David Hammons
[2] Although not inclined academically, Hammons showed an early talent for drawing and art; however the ease at which these practices came to him caused him to develop disdain for it.
[3] There he was influenced by artists such as Charles White,[4] Bruce Nauman, John Baldessari, Noah Purifoy, and Chris Burden, all of whom would soon be internationally known.
[5] Other members of Studio Z included Maren Hassinger, Ronn Davis, Duval Lewis, RoHo, Franklin Parker, Barbara McCullough, Houston Conwill, and Joe Ray (artist).
Much of his work makes allusions to, and shares concerns with minimalism and post-minimal art, but with added Duchampian references to the place of Black people in American society.
David Hammons continues to offers a crucial interpretation of the African-American art history in the life of a colored person through these symbols.
"[10] David Hammons was considered quite distinguished from his fellow young African American artists of his time; he was seen as "postblack - avant la lettre, his work alluded to atrusim the rest of us are just waking up to".
This is specifically seen in his "Spade" works he created during the 1970s - the word being used ironically to reflect Hammons lack of understanding as to why it is used as a derogatory term for African-Americans.
[17] This image references the treatment of Bobby Seale during the Trial of the Chicago 7 and Hammons' attempts to comment on the inequity suffered by African-Americans at the time.
[18] This piece in particular reflects Hammons ability to capture the personal experience of being a Black man in America, especially at the time of the Civil Rights Movement, and has been described by Michael Govan as "an icon for American Art.
"[7] This piece also reflects Hammons natural artistic talent as it was acquired by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art merely a year after it was made.
[20] Similarly, there is Spade with Chains (1973), where the artist employs the provocative, derogatory term, coupled with the literal gardening instrument, in order to make a visual pun between the blade of a shovel and an African mask, and a contemporary statement about the issues of bondage and resistance.
Hammons use of discarded or abject materials, including but not limited to elephant dung, chicken parts, strands of African-American hair, and bottles of cheap wine[19] provide a crucial interpretation of American life, and art history, from the perspective of a Black person.
[22] Many critics see these objects as evocative of the desperation of the poor, Black urban class, but Hammons reportedly saw a sort of sacrosanct or ritualistic power in these materials, which is why he utilized them so extensively.
His Untitled piece, made over construction rebar coated with dreadlocked hair, was sold to the Whitney Museum for a hundred thousand dollars in 1992.
This simple sculpture is a cut piece of cloth nailed to the wall with a wire threaded through the lining to open the hood up evoking the idea of lynching and becomes a microcosm for what it is like being black in America.
[23] 'In the Hood' was recast in the cultural-limelight when images of the piece were used as profile pictures on social media for Black Lives Matter supporters following the killing of Trayvon Martin.
Hammons created a series of larger-than-life basketball hoops, meticulously decorated with bottle caps, evoking Islamic mosaic and design.
Hammons places an ordinary basketball hoop, net, and backboard on a three-story high pole - commenting on the almost impossible aspirations of sports stardom as a way out of the ghetto.
[29] Similarly, his 1990-95 work Smoke Screen is made of a swath of golden fabric, giving the piece, at first glance, an upper-class or regal look.
Furthermore, it puts a satirical premium on "whiteness", ridiculing the superficial luxury of racial classification as well as critiquing the hard social realities of street vending experienced by those who have been discriminated against in terms of race or class.
This gave vibes of shoes draped over phone lines in inner-city neighborhoods and imposed a black influence on a work done by a white artist.
[8] In a show at the Gallery Shimada, in Yamaguchi, Japan, Hammons placed a large boulder in the back of a truck and then proceeded to drive around the city.
During a blizzard in 2007, and in others since, Hammons wrapped a winter scarf around the head of a bronze sculpture of a Black woman at the base of the Henry Ward Beecher Monument in Columbus Park, Brooklyn.
[35] His first New York show took place in 1975 at Just Above Midtown (JAM), where his artworks were present alongside other artists of colour, including his friend and mentor Charles White.
In 1980, Hammons took part in Colab's ground-breaking The Times Square Show, which acted as a forum for exchange of ideas for a younger set of alternative artists in New York.
[37] This idea was also seen more literally in his Concerto in Black and Blue where the Ace Gallery in New York was cast in pitch darkness and visitors had to guide themselves with little flashlights.
Hammons and Harsley have also collaborated on installations at New York's 4th Street Photo Gallery, a noted East Village artist exhibition and project space.
Similarly, when Hammons heard that Miles Davis had died he brought a boombox to New York's Museum of Modern Art when he was installing his works for his 1991 show 'Dislocations'.
[42] He dedicated an exhibition at the Hauser & Wirth Gallery in Los Angeles to Ornette Coleman, describing him as "the Duchamp of music, the one who changed everything".
