Re/Clamation:Performing the Black

Body in Afrofuturism

Zoe JourdainJonathan PalmerChristian Keeve

Afrofuturism - Fall 2014

Ancien

t Aest

hetics

Steam

funks

Robo

-Diva

s

VOL. 1 NO. 1

On the album cover for

Wanna Funk (1982), we see a profile of Sylvester embodied as a Sphinx-

like form, recalling pan-Africanist

legacies of ancient Egyptian royal

heritages. Futuristic accessories are

accentuated by androgyny of the nail

polish, lipstick, and jewelry. Sylvester

deliberately roots himself in a glori

fied and fantastical Black historical legacy while simultaneously calling

up a futuristic post-gender façade. All

these factors blend into each other

and into his body, allowing him to

exist in a state of poly-temporality

and collapse these temporal anchors

onto his form.

Sun Ra frequently wore ancient

Egyptian inspired clothing in

public. Colorful garb with either

space or ancient themes was a

constant in his wardrobe. Even

Ra’s spaceship and his film Space is the place contained

many Egyptian themes such

as the set and many Egyptian

symbols.

Sun Ra

Sylvester

ANCIENT

On the album cover for Do Ya

(1982), we see a profile of Sylvester embodied as a Sphinx-

like form, recalling pan-Africanist

legacies of ancient Egyptian royal

heritages. Futuristic accessories are

accentuated by androgyny of the nail

polish, lipstick, and jewelry. Sylvester

deliberately roots himself in a glori-

fied and fantastical Black historical legacy while simultaneously calling

up a futuristic post-gender façade. All

these factors blend into each other

and into his body, allowing him to

exist in a state of poly-temporality

and collapse these temporal anchors

onto his form.

Bambaataa has many ties back to Africa including the name of his

group called the Universal Zulu

Nation. While his ties specifically to Egypt are few, he has per-

formed shows fully clothed in

Egyptian inspired attire, including

the head mask which was fea-

tured in his 2004 album cover art

for Dark Matter Moving At The

Speed Of Light.

Afrika Bambaataa

Sylvester

AESTHETICS

STEAMFUNKRetrofuturist subculture

blending Victorian / Post-bellum aesthetics with a Black cultural/historical

frameworks and futuristic possibilities

Critiques Utopianism of both Afrofuturism and Ste-ampunk, opening up dis-cussions on race, gender, class, queerness, ability. Embraces the messiness

that comes with it.

Black bodies reclaim 19th century cultural

narratives and form dis-tinctly Black American mythologies through engagement with the fantastic, legendary,

and technological

Resonates strongly with Black cosplay-

ers who must straddle subcultural

intersection, re-sponding directly

to Afrofuturist and Steampunk spaces

Janelle Monáe’s album cover for The Archandroid mimics that of

the poster for the 1927 German movie Metropolis. Metropolis is widely heralded as one of the first science fictions films. Both posters show technology growing out of the head of the main figure. Monáe has a city while the figure in Metropolis

has a tower. Monáe’s city is bright and sparkling possibly pointing to a bright future, which in science fiction is rarely shown stemming from a

person of color.

Erykah Badu’s album cover for New Amerykah Part II plays on the same

tropes as Janelle’s ArchAndroid. They both position themselves as the fount of their respective ecologies, centering on the head. However, Erykah’s metallic

form is contrasted by the imagery of naturalism and spirituality that surrounds her. She does away with the binary between the robotic and the biological, positioning the

android as an inheritor of, and contributor to, life.

Nicki Minaj’s performance in the music video Turn Me On is

another example of Minaj diving into the robotic form. Much of Minaj’s music has futuristic or mechanical undertones in its style, but Minaj also has an

obsession with the figure of the Barbie. In the music video, Minaj because a life-sized mechanical Barbie, one in a line of many mechanical women that are being

made in the video.

Beyoncé, in this 2007 performance of Get Me Bodied, dons a full android

suit remiscent of Maria’s robot double in Metropolis. The song itself centers around strong themes of human physicality and displays a variety of vernacular

Black dance forms, which is unusual for Beyoncé’s repertoire. Her deployment of android aesthetics in this instance adds to the discussion of what roboticism can

mena for the movement of Black bodies.

Janelle Monáe’s album cover for The Archandroid mimics that of

the poster for the 1927 German movie Metropolis. Metropolis is widely heralded as one of the first science fictions films. Both posters show technology grow-ing out of the head of the main figure. Monáe has a city while the figure in Metropolis

has a tower. Monáe’s city is bright and sparkling possibly pointing to a bright future, which in science fiction is rarely shown stemming from a

person of color.

Erykah Badu’s album cover for New Amerykah Part II plays on the same

tropes as Janelle’s ArchAndroid. They both position themselves as the fount of their respective ecologies, centering on the head. However, Erykah’s metallic

form is contrasted by the imagery of naturalism and spirituality that surrounds her. She does away with the binary between the robotic and the biological, positioning the

android as an inheritor of, and contributor to, life.

Nicki Minaj’s performance in the music video Turn Me On is

another example of Minaj diving into the robotic form. Much of Minaj’s music has futuristic or mechanical undertones in its style, but Minaj also has an

obsession with the figure of the Barbie. In the music video, Minaj because a life-sized mechanical Barbie, one in a line of many mechanical women that are being

made in the video.

Beyoncé, in this 2007 performance of Get Me Bodied, dons a full android

suit remiscent of Maria’s robot double in Metropolis. The song itself cen-ters around strong themes of human physicality and displays a variety of vernacular

Black dance forms, which is unusual for Beyoncé’s repertoire. Her deployment of android aesthetics in this instance adds to the discussion of what roboticism can

mena for the movement of Black bodies.

ROBO

DIVAS

This zine seeks to flesh out the embodiment of Afrofuturistic aesthetics, from cosplayers to cultural icons. It functions as a

physical manifestation of a field that came about largely through

Afro-digital spaces. It aims to center Black bodies in redefining

the archive and reimagining cultural narratives through the

reclamation of temporal spaces.