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Never mind that she picked herself up from being the poor daughter of a washerwoman and became the “toast of Paris”; that she was the first African-American female superstar; that she smuggled intelligence to the Nazi resistance in coded sheet music; that she adopted 12 multiethnic orphans, whom she called the “Rainbow Tribe”; or that she, along with Grace Kelly, once stormed out of the Stork Club after she was refused service. Forget all of that. Josephine Baker is being honored at South Beach’s World Erotic Art Museum (1205 Washington Ave., Miami Beach) for performing topless and wearing a skirt made of suggestive fruit — the banana.
Part of WEAM’s “Celebrate Black History” exhibition, the Josephine Baker collection showcases memorabilia such as paintings, posters, photos, and statues. Her films Siren of the Tropics, Zou Zou, and Princess Tam Tam will also be included in this adults-only exhibit.
Feb. 8-March 15, 7 p.m., 2010
