06/13/2024
Last week our family lost an amazing human and one of the true GOATS!
Pop we love you and will miss you forever! Thank you for everything.
Your son/ Chef Mike
Jospeh Samuels aka JoeSam. passed away on June 1st surrounded by family. From Moadsf: "With profound sadness, Museum of the African Diaspora mourns the passing of JoeSam (1938-2024), contemporary mixed media painter and installation artist. His works explored themes of race and social justice, utilizing assemblage to powerfully highlight Black experiences and challenge historical erasures.
Born on August 17, 1938, in Harlem, New York, he earned a B.A. in sociology from St. Paul’s College in Virginia in 1961, an M.S. in educational psychology from Columbia University, and a Ph.D. in education and psychology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
A self-taught artist with over 40 years of experience, he facilitated educational seminars while at Columbia. In 1976, he became the director of the Head Start program in San Francisco, where he began the Black West and Black Jazz Series. In 1985, he retired from education to focus on art full-time after receiving a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. JoeSam was an artist-in-residence at San Francisco’s LEAP in 1987 and Djerassi in 1999.
JoeSam created commissioned artworks for institutions such as the San Francisco Mission Police Station Juvenile Facility, Rosa Parks Metro Rail Station in Los Angeles, and Sharks Ice Center in San Jose. From 1975 to 2015, he built lifelong friendships with fellow Bay Area painters like Robert Colescott, Joe Overstreet, Raymond Saunders, Arthur Monroe, and Mary Lovelace O’Neal.
Last year, “JoeSam: Text Messages” debuted at Museum of the African Diaspora, curated by Erin Jenoa Gilbert, showcasing over 20 mixed media paintings from key series produced between 1985 and 2020.
His colorful compositions used found materials like bicycle wheels, ci******es, plastic pipes, and wooden blocks, alongside archival images and news clippings, providing political commentary on the Black community’s state of affairs.
Today, we honor and celebrate the life and legacy of JoeSam, expressing our deepest sympathies and condolences to his loved ones and family.
We thank you, JoeSam, for your work and contributions, and for preserving the richness of Black life against the truths of history."
JoeSam. is survived by his sons Michael and Jason and his daughter Joeonna.
