These collages draw on found images of black women and men from vintage Ebony and Jet magazines. A selection is presented below, along with Simpson’s selection of advertising phrases.

Lorna Simpson, A Friend, 2012.

A SELECTION OF PHRASES CULLED FROM
THE ADVERTISING THAT ORIGINALLY
ACCOMPANIED MANY OF THE IMAGES
THAT APPEAR WITHIN THE COLLAGES

Put on your Afro Pony-Tail and swish those superflies away!
Be the Huntress   Not for everywoman   Cool One   Freedom
Afro Puffs   Pepper and Salt   Face Framing Style
Every woman should have the touch of the soft life at her finger tips
From a plain before to a beautiful after    Pussy cat look    Light as a feather
A girl should have nine lives too  The Afro: keep it full, keep it classic
Braids of Heaven     Boss Lady   Private Secretary   Show Stopper   Upkeep   Double Take
Super Dutch Boy   Naturally difficult hair  Don’t kid yourself   Be Beautiful everyday
The Duke Director   The Duke Swahilian   The Duke Playboy  The Duke Professional
The Duke Maestro   The Duke Sportsman  The Duke Junior Afro
The Duke Globetrotter   The Duke Reporter
A beautiful head of hair is never an accident    day after day after wonderful day
Anyway you desire   Strong feelings about naturalness   Butter yourself up   Show It Like It Is
When we say long we mean long  King Size  It’s an Art! It’s a Mood! It’s a Feeling!
One Puff Two Puffs   You’re the Judge    As old as 900b.c. – 200 a.d. and as Brand New as Today!
Off Black    Jet Black    Mixed Grey    Dark Brown   Semi Afro
Supreme Freedom  Supreme beauty   where your hair begins
The only thing inflated will be your ego   Change your mood   Have no fear   Anyway you
choose    Around-the-clock Loveliness   But don’t tell   You can   Totally different
Add a new twist to your charm and personality    It took a Black company to come up with
Georgia Brown    Love Knot    Society Queen    Darling New You    Afro   American Heavenly
Beauty    Boy-Cut    Curly Girly    Dome of Curls    Kiss Me Now   Instant beauty   Daisy Jones
Star Glow   Linda Linda Linda   Afrialon   Kool-N-Light   Lioness
Corn-row Cutie   Corn-row Darling  Free and Easy  Liberté   Flirt  You’re today’s modern black
woman- on the go   Love Nest    The Sophisticate  The Matinee  Bell Boogie  The Swish
Rhythm Tempo  Top Yourself Off   Feel Lovely   Right On   Harlem Classic
Nubian Queen   Mellowone
Black Huntress  Be the Huntress   From nine to five they will know you are alive
For your evening appointments too
Take charge
Steal the scene   Simplicity is the keynote  For the woman on the go
What are you doing tonight   Keep em watching    Watch yourself   Jumbo Afro
Colonial Cascade    China Doll   Boy’s Cut   Flowing Beauty  Brown Skin Beauty Afro
It’s about time isn’t it   It’s been a long time in coming, but it’s finally here
your problems have one answer   I’m glad you asked that question
From Campus Queen to Hollywood Star    Black Pearl    Before and After
we specialize in rich darker shades   you can have it anyway you want it
So easy now    Great beginning for something beautiful    A little goes a long way
Why shouldn’t you     Anytime is the right time   Flawless   Exact Match
Reveal the beauty that you conceal 

Lorna Simpson, Earth & Sky #6, 2016.

Lorna Simpson, Earth & Sky #17, 2016.

Lorna Simpson, Jet #15, ’60, 2012.

Lorna Simpson, Jet Nurse, 2012.

Lorna Simpson, Jet Past, 2012.

Lorna Simpson, Man in Yellow, 2011.

Lorna Simpson, The New, 2017.

Lorna Simpson, Ultraviolet 2, 2015.

Lorna Simpson, Unbroken, 2017.

Lorna Simpson is a renowned American artist whose work challenges conventional views of gender, memory, and representation. Her work has been exhibited at museums and galleries around the world.

Excerpted from Lorna Simpson Collages, published by Chronicle Books. Copyright © 2018.