David Hammons

Throughout his extensive career, David Hammons never kept to one distinct style or method in his art. Between the years of 1968 to 1972, Hammons began a series of body prints (Untitled #17). To create the work’s unique look, Hammons covered himself in a greasy substance and transferred the image to paper by laying his body on the paper’s flat surface. Once the image was transferred, Hammons drew details and incorporated textures with chalk and graphite dust.  After relocating to New York City in 1974, Hammons began assemblage-type art (Dreadlocks Series) that featured typically considered abject material of stereotypical Black life including, hair gathered from barbershop floors, basketball hoops, chicken bones, and empty liquor bottles. His provocative works are exemplary examples of American Conceptual art acting as overt commentary on the racial divides and stereotypical clichés facing Black people in America.

Title:  Dreadlock Series
Artist: David Hammons (b. 1943)
Date: 1976
Medium: mixed media, hair, and wire
Dimensions: Mounted: 22 ½ x 17 ½ inches; Plexiglas case: 22 ½ x 17 ½ x 3 ½ inches
Accession Number: H77.30.2         

Title: Untitled #17
Artist: David Hammons (b. 1943)
Date: 1976
Medium: Monotype (body print) on heavyweight, black, wove paper
Dimensions: 25 7/8 x 19 7/8 inches
Accession Number: H77.30.1

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