Amalia Amaki is an accomplished artist, curator, writer, art critic, and teacher. Her work focuses on photography and mixed media. Born and raised in Atlanta, Amaki received bachelor’s degrees in journalism and psychology from Georgia State University; a bachelor’s degree in photography from the University of New Mexico; and a master’s degree in modern American and European art, as well as a doctorate in 20th-century American art and culture, from Emory University. She has taught art history at Spelman College, Morehouse College, the Atlanta College of Art, and the University of Delaware. In addition to her work as an artist and educator, Amaki has worked as an art critic and contributing writer for magazines such as Art Papers and Southern Homes, both published in Georgia. Her art is also featured in the permanent collections of several museums, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; the High Museum of Art in Atlanta; and the Tubman Museum in Macon, Georgia.
Amaki is known for assembling and manipulating photographs of people both known and unknown to her. These images are often combined with found objects, such as fabric, buttons, sheet music, gloves, and fans. On Two is an example of Amaki’s use of photography to create art that is suggestive of family ties and connections, whether real or fictional. As the artist explains, “I can get attached to photos even if I don’t know the person. It doesn’t take much for me to feel related to someone.” This work, like others from the Face It series, combines the familiar with the fantastic to create imagery that embraces and celebrates African-American family, culture, and life.
The original photograph used to create On Two depicts two young African-American children dressed in costume, posing as if in the middle of a delightful dance. The girl wears a whimsical Sunday hat and holds a splayed fan just behind the head of her dance partner, a young boy wearing tights. A photograph of a large pair of purple gloves is superimposed on the foreground of the picture, while photos of parts of faces float across the background. The girl’s cummerbund and shoes have been painted red. The inclusion of a fan is characteristic of Amaki’s work and stems from her childhood. Local companies would advertise their products on the fans they distributed to African-American churches, which could not afford air-conditioning to combat the hot Georgia summers. Amaki would play with these fans in the church she attended with her mother. The artist has stated that much of her art is derived from memories of her childhood.
Amaki’s work uses an assemblage of old photographs and found objects. Her subject matter pays homage to the experiences of African-American men, women, and children, while also addressing misconceptions about their lives. Amaki’s art demonstrates that if we refuse to accept everything we are taught, then we become open to seeing things in a more enlightened way. “I’m not interested in depicting anger or blacks as victims,” Amaki has explained. “I prefer to show the positive side—to talk about normalcy.” By incorporating images and objects that recall memories of childhood, family, and the everyday, Amaki’s work transcends the issues of race and addresses a universal need for the familiar.
