Hank Willis Thomas
Encyclopedia
Hank Willis Thomas is a contemporary African American
visual artist and photographer whose primary interests are race, advertising
and popular culture
.
, is an art photographer and an NYU professor. She was a 2005 Guggenheim Fellow
and a 2000 MacArthur Fellow
and one of the nation's leading historians of African American photography
and curator of African American culture
. His father, also Hank Thomas, is a jazz musician, film producer, real estate developer and stock broker.
from California College of the Arts
, as well as in Visual Criticism. He also received a BFA
from NYU Tisch School of the Arts
in Photography and Africana Studies
.
He has exhibited in galleries and museums throughout the U.S. and abroad, including Galerie Anne De Villepoix in Paris; the Goodman Gallery in Johannesburg; P.S.1 Museum in Queens; the Studio Museum in Harlem
; Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
; San Francisco; Wadsworth Atheneum
, Hartford, Connecticut; Roberts & Tilton gallery in Culver City, California; The Gantt Center in Charlotte, North Carolina; The Bronx Museum, Bronx, New York; Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning, Jamaica, New York; Artists Space, New York; Leica Gallery, New York; Texas Woman’s University; Oakland Museum of California
; Smithsonian; Anacostia Museum
, Washington, D.C.; Bronfman Center for Jewish Life at NYU; National Museum of American History
, Washington, D.C.; and National Portrait Gallery
, Washington, D.C., High Museum
, Atlanta, and Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, among others.
Thomas’ work is in numerous public collections including The Whitney Museum of
American Art, the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, the Brooklyn Museum, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta and the Museum of Fine Art in Houston. His collaborative projects have been featured at the Sundance Film Festival and installed publicly at the Oakland International Airport, The
Oakland Museum of California and the University of California, San Francisco. Recent
exhibitions include Dress Codes: The International Center for Photography’s Triennial
of Photography and Video, Greater New York at P.S. 1/MoMa, Contact Toronto Photography Festival and Houston Fotofest.
Thomas explores the representation of the African American male body in visual culture in his B(r)anded Series.
Thomas has acted as a visiting professor at CCA and in the MFA programs at Maryland
Institute College of Art and ICP/Bard and has lectured at Yale University, Princeton
University, the Birmingham Museum of Art and the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris.
He received a new media fellowship through the Tribeca Film Institute and was an
artist in residence at Johns Hopkins University. He is currently a DuBois Institute Fellow at Harvard University.
Thomas is represented by Jack Shainman Gallery in New York
.
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
visual artist and photographer whose primary interests are race, advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
and popular culture
Popular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
.
Parents
Thomas's mother, Deborah Willis, Ph.D.Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
, is an art photographer and an NYU professor. She was a 2005 Guggenheim Fellow
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
and a 2000 MacArthur Fellow
MacArthur Fellows Program
The MacArthur Fellows Program or MacArthur Fellowship is an award given by the John D. and Catherine T...
and one of the nation's leading historians of African American photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
and curator of African American culture
African American culture
African-American culture, also known as black culture, in the United States refers to the cultural contributions of Americans of African descent to the culture of the United States, either as part of or distinct from American culture. The distinct identity of African-American culture is rooted in...
. His father, also Hank Thomas, is a jazz musician, film producer, real estate developer and stock broker.
Education
Hank Thomas received an MFAMaster of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring 2–3 years of postgraduate study beyond the bachelor's degree , although the term of study will vary by country or by university. The MFA is usually awarded in visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, dance, or theatre/performing arts...
from California College of the Arts
California College of the Arts
California College of the Arts , founded in 1907, is known for its broad, interdisciplinary programs in art, design, architecture, and writing. It has two campuses, one in Oakland and one in San Francisco, California, USA...
, as well as in Visual Criticism. He also received a BFA
Bachelor of Fine Arts
In the United States and Canada, the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, usually abbreviated BFA, is the standard undergraduate degree for students seeking a professional education in the visual or performing arts. In some countries such a degree is called a Bachelor of Creative Arts or BCA...
from NYU Tisch School of the Arts
Tisch School of the Arts
Tisch School of the Arts is one of the 15 schools that make up New York University ....
in Photography and Africana Studies
Africana studies
In United States education, Africana studies, or Africology is the study of the histories, politics and cultures of peoples of African origin both in Africa and in the African diaspora....
.
Career
Hank Thomas is the winner of the first ever Aperture West Book Prize for his monograph Pitch Blackness (November, 2008). His work has been featured in other publications including Reflections in Black (Norton, 2000), and the exhibitions along with accompanying publications 25 under 25: Up-and-Coming American Photographers (CDS, 2003), and 30 Americans (RFC, 2008).He has exhibited in galleries and museums throughout the U.S. and abroad, including Galerie Anne De Villepoix in Paris; the Goodman Gallery in Johannesburg; P.S.1 Museum in Queens; the Studio Museum in Harlem
Studio Museum in Harlem
The Studio Museum in Harlem is an American contemporary art museum in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, New York. It was founded in 1968 as the first such museum in the U.S. devoted to the art of African-Americans, specializing in 19th and 20th century work as well work of artists of...
; Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts is a multi-disiplinary contemporary arts center in San Francisco, California, United States. Located in Yerba Buena Gardens, YBCA features visual art, performance, and film/video that celebrates local, national, and international artists and the Bay Area's diverse...
; San Francisco; Wadsworth Atheneum
Wadsworth Atheneum
The Wadsworth Atheneum is the oldest public art museum in the United States, with significant holdings of French and American Impressionist paintings, Hudson River School landscapes, modernist masterpieces and contemporary works, as well as extensive holdings in early American furniture and...
, Hartford, Connecticut; Roberts & Tilton gallery in Culver City, California; The Gantt Center in Charlotte, North Carolina; The Bronx Museum, Bronx, New York; Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning, Jamaica, New York; Artists Space, New York; Leica Gallery, New York; Texas Woman’s University; Oakland Museum of California
Oakland Museum of California
Oakland Museum of California or Oakland Museum is a museum dedicated to the art, history, and natural science of California located in Oakland, California....
; Smithsonian; Anacostia Museum
Anacostia Museum
The Anacostia Community Museum is a Smithsonian Institution museum in the Anacostia neighborhood of Washington, D.C., United States, opened in 1967...
, Washington, D.C.; Bronfman Center for Jewish Life at NYU; National Museum of American History
National Museum of American History
The National Museum of American History: Kenneth E. Behring Center collects, preserves and displays the heritage of the United States in the areas of social, political, cultural, scientific and military history. Among the items on display are the original Star-Spangled Banner and Archie Bunker's...
, Washington, D.C.; and National Portrait Gallery
National Portrait Gallery (United States)
The National Portrait Gallery is an art gallery in Washington, D.C., administered by the Smithsonian Institution. Its collections focus on images of famous individual Americans.-Building:...
, Washington, D.C., High Museum
High Museum of Art
The High Museum of Art , located in Atlanta, is the leading art museum in the Southeastern United States and one of the most-visited art museums in the world. Located on Peachtree Street in Midtown, the city's arts district, the High is a division of the Woodruff Arts Center.-History:The Museum was...
, Atlanta, and Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, among others.
Thomas’ work is in numerous public collections including The Whitney Museum of
American Art, the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, the Brooklyn Museum, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta and the Museum of Fine Art in Houston. His collaborative projects have been featured at the Sundance Film Festival and installed publicly at the Oakland International Airport, The
Oakland Museum of California and the University of California, San Francisco. Recent
exhibitions include Dress Codes: The International Center for Photography’s Triennial
of Photography and Video, Greater New York at P.S. 1/MoMa, Contact Toronto Photography Festival and Houston Fotofest.
Thomas explores the representation of the African American male body in visual culture in his B(r)anded Series.
Thomas has acted as a visiting professor at CCA and in the MFA programs at Maryland
Institute College of Art and ICP/Bard and has lectured at Yale University, Princeton
University, the Birmingham Museum of Art and the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris.
He received a new media fellowship through the Tribeca Film Institute and was an
artist in residence at Johns Hopkins University. He is currently a DuBois Institute Fellow at Harvard University.
Thomas is represented by Jack Shainman Gallery in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
External links
- Official Website of Hank Willis Thomas
- Pitch Blackness, Thomas' first book
- Cause Collective, a group of artist collaborators with whom Thomas is affiliated
- Flypmedia: Visual Slang
- Photo Eye: Interview
- Wynwood: 30 Americans
- Video of Hank Thomas at a joint lecture with his mother Deborah Willis
- Bishop, Philip E. "Exhibit Explores History, Hipness." Orlando Sentinel, April 19, 2007.
- Cook, Greg. "Bought and Sold." The Boston Phoenix, January 22, 2008.
- Cotter, Holland. "On the Piers, Testing the Waters in a Down Art Market." New York Times, March 5, 2009.
- Dawson, Jessica. "'Black Panther Rank and File' Rallying Its Own Art Movement." Washington Post, November 23, 2007.
- Rice, Robin. "Life in Turnabout." Philadelphia City Paper, January 23, 2008.