id:			170454
accession number:	2012.63
share license status:	Copyrighted
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/2012.63
updated:		2022-01-04 17:56:08.664000

Unbranded:  Reflections in Black Corporate America: Your Skin has the Power to Protect You, 2008. Hank Willis Thomas (American, 1976-). Digital chromogenic print; paper: 166.4 x 130.8 cm (65 1/2 x 51 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 2012.63 © Hank Willis Thomas

title:				Your Skin has the Power to Protect You
title in original language:	
series:				Unbranded:  Reflections in Black Corporate America
series in original language:	
creation date:			2008
creation date earliest:		2008
creation date latest:		2008
current location:		
creditline:			Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
copyright:			© Hank Willis Thomas

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culture:	America, 21st century
technique:	digital chromogenic print
department:	Photography
collection:	PH - American 1951-Present
type:		Photograph
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

* Hank Willis Thomas (American, 1976-)  - artist
Born March 17, 1976
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measurements: Paper: 166.4 x 130.8 cm (65 1/2 x 51 1/2 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

	inscription:	Printed on adhesive label on verso of frame: "JACK SHAINMAN GALLERY/Hank Willis Thomas/Your Skin Has the Power to Protect You, 2008/2008 Light Jet Print/65-1/2 x 51-1/2 inches/Edition 2 of 5, with 1 Artist Proof/HWT08.016.L2"
	translation:	
	remark:		

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		Hank Willis Thomas at the Transformer Station
	opening date:   2013-12-14T00:00:00
	<i>Hank Willis Thomas at the Transformer Station</i>. Transformer Station (December 14, 2013-March 8, 2014).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

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PROVENANCE

	Hank Willis Thomas (the artist) [1976-]
	date: 2008
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	(Jack Shainman Gallery, New York, NY)
	date: 
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
	date: September 4, 2012
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact: 
The <em>Unbranded </em>series encourages us to consider how advertising reinforces generalizations surrounding race, gender, and cultural identity.

digital description: 
Hank Willis Thomas chose 2 ads per year published in <em>Ebony,</em> a magazine aimed at African Americans, between 1968—the year Martin Luther King was assassinated—and 2008, the year Barack Obama was elected president. He subtracted all the branding information from the images and added titles, often satirical, to each image. The result is a four-decade survey of how advertisers thought African Americans wanted to see themselves.

wall description: 

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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

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IMAGES