[1] According to Jarrell, after she shared her secret desire to be a designer and own a shop, the woman suggested that she use the reverse order of her maiden name, Elaine Annette Johnson, as an acronym.
After giving birth to their second child, Jennifer, the Jarrell's decided to relocate to New York to escape the social and economic downturn in Chicago.
[4] Following her involvement with AfriCOBRA in Chicago, Jarrell would eventually move to Washington D.C. to pursue further higher eduction, completing her BFA and graduate work at Howard University.
In one section, Donaldson outlined the kind of art members would make, falling into one of three categories: Going further in the manifesto, Donaldson gave very thorough detail about the artistic direction of the collective, providing a list of qualities that he cut down to the six most important ones which are as follows: This manifesto decreed the way that AfriCOBRA was conducted and, as a result, was influential in the way that Jae Jarrell would shape her art while a part of the collective.
In our hearts, when we put this all together, we thought it was going to be an explosion of positive imagery, and things that gave kids direction, and knowing some of our leaders now portrayed in a fresh way.
During the interview with the Never the Same Organization in Chicago, Jarrell described her work with AfriCOBRA, which involved making textile designs on leather or suede that she would then tie-dye, screen print, hand paint, and applique.
[1] The magazine accused the fashion world of taking the bandolier, which was meant to be a symbol of the righteous protest against the unfair treatment of African Americans, and attempting to turn it into a trendy accessory.
[1] These "Cool-ade" colors were a play on the bright orange, cherry red, lemon yellow, lime green, and grape purple of the drink Kool-aid.
Jarrell's Urban Wall Suit (1969) is a piece inspired by graffiti and concert posters that filled the streets and African American neighborhoods in Chicago.
[1] Jarrell incorporated AfriCOBRA's desire to emphasize images with language by making the suit a symbol of the message boards of the community.
Furthermore, with Urban Wall Suit, Jarrell reused her fabric to follow one of the tenets of AfriCOBRA, which was to reinvent yourself in order to create something fresh.
[7] While Jae Jarrell and her husband continually worked with their art family for a movement they wholeheartedly believed in, they did eventually step away from the coalition.
Jarrell has since emphasized the lasting and present influence AfriCOBRA has in her art – they did not leave coalition fully behind, the direction of their futures simply differed.
[1] Imitating the crossword aspect of Scrabble, Jarrell intersects the names of important musicians to examine the influence of music in building scenes, styles, power, and history for African American communities.
In 2019, her work, which primarily focused on revolution-themed clothing, was also featured along with other artists at The Broad in Los Angeles in a special exhibition called Soul of a Nation.