. . . something about the figures, in the artwork in the bottom posts, reminded us of the ‘zombie’, or really ‘black nanny’ dolls of JEFF HARGRAVE - who we happened to run into recently !!

JEFF HARGRAVE.
he recently dropped by ATM GALLERY, that’s a TOMOO GOKITA painting behind him !!

JEFF HARGRAVE, has a pretty funny sense of humor, (unlike a few others, I won’t mention, in this stressed-out town !!), so, when we told him - he looked like a - black snowman - he lightened up !!

among other kinds of more traditional artwork - like painting and collage - Jeff, who hails from somewhere around New Orleans, makes his own contemporary versions of ‘Black Nanny’ dolls. this one - is the devil with voodoo pins !!
sexuality ? - well, y-o-u call it !!
one thing’s for sure - it’s on fire !!
actually, ‘Black Nanny’ dolls are traditional, traditional ole-time African American folk art - a combination of being too poor to buy store-bought dolls, and who wants store-bought white dolls, to hug & cherish - anyways, when that was your oppressor ?
the little doll, top center, with the white bonnet & red necklace (both - added after the fact) is a classic antique American black Nanny Doll, from the south - and made much the same way Jeff’s are. hand-sewn and then turned inside-out, and painted black.
ok. yep that’s (just a small part) of my black nanny doll collection, with a few little white dolls, thrown in, just to keep the conversation in the bookcase - lively !! the big one at the right is a souvenir doll - what you might buy if you visited the Caribbean islands, later half of the last century. I stitched the fabric doll ‘heart’ head - that’s peeking through !!

NANCY SMITH, stitched doll head. 1996. ok I made that.

a vintage souvenir Black Nanny doll from Bermuda, - made much the same way as Jeff makes his.
he picked up the tradition & skills from his surroundings, growing up in the south.

ok. we let the little devil out for some fresh air.
BLACK NANNY/VOODOO DOLL made by JEFF HARGRAVE ca. 2002.
Collection: Nancy Smith

JEFF HARGRAVE, Black Nanny voodoo ‘devil’ doll. Jeff stuck the pins in, not I !!
Black Nanny dolls were made at the same time that white folks, and black folks - were making quilts.
but, they were nowhere as scary as this.

JEFF HARGRAVE - detail. contemporary, hand-painted face Black Nanny voodoo ‘devil’ doll - very traditional in the rendering & materials !!

not as scary ? take that back !!
well, sometimes she looks mad and angry, and then sometimes - if you hold her just so, she is quite endearing ??
American antique hand-sewn Black Nanny doll. The body of the doll is based on an old & very worn-out !! pair of commercially made (store-bought) black mens socks - stuffed with raw cotton. The face, the red nostrils and red mouth, with white teeth, is hand-embroidered, while the eyes are (real abalone) & I guess therefore store bought - shell buttons, what buttons used to be made of, before plastics.
Collection: Nancy Smith

. . . think on, what the maker of this doll - was feeling !!

sitting up, feeling the homey vibes - she seems to strike a happier countenance !!

. . . dig that bosom !! and, the hands posed just so, on the hips !!

PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH

you can see JEFF HARGRAVE with a few more of his contemporary Black Nanny dolls, in 2005: here !!
(you’ll have to scroll down a bit)
we first saw Jeff’s Black Nanny dolls at a small exhibit way - back in the day, at ATM gallery, when it was on Ave B in the East Village. Jeff says he doesn’t make too many any more - if any !! - he says - he hates doing all that tiny stitching !!