Hank Willis Thomas To Speak on Sat. January 28

Photographer and contemporary visual artist, Hank Willis Thomas [1], will be giving a free lecture on Saturday, January 28, at 2:30 p.m. in the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Recital Hall.

[2]

Hank Willis Thomas

The lecture [3] is sponsored by three of the museum’s affiliate groups— Friends of Photography [4], Contemporary Art Society [5], and Friends of African and African American Art [5]. Thomas will discuss his works which focus on themes of identity, history, and pop culture. At age 35, he uses photography, video, and transmedia to display his themes. His photography is powerful and delivers the message that Black history is American history. Listen to a recent interview [6] in which Thomas discusses the motivation for his works and the meaning behind them. Thomas has been published in many works, including Reflections in Black, 25 Under 25: Up-and-Coming American Photographers, and a monograph published by Aperturein 2008. His work is currently on view at the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Brooklyn Museum, the High Museum, and The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Thomas is currently a fellow at the W.E.B. DuBois Institute at Harvard University.

[7]

Branded Head by Hank Willis Thomas

“This is an opportunity to see one of the most provocative, thoughtful and interesting young American artists,” said Barbara Tannenbaum [8], Cleveland Museum of Art curator of photography. He’s also a wonderful image maker – a really strong visual artist, but the conceptual part of his work is even more powerful. At first glance, his work is very seductive and familiar, you don’t sense the sedition until you look at the work carefully and spend some time with it.” -Meridith Weaver [9]