Fig 1. David Hammons, In the Hood, Sweatshirt hood, dimensions variable, 1993David Hammons uses non-traditional materials to create a dialogue around social issues concerning race, identity and class. He does this by re-contextualizing discarded materials such as clothing, hair, dirt and plastic. He is essentially using objects which have an association with poverty, derived from his own surroundings in Harlem New York, and gives these unwanted items a new voice.
One such piece is In The Hood (fig 1.) in which Hammons displays the severed hood of a green sweatshirt. The title of the work is a play on words, which calls attention not only to what the object is, but also to where it is typically seen. Colloquially, 'hood' refers to poverty stricken, violent African American neighborhoods, and the sweatshirt is stereotypically what such a person within that community might be seen wearing. This torn hood calls attention to a people who may feel just as discarded and socially decapitated as this exhibited object.
Fig 2 & 3. David Hammons, Untitled from Installation View, Mixed Media, 2010
In Installation View (Fig 2 & 3), Hammons displayed several abstract paintings on canvas which were concealed by large sheets of garbage bags, thick fabric and furniture. In some pieces the plastic and cloth are glued directly unto the paintings, while in others, they hang from the top of the canvas creating a veil. He has hidden these paintings behind worn and torn coverings, thereby desecrating the commodity of art. Or perhaps the coverings are meant to protect the sacred paintings beneath.
A piece from the series: Built-In Obsolescence, Acrylic paints on plastic bags, 15.8x13.9cm, 2011
Like Hammons, I have used a non-traditional material in my artwork. In combination with the painting tradition of self-portraiture, the plastic bags communicate conflicting ideas about personal and social identity. The portrait gazes directly out at the viewer from inside the transparent bags. The bags remain utilitarian, cheap, disposable items, while the portrait infuses them with new personal and social meaning.
One such piece is In The Hood (fig 1.) in which Hammons displays the severed hood of a green sweatshirt. The title of the work is a play on words, which calls attention not only to what the object is, but also to where it is typically seen. Colloquially, 'hood' refers to poverty stricken, violent African American neighborhoods, and the sweatshirt is stereotypically what such a person within that community might be seen wearing. This torn hood calls attention to a people who may feel just as discarded and socially decapitated as this exhibited object.
Fig 2 & 3. David Hammons, Untitled from Installation View, Mixed Media, 2010
A piece from the series: Built-In Obsolescence, Acrylic paints on plastic bags, 15.8x13.9cm, 2011Like Hammons, I have used a non-traditional material in my artwork. In combination with the painting tradition of self-portraiture, the plastic bags communicate conflicting ideas about personal and social identity. The portrait gazes directly out at the viewer from inside the transparent bags. The bags remain utilitarian, cheap, disposable items, while the portrait infuses them with new personal and social meaning.
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