Artwork Detail

Born in Natchez, Mississippi on October 2, 1932, Emile Jordan discovered his artistic impulse in an unexpected way later in life. Jordan began his career volunteering in the US Air Force in the early 1950s, serving one year in Korea during the Korean War and two years stateside. He came to Los Angeles to live and work in 1953. Jordan then got a job at the Veterans Administration Hospital as a hospital aide from 1954 to 1956. In 1956 he became a member of the Laborers International Union Local 300 and worked in construction until he retired in 1995. In the early 1970s Jordan developed an interest in sports: snow skiing, ice skating and fencing. None of these sports were usual for a young African American man at the time. Nonetheless Jordan joined three ski clubs. It was on a ski trip that Jordan had his artistic awakening. He saw a carved wooden plaque depicting a skier in action and immediately knew he could make something like it. As soon as he returned home, he found a piece of weathered wood in his backyard and carved out the image of a skier with a chisel. Jordan took his first art class with Charles Dickson in 1974 at The Watts Towers Arts Center and in his own words, “this was the beginning of the art world for me.” He became a prolific wood carver and created more plaques like the skier that inspired him and then went on to master carved statues and masks. In 1984, to commemorate the Olympics being held in Los Angeles, Emile Jordan put on display five sports themed plaques, ten sculptures and fourteen masks, all hand carved, at the AC Bilbrew Library. Jordan’s masks and statues are inspired by historic African tribal motifs, but his contemporary interpretation makes them seem timeless. The artworks have become beloved and iconic at the library. The artworks are fixtures and Jordan donated them to the library so they will remain on public display.