What touched me most significantly was the fact that these artworks were almost lost to time. Black visibility is a much more prominent topic with modern activism, however this activism places great prominence in political visibility. Aspects of the individual personality and expression are just as crucial when establishing equality. Even the simple act of acknowledgement that comes with an art exhibition such as this one helps to prevent these artists from fading into the background. Simultaneously, art does not need to be made with activist intentions. Being of a marginalized identity does not mean that every aspect of oneself needs to be politicized. As such, JAM features art with an infinitely wide range of significance for both the artists and viewers. It’s not about racial justice, civil rights, or BLM. JAM is simply a place where the works of Black artists can be appreciated.
Ralph Ellison’s novel Invisible Man, as the title suggests, provides insight into the metaphorical invisibility of the narrator, a young Black man. The book follows this ‘invisible’ man as he conforms first to the expectations of white intellectual society, finds a public voice for himself with Black political extremist ideology, and then fades into invisibility once more after falling through the cracks of society. He struggles to find his place in a world that doesn’t care about whether he lives or dies. There are no societal institutions established to help, but rather the opposite - systematic racism claims that unless you are exceptional, you are practically invisible.
In this way, JAM seeks to combat such a fate. Despite its struggle to make ends meet as an independent gallery, the Museum of Modern Art has enabled the revitalization of Just Above Midtown, where it continues to pursue its original intent of Black art exhibition.
Photo of gallery front courtesy of MoMA.
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