Artwork Page for Your Skin has the Power to Protect You

Details / Information for Your Skin has the Power to Protect You

Series Title: Unbranded: Reflections in Black Corporate America

Your Skin has the Power to Protect You

2008
(American, 1976-)
Culture
America
Measurements
Paper: 166.4 x 130.8 cm (65 1/2 x 51 1/2 in.)
Impression
2
Copyright
© Hank Willis Thomas
This artwork is known to be under copyright.
Location
Not on view
?

Did You Know?

The Unbranded series encourages us to consider how advertising reinforces generalizations surrounding race, gender, and cultural identity.

Description

Hank Willis Thomas chose 2 ads per year published in Ebony, a magazine aimed at African Americans, between 1968—the year Martin Luther King was assassinated—and 2008, the year Barack Obama was elected president. He subtracted all the branding information from the images and added titles, often satirical, to each image. The result is a four-decade survey of how advertisers thought African Americans wanted to see themselves.
A photograph of many bent legs of varying skin tones, ranging from medium light to medium dark, crossing in front of one another in rows.

Your Skin has the Power to Protect You

2008

Hank Willis Thomas

(American, 1976-)
America

See Also

Visually Similar by AI

    Shop the CMA Store

    Contact Us

    The information about this object, including provenance, may not be currently accurate. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@clevelandart.org.

    To request more information about this object, study images, or bibliography, contact the Ingalls Library Reference Desk.

    All images and data available through Open Access can be downloaded for free. For images not available through Open Access, or any image with a color bar, request a digital file from Image Services.