Pitch Blackness, Off Whiteness 2009. Neon Sign. (multiple views)
"There is something called black in America and there is something called white in America and I know them when I see them but will forever be unable to explain the meaning of them because they are not real even though they have a very real place in my daily existence, a fundamental relationship to my understanding of history and a critical place in my relationship to humanity." Carl Hancock-Rux
Branded Head, 2003 Lambda photograph
How to Market Kitty Litter to Black People: Ebony Magazine, 2005/2006
Ball and Chain 2003
Scarred Chest 2003
Along the Way Video (youtube)
Jack Shainman Gallery
Hank Willis Thomas is a contemporary photographer who deals primarily with advertising, pop culture and race. He strives to challenge depictions of african american men. Hank Willis Thomas was raised in New York City. He received a BFA in Photography and Africana Studies from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. He received an MFA in Photography and an MA in Visual Criticism at the California College of the Arts. His mother, Debra Wilis, is actually a photographer as well which immersed him into imagery early on. His book Pitch Blackness was published by Aperture and was driven by the loss of his cousin to murder, advertising, and the idea of "off-whiteness" or "black-ness".
He was really interesting and I found that I could relate to the themes within his work. "Five year olds recognize that they are not black or white...I'm not black, I'm brown." Willis Thomas stated that before the slave trade, black people were just people. By taking a complex race and cutting it down to "black", they were seen as sub-human and that justified why they should be sold. He talked about how you can tell a story a new way, referring to the murder of his cousin Songha Thomas Willis. He was murdered over a chain and when his story was published in the newspaper, they chose to use Hank's image of him. He said that was the first image of his that was ever published. He made a stop motion film, "Winter in America", using his child-hood G.I. Joe's to retell his cousins story. His work all ties together...we are all materialistic. He made a mastercard ad with an image from the vigil and spoke with us about how much a casket cost. Why put so much value on something that will be buried? He talks about commodity and what sells.
Prodigy Mother/son collaboration "Sometimes I see myself in you"
Priceless 2004
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