Daniel Crandol

Art Appreciation
December 10th, 2015
Artist Essay

“David Hammons: The Anti-Artist”

“I can’t stand art actually. I’ve never, ever liked art, ever.” You would think that this

quote would come from someone dogmatically opposed to the traditional aspects of the art

world, and David Hammons, the originator of this quote, would most likely agree with you.

More specifically he “can’t stand” the exclusivity and elitist mentality of the art world, often

citing that the art audience is such a classist and conservative community that he could never

truly cater to them. The statement also challenges the “whiteness” of the art community, the

sometimes blatant ethnocentric emphasis put upon Eurocentric artwork as opposed to more

culturally diverse offerings. Born on July 24th, 1943, David spent much of his early life in

Springfield, Illinois. He attended both the California Institute of the Arts and Otis Institute from

1966 to 1972, then moved back to New York where he has called home to this very day. As a

conceptual artist, he values the ideas expressed rather than the aesthetic portrayed. His artistic

style has certainly drawn parallels between fellow renowned conceptual artist Marcel Duchamp,

a feat that Hammons refuses to let define him and his legacy. Possessing a plethora of artistic

drive, he’s been known to specialize in installation art, performance art, constellation art,

sculpting, printmaking, and body print. David Hammons is the perfect antithesis of the elitist

agenda that epitomizes modern art, preferring to use ordinary objects, people, and even himself

to convey his own messages; by using the polarizing nature of his artwork as a statement rather

than a deterrent, he transcends the traditionalist, Eurocentric viewpoint of art history to create his

own autographic stamp.

Daniel Crandol
Art Appreciation
December 10th, 2015
Artist Essay
Unlike many artists who require the assistance of others to frame their intrinsic message,

David is more than happy to volunteer himself as subject matter to better convey the content of

his artwork. Arguable the most iconic and influential work of David Hammons’ collection is

“Bliz-aard Ball Sale,” a performance that helmed David as the main centerpiece. To many casual

pedestrians walking the streets of New York, this work literally depicted a suspicious-looking

African American man who began selling snowballs of varied sizes to any piqued passerby.

However, David’s content could be found within the snowball itself which “coincidentally” was

being sold at winter when the sun burned brightest. By assigning value to an object of

commonplace and short-lived value, he’s satirizing the materialistic nature of the art world, in

which they constantly desire items with little functionality but great aesthetic appeal. I can

definitely relate to the satirical nature found within this performance art, and I found the message

conveyed to be quite indicative of the art community as a whole. The preference of materialistic

value over intrinsic value is a superficial way of truly judging the worth of art, and I would much

rather judge artwork for what it’s trying to convey rather than what its overall aesthetic is. David

can commonly express himself using his environment as a canvas, but he is also capable of

imprinting his own body upon the canvas itself.

Body print, David’s signature motif is the process in which he used his own body as a

paintbrush and let the materials that would cover him become the paint. Always using ordinary

objects to convey his quite extraordinary messages, he would usually employ household items

such as grease or baby oil when body printing. An excellent use of David’s signature motif

comes in “Injustice Case.” David literally becomes a contorted and bound figure chained to a

chair shadowed by the American flag. The content of this piece showcases the hypocrisy of the
Daniel Crandol
Art Appreciation
December 10th, 2015
Artist Essay
American flag; the main portrayed clearly has not been endowed with the same ideals of

freedom, equality, liberty, and justice for all freely given to anyone else whose skin color better

accommodated the color scheme of the flag itself. Its more contemporary meaning relates to the

trial of Bobby Seale, a Black Panther charged with conspiracy following the wake of the 1968

Democratic Convention. His race and political status was unequivocally a factor in his

indictment, hence the double standard imagery created by “Injustice Case.” This double standard

imagery resonates in a modern setting as well, hence my immediate relatability of it. As an

African American myself, I often find that ruler of success in today’s society is often measured

by the color of your skin, not just the quality of your character. How is it possible for people of

diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds to pledge allegiance to the same flag if that same symbol

of liberty refuses to endow us with the same ideals it claims to represent? “Injustice Case” is yet

another example of David Hammons’ innate creativity to transform himself from man to martyr

within a simple canvas, as well as his unabashed adulation for his fellow African man.

Usually known for satirizing curators, critics, and art audiences alike, David is also

known for playing tribute to his African American heritage. While many pledge allegiance to the

American flag of the United States of America, Hammons would rather you pay tribute to the

African American flag of yesteryear. With the patriotic red, white, and blue replaced by a much

more cultural red, black, and green, David’s “African American Flag” is both a homage to the

black nationalist movement epitomized by Marcus Garvey as well as a rallying point of identity

and pride that can be shared by all African Americans. The red symbolizes the blood spilled by

those who worked on the lands of our country, suppressed by the white majority. They were the

essential backbone that allowed the institution of slavery to have legs far beyond its ethical
Daniel Crandol
Art Appreciation
December 10th, 2015
Artist Essay
expiration date. The black symbolizes the skin color that often preceded the character of many

African Americans. The green symbolizes the money that his ancestors gave but will never be

given back. As a symbol of renewed black nationalism and pride, it is also used as an artistic

indicator of Harlem, one of David’s true “art galleries.” In a more contemporary context, it

coincided with the election of New York’s first black mayor, David Dinkins, in 1990. With the

iconic patriotic colors absent, I’ve found that the true value in “African American Flag”

shouldn’t be in recognizing your American citizenship, but in remembering your African

heritage. I believe that the flag is meant to inspire a sense of independence, almost autonomy

away from the ideals expressed by the flag itself. It’s a way of distinguishing yourself as African

first, and African American second. As a triumph of African American perseverance and tenacity

over the centuries, “African American Flag” succeeds at that goal. Aware enough to reflect upon

the good as well as the bad in his history, David uses another painting to convey the “dark days”

in the history of African heritage, a time in which his ancestor’s hands and feet were shackled

with the chains of bondage and they were regarded as cattle, not citizens.

If “African American Flag” was a homage to the black nationalist movement, then

“Spade with Chains” harkens back to the true test of African tenacity: slavery. The art piece

itself consists of a rusted spade, or head of a shovel, with links of chain adorned around it.

Despite its simplistic aesthetic, “Spade with Chains” contains a message made more powerful by

the viewer present. During a time in which our country was a “house divided that could not

stand,” it’s a visceral yet telling reminder of how far we as an African American community

have come in the past 200 years, and how our journey is not yet complete. It not only reflects the

reality of hard labor and the bondage of slavery. The shovel itself symbolizes the labor that
Daniel Crandol
Art Appreciation
December 10th, 2015
Artist Essay
David’s African ancestors endured, and the chains symbolizes both the physical and spiritual

sense of being owned and controlled by their Caucasian counterparts. Upon first glance, a vie

This is the intended effect, as a viewer can have differing opinions dependent on his or her

ethnicity, which often dictates whose ancestor held the shovel and whose did not. An African

American like myself would have a very predictable reaction, yet someone of the opposite race

may have an entirely different one. For that very reason, “Spade with Chains” is effective at

conveying David’s message: an open interpretation to the events of our past. Any viewer who

differs in their heritage would have a different reaction, whether reticent or radical, and that

allows for a greater diversity in thought. David’s intent with “Spade with Chains” isn’t to create

a unified opinion, but for any viewer to have an entirely personal reaction to how they can relate

to the shovel. Despite “Spade with Chains” being a homage to the events of African American

history past, his more contemporary works can serve as honest premonitions of the present-day

African American community.

Despite his generally positive outlook towards the history of African Americans, David

has a much more pessimistic reception towards African Americans in today’s society. This

couldn’t be epitomized any more than “Higher Goals,” a quite extraordinary sculpture made

from ordinary objects. Using five bottle cap-studded telephone poles, he attached a basketball

backboard to each one, also consisting of bottle caps. These “basketball goals” were placed in a

vacant lot in Harlem, often the ideal settings for impromptu basketball games between the

African American youth. In “Higher Goals,” David Hammons critiques the obsessions of black

youth when it comes to financial success (academic scholarships) through sports and athleticism.

The basketball hoop itself is an analogy for a professional basketball team, which seems to be the
Daniel Crandol
Art Appreciation
December 10th, 2015
Artist Essay
set goal that many African-American youths fixate on. It’s of David’s personal belief that these

aspirations of success shouldn’t be confined by these fixed points (sports), and that these

individuals should strive for higher goals above the basketball hoop. Thus, David implores

African American youth through this sculpture that they should reach for higher levels of success

rather than the obvious one. After all, success can come in many names and you shouldn’t be

defined how successful you can be as an African American youth based on how tall or fast you

are. As someone who strives for “higher goals” beyond just athletics, I can definitely relate to the

message being conveyed by Hammons. Black teens can often be easily influenced by how

successful others are at a particular facet of success, but it’s of my similar belief that they should

focus on what they themselves can excel at. After all, if you try to score on someone else’s

basketball goal, you might end up getting the ball of success torn from your grip along the way.

David’s “Higher Goals” is yet another striking example of his natural empathy towards African

American youths manifesting itself through his artwork, and how there can always be higher

goals to reach for rather than the most obvious ones.

In today’s society, it’s become blatantly obvious that we often demarcate a wrongdoer

based on not just what they’ve done, but what their race or ethnicity was. For example, we ju.

David’s “In the Hood” is a startling example.. In plain sight, it’s a disembodied green hood,

taken from a generic hoodie. Hammons did virtually nothing to embellish or otherwise improve

its overall aesthetic, aside from propping up the rim of the hood with some wires as if its user

was still present. Still, its significance lies in who wears it, or at least who we associate with

wearing it. This introduces the perceived correlation between African American youth and

“ghetto” clothing such as this hood. Hoods should be viewed as rather innocuous articles of
Daniel Crandol
Art Appreciation
December 10th, 2015
Artist Essay
clothing, but have been seen as indicators of a decades-long cultural bias that have only been

strengthened by recent events involving African American youth. In a more contemporary

context, this piece of Hammon’s collection became instantly discernible during the murder of

Trayvon Martin, as well as the controversy surrounding his death. Even excluding the

circumstances that factored into his demise, it is unequivocally obvious that the mass media

objectified his apparel as being indicative of a “black thug.” Thus, the hood essentially

demarcates its user for people of a certain ethnocentric bias who only see the hood as a perceived

threat, not its wearer. Thus, the vacant space created in “In the Hood” symbolizes the type of

person that many people automatically associate with the hood, completely disregarding the

quality of his or her character. The irony that something created more than 20 years ago is still

the most faithful and nuanced artistic representation of Trayvon Martin has not been lost on

Hammons, who still showcases this frequently during many of his street galleries in Harlem. To

me, it’s become equally ironic that many people who claim to know me as a person and not just a

stereotype would automatically regress to a more primitive, almost tribalistic mentality is one

that resonated upon first viewing. I can appreciate David’s use of restraint here, as he abjectly

refuses to vilify the fears of many people of by not including a face within this artwork. I can

also appreciate how he leaves the seemingly eternal question open-ended for his viewers: If you

dress like a stereotype, should people treat you like one? By refusing to paint Martin or someone

like him as a martyr for something that would completely negate the underlying tragedy, David

is strong enough to see these African American youths as an anonymous victim of these cultural

biases rather than being weak-willed enough to provide a face that could either be martyred by

one culture but feared by the next.

Daniel Crandol
Art Appreciation
December 10th, 2015
Artist Essay
David Hammons is the rare type of artist that can look at something seemingly obvious

and tell you that it’s really something completely out of the ordinary. He can see the American

flag and wonder why the patriotic ideals exemplified within the fabric haven’t been attributed to

anyone whose skin color doesn’t fit the same color scheme as the American flag. He can also

look at a rusted shovel and see the plight of his ancestors who provided the backbone on which

this country could have legs to walk through the centuries on. Most importantly, David can look

at the art community and see an establishment of elitism and commercialism to which he will not

be a willing benefactor of. To him, items of artistic significance can either become status

symbols of the elite or cogs in the commercialistic machine. They can never just be art, because

the art community objectifies the visual medium rather than simply viewing it as is. This sort of

mentality not only leads to a marginalization of the Black community and other culturally

diverse communities, but creates an “allergic reaction” to any artistic offerings that dares to

contrast the usual Eurocentric design that has adorned the walls of art galleries for decades, if not

centuries. As a result, he refuses to service the same artistic world that houses the ethnocentric

status quo that he is forever opposed to. To him, there is a fine line between good art and “high”

art. One is open to the world’s interpretation and the other one is open to the interpretation of the

highest bidder. David Hammons expresses his own opinions through a collection of visual

masterpieces that contain meaning for everyone, as long as they’re willing to ditch their

ethnocentric viewpoint and look at art for what it is, not what they want it to be.