Existing comment:
David Hammons
born Springfield, IL 1943
America the Beautiful 1968
lithograph and body print
Oakland Museum of California, The Oakland Museum Founders Fund
When Hammons made America the Beautiful, the United States was beset by turmoil, from assassinations and urban uprisings at home to the Tết Offensive and increasing troops abroad. The artist admitted that such conditions mattered to his work: "I feel that my art relates to my total environment -- my being a black, political, and social human being." Hammons created this image by coating his face and arms with grease, pressing them against the paper, and sprinkling the imprint with pigment. Here, his torso and head are draped beneath the flag, which seems both a comfort and a weight. His face, like two profile views conjoined, underscores a double consciousness, suggesting the complexities of identifying as black, as American, or both. |