Artists: HANK WILLIS THOMAS

HANK WILLIS THOMAS is a conceptual artist working primarily with themes related to perspective, identity, commodity, media, and popular culture, often seeking out and utilizing recognizable icons from popular branding and marketing campaigns. In using icons and other nods to popular culture, he encourages the viewer to question commercial consumer representation and the stereotypes it perpetuates. Invested in framing and context, Thomas looks to the ways popular imagery informs how people perceive themselves and others around the world and how art can raise critical awareness in the ongoing struggle for social justice and civil rights. His work spans across many disciplines and media and his public works often encourage viewer participation, engagement, and contribution.

 

Through photographs, sculpture, video, audience-activated and collaborative public art projects, Thomas addresses the role of popular visual culture in perpetuating discrimination a sociocultural ramifications, including gun violence, the relationship between the American sports industry and Black men, the perpetuation of stereotypes through contemporary advertising, and the re-framing of history and context.