Hammons, David
1943-present · Contribution: 1968-present
Conceptual art, performance, printmaking, and found-object sculpture using materials coded as 'Black' (hair, grease, chicken bones, basketballs) and ironic titles to interrogate race, value, and the art world; known for his 'body prints' and the 'African-American Flag' (1990)
Portraits are AI-generated interpretations, not photographs.
Impact on the world
One of the most influential living American artists; pioneered the performative 'body print' and staged landmark conceptual actions such as 'Bliz-aard Ball Sale' (1983, selling snowballs on a Manhattan street) and the provocation 'How Ya Like Me Now?' (1988). MacArthur Fellow (1991); Prix de Rome (1990).
Life & background
African-American artist born July 24, 1943 in Springfield, IL, the youngest of ten children. Moved to Los Angeles in the early 1960s and studied at the Otis Art Institute under Charles White; settled in New York in 1974.
Sources
- Whitney Museum of American Art; Studio Museum in Harlem; The Art Story
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