Data Source

National Portrait Gallery

Exhibition Label

Singer-performer Grace Jones firmly established her signature androgynous look with this iconic image advertising her 1981 Nightclubbing album and subsequent concerts. With her taut, slim body, gleaming dark skin, square-cut hair, and broad-shouldered masculine jacket with the plunging neckline, Jones satirized gender and racial stereotypes with a fashion-conscious theatricality that became part of her performance. The bold yellow background of the poster sets off the dark, gender-bending silhouette and underscores her sometimes confrontational style. Jones had been a successful model in Paris and then part of Andy Warhol's circle and the disco dance scene of New York. Her cross-dressing, use of the body, and sexualized performance all echo the complex exploitation and subversion of stereotypes by African American performer Josephine Baker in 1920s Paris. Jones's sleek, trend-setting look echoes the African-inspired geometric stylization of Baker's day, as well as the minimalist aesthetic of her own.

Artist

Unidentified Artist

Copy after

Jean-Paul Goude, born 8 Dec 1940

Sitter

Grace Jones, born 19 May 1948

Date

c. 1981

Credit Line

National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Chisholm Larsson Gallery, New York City

Medium

Color photolithographic halftone poster

Dimensions

Sheet: 81.7 x 53.1cm (32 3/16 x 20 7/8")

Board: 86.4 x 58.4cm (34 x 23")

A to G Depth: 7/8"

Type

Print

See more items in

National Portrait Gallery Collection

Object number

S/NPG.2006.41

Topic

Equipment\Smoking Implements\Cigarette

Poster

Grace Jones: Female

Grace Jones: Performing Arts\Performer\Actor

Grace Jones: Performing Arts\Performer\Actor\Movie

Portrait