In Search of African American Space

Drawing on architecture, performance art, history and visual theory, In Search of African American Space explores the creative relationship between the African diaspora and social space in America. Richly illustrated with vintage adverts, maps, posters and architectural plans, and organized thematically, this anthology, edited by Jeffrey Hogrefe and Scott Ruff at the Pratt Institute in New York, is divided into three sections. The anthology is organized thematically, presenting African American space in a broad cultural context. The section “The Monument, Memorial, and Mundane,” explores the analytical methods of architects Scott Ruff, Yolande Daniels, Rodney Leon, Elizabeth Kennedy, Sara Caples and Everardo Jefferson, who have dedicated their studies and practices to examining spatial typologies related to the African diaspora. As architects working directly in the afterlife of slavery, conscious of spatial performances of opposition in relationship to architecture, they introduce their own interpretations of African American space from their personal experiences and a dedication to an aspect of practice that has been operating largely outside of the academy.