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The first season of \u201cGirlfriends\u201d on DVD.<\/p>\n
(Jason Armond \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n
For eight seasons until the show was abruptly canceled in 2008, viewers tuned in to watch the tight-knit friend group that included Joan (Tracee Ellis Ross), Toni (Jill Marie Jones), Lynn (Persia White) and Maya (Golden Brooks) navigate relationships, sexism at work, beauty, classism, sexuality and everything in between. Today, \u201cGirlfriends,\u201d which was added to Netflix\u2019s catalog in 2020, is widely considered one of the most influential TV shows to affect Black culture.<\/p>\n
To commemorate the 25th anniversary of \u201cGirlfriends,\u201d DCDG & Co.<\/a>, an L.A.-based fine arts agency, has teamed up with the cast and Loren LaRosa of iHeartRadio\u2019s \u201cThe Breakfast Club\u201d to independently curate an art exhibition that pays homage to the groundbreaking series. The showcase, which explores the show\u2019s core themes including sisterhood, ambition and self-discovery through photography, sculpture, paintings, an installation and more, will be on display from Friday through Sunday at the Line Hotel in Koreatown.<\/p>\n Each artwork featured in the all Black women exhibition was selected by the \u201cGirlfriends\u201d cast and LaRosa \u2014 all of whom are first time art curators. The three-day event will also feature an artist talk led by DCDG & Co. co-founder Delaney George<\/a> on Saturday, which is open to the public. <\/p>\n A sculpture of a Black woman\u2019s head titled \u201cShe\u201d by Al\u00e9 Reviere was selected for the exhibition. <\/p>\n (Jason Armond \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n \u201c[This] show deserves to be celebrated and if we in the culture don\u2019t do it, then we\u2019re just waiting for the powers that be or networks that are transitioning to a digital space,\u201d says David Colbert Jr., co-founder of DCDG & Co. \u201cThese moments might get passed up on.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGirlfriends: A Visual Tribute\u201d is part of DCDG & Co.\u2019s ongoing curatorial series called Iconic Visions, which invites individuals in various creative spaces like TV, film, music, fashion and sports to step into the role of curator. <\/p>\n When Colbert brought the idea about doing the exhibit to his friend Brooks \u2014 whom he met at Frieze a couple of years ago \u2014 her response was an immediate yes. <\/p>\n \u201cWe are wearable art,\u201d says Golden Brooks. \u201cWe are visual art in the space of a TV show.\u201d <\/p>\n (Jason Armond \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n \u201cI always want to do something special for [these milestones] because it is a bookmark of everything that \u201cGirlfriends\u201d has done,\u201d says Brooks. \u201cWe are still uplifting communities. We are still entertaining and empowering the daughters of the mothers who watch the show, so we\u2019re kind of raising generations of young women.\u201d <\/p>\n Brooks, who has been a longtime supporter of the L.A. arts community, says having an art exhibition to celebrate the anniversary was the perfect way to blend both of her passions. <\/p>\n \u201cWe are wearable art. We are visual art in the space of a TV show,\u201d she says. \u201cThis also inspired artists to celebrate how they see us as women of color, as women in a space of unity and connection, and what better way to be the springboard and the catalyst to celebrate what sisterhood looks like?\u201d<\/p>\n White, who\u2019s been drawing and painting since she was a child, had a similar reaction to being a part of the exhibit. \u201cWhen they sent me the links to the art, I literally got tears in my eyes,\u201d she says. \u201cI was just really touched by the women and [their] different experiences.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cGirlfriends: A Visual Tribute\u201d also features a solo exhibition put together by DCDG & Co. cultural curator Erika Conner<\/a>, which is a collection of photos of iconic Black women including Rihanna, Lil Kim and Naomi Campbell, taken by renowned photographer Cheryl Fox<\/a>. <\/p>\n While the main exhibition pays tribute to \u201cGirlfriends,\u201d there\u2019s only one artwork \u2014 a mixed media piece by Jillian Thompson that uses acrylic, thread and collage \u2014 that displays the beloved friends group\u2019s actual faces. All of the other artwork draws inspiration from the show\u2019s aesthetic, style and themes. <\/p>\n Among the artwork, which was made by artists from around the nation, there are multiple L.A.-based artists featured in the show including Brittany Byrd<\/a>, McKayla Chandler,<\/a> Tiffany \u201cJust Rock\u201d Brown<\/a>, Asari Aibangbee<\/a> and Tumi Adeleye<\/a>. <\/p>\n McKayla Chandler, a multidisciplinary artist based in L.A., created an interactive installation for the exhibit called \u201cMama\u2019s Hands Only.\u201d The installation mimics a living room and features a couch, rug, an entertainment center with family photos sprinkled on top and an old school TV that displays episodes of \u201cGirlfriends.\u201d The focal point of the installation, which hangs on a wall above the couch, is a large portrait of Chandler\u2019s mother braiding her hair as she\u2019s done since she was a little girl. <\/p>\n A close-up of multidisciplinary artist McKayla Chandler\u2019s installation titled \u201cMama\u2019s Hands Only.\u201d<\/p>\n (Jason Armond \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n \u201cTo me it feels like connection. Any young, Black woman or Black kid in general can relate to sitting in their mom\u2019s lap and getting their hair braided,\u201d says Chandler. \u201c[The show] is really about these friends going through life together, going through different relationships and even bickering with each other, [then] coming back together. It\u2019s a very special bond that they have with each other, so [with] me thinking about showing my mom here and having this place for you to sit down, look through someone\u2019s old photographs and watch \u2018Girlfriends,\u2019 it lends to the nostalgic feeling of it all.\u201d <\/p>\n Although Tiffany \u201cJust Rock\u201d Brown, a photographer based in L.A., primarily takes photos of men, particularly male rappers, she decided to submit a few images for the \u201cGirlfriends\u201d exhibit because she grew up watching the show with her family. Her photo, titled \u201cIn This Light,\u201d that was selected for the show depicts two Black women embracing while on the set of Kendrick Lamar\u2019s \u201cNot Like Us\u201d music video, which was shot in Nickerson Gardens.<\/p>\n A painting titled \u201cLeona\u2019s in the Upper Room\u201d by Marie Jose is featured in the \u201cGirlfriends: A Visual Tribute\u201d exhibit.<\/p>\n (Jason Armond \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n \u201cThese girls are the epitome of what you see when you come to these areas, but they\u2019re also the inspiration for high fashion, for all those things that don\u2019t get acknowleged,\u201d she says. It reminded her of the void that \u201cGirlfriends\u201d filled when it debuted. <\/p>\n \u201cI think there\u2019s beautiful representation of what [Black people] have done and what we\u2019ve accomplished, and \u201cGirlfriends\u201d is a true representation of that,\u201d says Brown. \u201cWomen that were dressed flawlessly. They were beautiful. They were successful. They were just living life and trying to find love, just regular stories. It\u2019s very much still a space that\u2019s missing [in television], but I think it should definitely be celebrated.\u201d<\/p>\n Like Brown, Brittany Byrd, a multidisciplinary artist from L.A., was also introduced to \u201cGirlfriends\u201d at a young age. \u201cIt was just always on in my house,\u201d says Byrd. \u201cI just remember seeing Tracee Ellis Ross and I was like, \u2018Damn, she\u2019s beautiful!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n For the exhibit, Byrd created a piece titled \u201cEpisode 17,\u201d which is inspired by an episode in Season 4 titled \u201cLove, Peace and Hair Grease.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s mostly about Lynn and her exploring her hair through her identity as a Black woman, but whether you\u2019re mixed or all Black, hair is something that is at the top of our minds,\u201d says Byrd, who was still putting the final touches on her 6-foot painting. \u201cWhether it\u2019s done or if we\u2019re polished, we\u2019re always just kind of seeking those questions of validity through societal beauty standards when it\u2019s like we\u2019re as beautiful as we feel. So I want my piece to just evoke emotion.\u201d <\/p>\n As she prepares for opening night of the exhibit, Brooks says she\u2019s most excited to meet all of the artists and to see how all of the artwork comes together. <\/p>\n One of her favorite pieces in the exhibit is a massive, hyperrealism painting by Al\u00e9 Reviere. Fittingly titled \u201cSee Through You,\u201d it depicts a young woman\u2019s face, staring intensely back at the viewer. <\/p>\n A painting titled \u201cSee Through You\u201d by Al\u00e9 Reviere is featured in the \u201cGirlfriends\u201d tribute exhibition. <\/p>\n (Jason Armond \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n \u201cAll of her features were just so us,\u201d says Brooks. \u201cThe texture of her hair and the expression on her face. There was a pain. There was a sadness, but there\u2019s also sort of this freedom and unapologetic look in her eyes.\u201d <\/p>\n She adds, \u201cPieces like that just move me.\u201d <\/p>\n <\/p>\n
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