Hank William Thomas
HANK WILLIS THOMAS "AFTER IDENTITY, WHAT?", 2011
Hank Willis Thomas (b. 1976) is an American conceptual artist renowned for his thought-provoking works that examine the intersection of race, identity, and commodity in pop culture.
Trained as a photographer, Thomas' oeuvre is steeped with references of visual culture in America. Through this lens, the artist challenges and dismantles the commodification of Black bodies by subverting ubiquitous iconography, such as logos and source images, that dominate in mass media.
"After Identity, What?" was included in the series "1969". Initiated by MoMA P.S.1., the series invited artists to respond to the year 1969, a pivotal era both socially and politically, in New York City, in America and beyond.
The work appropriates an image from Ebony Magazine featuring a woman in a luxe white evening gown with feathered accents. Her eyes are cropped and replaced with a dense black field that hosts the phrase, "After Identity, What?", also borrowed from the magazine. (Ebony Magazine has been an important source of inspiration for numerous African-American artists including Mickalene Thomas and Lorna Simpson)
By repurposing text and images from this important magazine, Thomas offers a window into past social values from a contemporary perspective.
Beyond photography, Thomas is celebrated for significant accomplishments across sculpture and mixed-media installation, with public works displayed across the USA. Thomas' most recent public sculpture "The Embrace" was unveiled in Boston, in January 2023.
Thomas' work is celebrated in public collections internationally including The Smithsonian American Art Museum (Washington), The Victoria and Albert Museum (London), and the Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam), to name a few.
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"After Identity, What?"
2011
Digital c-print
Signed and numbered by artist
Published by the Aperture Foundation
From an edition of 15
21"H 10.25"W (work)
21.75"H 11"W (framed)
Very good condition.
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