|
There is something very nostalgic about the photographs. I can recall being in the fifth grade and begging and pleading with my parents to buy me the $100 pair of sneakers, but their concern that someone would gun me down and run off with my “Jordans” was the obstacle that kept me from being able to fly through the air from center court and make a basket with one hand. Darn it, I could have been the next Sheryl Miller. “Branded,” a photographic series by Hank Willis Thomas, has sent me floating into this daydream. |
 |
A Brand New School of Thought: A Conversation with Hank Willis Thomas – Jessica Ann Peavy
There is something very nostalgic about the photographs. I can recall being in the fifth grade and begging and pleading with my parents to buy me the $100 pair of sneakers, but their concern that someone would gun me down and run off with my “Jordans” was the obstacle that kept me from being able to fly through the air from center court and make a basket with one hand. Darn it, I could have been the next Sheryl Miller.
“Branded,” a photographic series by Hank Willis Thomas, has sent me floating into this daydream. The image of a strong black male body literally branded with a Nike sign can’t help but cause one to reflect on commercialism, materialism and the plight of black Americans as a whole.
Today, marketing is slick and deliberate; a form of brainwashing that not even the most clever and keen individual can resist. Hank draws attention to corporate exploitation, but he is careful not to place blame. Who is at fault? This is the topic of discussion.
Hank Willis Thomas explains, “A white friend of mine who was walking in Harlem was wearing a t-shirt that featured Jordan being lynched from a Timberland tree, and a black guy comes up and asks him about the shirt, it was up to the white guy to explain his thoughts about it, this is the dialogue I’m looking for.”
Do we foolishly allow this to be done to ourselves, or are we victims? Hank’s images explore the complexity of this question and the fact that there is no simple answer, yet this serious problem continues to plague the black community. In the late 80s it was Adidas, in the 90s it was Nike and, as the new millennium approached, Lil’ Kim had sights set on high design; Versace, Dior and Kate Spade bags.
Thomas says, “I want to investigate the really strange or curious relationship between African-Americans and the cotton trade, then and now. I think that’s it’s interesting seeing that the descendants of slaves are now, in a lot of ways, especially in sports marketing, the cash cow in that industry.”
Hank speaks on the overall concept of the series. “The project has two elements, first there’s the graphic side, I worked with graphics to exploit popular advertising ideas or logos, and then there were the images that I created that kind of mimic advertising. The basketball and chain, for me, is about how the attention of so many young African-Americans is tied to—or chained to—the dream of being a sports star, an athlete. It’s like, you can only jump but so high.”
Hank forces his audiences to further explore imagery that has been embedded in the public psyche and regarded as a standard. Hank’s images Branded Head and Scarred Chest portray his thoughts on being conditioned to desire material commodities. He explains, “These images were more about how slaves were branded as a sign of ownership, and we often brand ourselves. The branded head specifically, you know, many slaves were branded on their heads and I thought about it as us being in a state of branded consciousness. We can recognize products before we recognize popular or political figures who make decisions about our lives.”
Hank strengthens his point with the image Priceless. At first glance, it seems to be a rather comical take on the MasterCard campaign with the first text reading, “3-piece suit: $250,” but as one absorbs the entire image, an overwhelming since of fear, despair, awe and truth take over as the listed items become more and more bleak: “9mm pistol: $80,” “gold chain: $400,” and “Picking the perfect casket for you son: Priceless.” This image speaks for itself.
Naturally, Hank’s more recent images are titled “Unbranded” as he appropriates photographs from old advertisements, removing their logos and leaving us with only the image to consider.
An “Unbranded” McDonalds ad from 1977 strikes me as I reminisce about the Polaroids of my parents having a good ol’ time just before I was born. A 70s-era, middle-class black family with an “I eat McDonalds too” connotation blaring through the image. I just know a Motown classic is playing in the background. This image titled So Glad We Made It is part of a work-in-progress. Thomas says, “The ‘Unbranded’ series won’t be complete until, well, I’m trying to go from 1968 to 2006 and to do at least two images for every year, and really look at it as a way of tracking “blackness” and what were our perceived desires and what that said about us as a culture/”
“We learn about blackness as it is through television.” Hank’s statement is difficult to come to terms with. He challenges the corporations, the viewer, blacks, whites and the complete marketing system to a dialogue that has been swept under the rug for so long. The black male body and its commercial value are a significant aspect of American culture. Hank brings attention to this obscure phenomenon and its effect on black Americans and simply asks that one take a moment to recognize media tools and the great power it has to effect our lives.
