Repetitive stylized heads are placed in constricted box-like containers in Heads of State, which gives a sly wink to a double entendre meaning. These mask-like figures, wearing blindfolds might be Lofton’s commentary on social justice and racism. Masks are used prominently in many of Lofton’s works to establish a black identity in the midst of European modernism. But Lofton sees no affinity in their meaning as used by European artists: “In simple terms, it is not European. One of the reasons why I use the mask is because it separates my work from European work and masks have been around since the beginning of time. A lot of people have a lot of reasons for the mask, but generally the mask is to protect the identity of the person. I have been wearing a mask practically all of my life” says Lofton.

In a sense, Lofton feelings about the “mask” in his art is akin to the poem by Paul Lawrence Dunbar, “We Wear the Mask.” The poem has been interpreted numerous times to signify the repression of emotion experienced by blacks as a survival tactic during and after slavery. Showing your true emotion could get you harmed or even killed. Masking, which it became known as, was a way of survival. “I would have to explain it, but the simple answer is that it is cosmetic. But not only cosmetic, I have different basic reasons to protect the identity of the persons using the mask.”

Lofton frustrations about his role as an African American artist working in a racially charged environment manifests itself in the subject matter and trajectory of his art. His views on racism and injustice are not always quite consistent or clear as to what he finds untenable. Although the abstract form of the mask was used by Picasso and others, its basis was in African sculptural expressions.

Lofton works were often complex and modernistic in composition contain an undergirding of social commentary.

Signed J Lofton (in script), lower right corner

This work includes frame and certificate of authenticity.