Chris Jones Curator of Photography and New Media at the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art
By Gus Mollasis | Photo by John Revisky
The Ringling Museum of Art's curator Chris Jones is understandably excited about the newly unveiled Hank Willis Thomas Branded/Unbranded photo exhibition at the museum'due south Monda Gallery. Jones
The exhibit explores how ad and branding have shaped our concept of race, gender and self by targeting us as consumers. This provocative showcase offers Thomas'southward unique perspective on how we see ourselves through his creative, witty and ironic vision by shining the light on racial and sexual mores through many decades.oceania
As I walked through this centre-opening installment with Chris, his perspective on this innovative artist'southward works was quite interesting and educational. Some of the images shocked me, while others simply saddened me, and some enraged me.oceania
I encourage you to view these powerful works at The Ringling and be set up to feel these same emotions. The showroom runs through June 10.oceania
How do you go about because what to exhibit at the museum?
All the curators here work together, forth with the director, to put forth a vision virtually what type of work we desire to bring to our audience to show what's important to our culture. For me personally, I like work that is challenging, provocative and breaks new ground. I like piece of work that challenges united states to remember critically about the world in which we live. I like work that'southward engaging and makes us wonder.oceania
How and why did you lot cull the Hank Willis Thomas Branded/Unbranded exhibit?
It actually comes from a contempo acquisition nosotros made in which we caused eleven works from Hank's project called Unbranded – A Century of White Women from 1915-2015. A generous donation fabricated that possible. Nosotros felt that Hank's works were really provocative and that he was doing not bad stuff. Lately he'due south been getting a lot of attention for his piece of work that focuses on American History – the construct of racial and gender identity and how that manifests itself in popular culture. It'due south function of our program to engage with the contemporary art of our time. We wanted to be able to show it in its entirety here. As role of this showroom, I reached out to him and his gallery to see what other works we might exist able to show that relate to his engagement with popular civilisation with regard to advertising, marketing and branding.
What is Hank Willis Thomas' most significant contribution to how we see ourselves?
I think he encourages u.s.a. to look more closely at the ubiquitous images that we come across in advertising and popular culture that we often overlook. We are then inundated with these images that nosotros don't really stop to think what sorts of messages are being sold along with the product. He encourages us to slow downwardly and call back critically about how we present ourselves, how we present others, how we see our guild and what sort of values nosotros're reinforcing out there.
How peachy an artist and visionary is he?
I really similar Hank's work. He'south a conceptual artist who is based in photography, simply he thinks beyond whatever detail medium. He'southward really interested in engaging u.s. thoughtfully with ideas. He's an emerging artist who'southward getting a lot of attention for his work. His wit is something that I relate to. Sometimes his images are pretty blunt, but ofttimes he has a existent sense of irony and blasphemy. I feel that when we're looking at a lot of these old advertisements that nosotros're looking at them with him and sharing in this incredulity. He'due south amazed at the types of messages and images that take circulated through time.
Cease the following sentences:
When I look at this exhibit I see….
American civilisation, for better and worse.
When visitors walk through this exhibit, I hope they run across…
Something that stops and makes them recollect.
The goal of an exhibit like this is to…
Betrayal people to new ideas and ways of thinking.
Is his piece of work more provocative than evocative?
I think he's more provocative because he's taking things that already exist and stripping them from their context.oceania
Past combining Unbranded: A Century of White Women and Unbranded: Reflections in Black by Corporate America to create this exhibition and adding captions to each work, what is existence told?
What I like most both of these serial, there are aspects of them that are obvious, but overall at that place is a more complex idea at work and there is a revelation. And that's that advertisers create these images and ideas about our identity from their own points of view, but they also reflect aspirations that we have in full general in social club. So, it's not similar there is a sort of overarching authority that'south impressing these ideas on anybody. Information technology's sort of an exchange back and forth. We buy into these values to a sure degree and then reverberate it back to us. We see changes in the means in which we run into ourselves. In some ways the changes are progressive and positive, and other times we see the reemergence of stereotypes and prejudices. Information technology shows the complexity of the guild in which nosotros live in and how see ourselves. And finally, the showroom reflects the powerful impact of the images on their own, and their ability to influence us through their messages.
It seems that this is both a serious and sobering look at how view ourselves, just is information technology also a fun lighthearted look?
Definitely. Hank's piece of work would not be as engaging were information technology not for the fact that he definitely has a sense of irony and sharp wit. I feel like he's not condescending to united states or his audience. He's sharing in his experience and sharing the archives, sharing in the incredulity of it all and the visibility of these awful stereotypes. Some of these images are difficult to look at and are blatantly offensive from our perspective today.oceania
What is the starting time thing that comes to your heed when you lot see this slice?
This prototype from World State of war II is interesting because information technology shows that women take joined the workforce and are actually joining the military try and war effort. And they are valued for what they can contribute as people beyond the fact that they are women.
She'due south somewhat of a elevate
Equally we motility into the next decade in the exhibit, we see this resurgence in misogyny. The way women are marketed and presented from Globe War Ii to where they are empowered and able to contribute to the War endeavor. The 1950s come up and they are treated as young and dependent and they are forced out of the piece of work place. We tin say that this advertizement would never fly today, merely as we await at some of the newer ads, they are just every bit shocking.oceania
It'due south impossible to look at this epitome and non think of the #MeToo Motility and women standing up to sexual harassment in the workplace and our society in general. We see this kind of rape culture in this piece rather nonchalantly and as a joke. Part of the touch on of looking at these images is finding out about their sources besides, and we meet that this was actually an advertisement for men's pants. What does what'south going on here (a number of men aggressively surrounding a woman) accept to do with selling pants? Hank points out that it's not nearly the product. What's neat well-nigh this exhibit is that Hank has lent united states of america some of the original ads that he's worked with. It allows to see what the original context was. We acquire that when an image is coded with copy and text, often it changes the way nosotros interpret the image. When it's removed, we see information technology for the edgeless statement that it is.oceania
Switching to the 1960s at present, we see a woman who is in charge with a briefcase and with a sense of authority and importance. Of course she's being shown in her underwear and being objectified every bit well. It'due south a complicated prototype, only her body is however the focus of the image.
The "how-to guide" to living ('cause you're doing it wrong)
Hank has come upwardly with these titles as his interpretation of the images. They're not the original ads, they are his item spin on information technology. This is agonizing and reflects a footling fleck of the shock attitude of the 1990s.
It seemed similar a good idea at the time…
Merely as our Forefathers intended…
This is a reference to the crossing of the Delaware past George Washington. Here you accept women in bikinis completely objectified. Information technology's an advertising selling pick-up trucks. Again what does any of this have to exercise with the capabilities of a option-upward truck?
I of the ideas behind the series was not only showing how women have been presented, but there is also an idea of the white female that's racially coded, and a hierarchy in which blacks are presented subservient or surveil. In this image we see the privileged white couple being served by a stereotypical black human who resembles someone you'd see in a minstrel show.oceania
Reflections in Black by Corporate America…
Here he looks at how blackness people were presented or marketed to from 1968-2008. He'southward thinking almost and looking at ads in the time flow between when Martin Luther King was assassinated to when Barack Obama was elected president.oceania
Who practise yous hope comes to the showroom?
I think there is fairly broad appeal to the show. We're all marketed to and this is the culture that we are all a part of. I definitely would dear to see students nourish the showroom from our high schools and our local universities and colleges.oceania
With regard to how nosotros present African Americans and women in advertising, have we come up a long manner in presenting them in a more positive light?
I think we have. Evidently part of the exhibition is looking at the changes through time. Our consumer culture and advert reflect our social values to a certain extent. Just we practice see the stereotypes pop upward from time to fourth dimension and we continue to see the objectification of women in ads. On one hand we see our consumer and popular culture reflects our irresolute values and sensitivity to these issues, then nosotros encounter these practices continue to arise.oceania
What is next for you?
We're always working a year or two alee. The next show is going to be something actually different – an installation in which there's going to be an interactive pulsate environment with lights and sound. I'g not working on that directly, but that will exist next.oceania
How do you know you when something is right with regard to selecting and realizing an exhibit?
As curators, we have to trust in our judgement. Part of the job is to be looking out for trends and what's going on in the fine art world, peculiarly for contemporary curators. We also try to give wide programming to our audiences. Just I don't know if there is always a time when yous feel similar this is a success or not. I'grand really happy with this show at this stage, where everything is and how it'southward being presented, and I feel really good near it. That's because of our incredible staff and our great designer. I encourage everyone to come and see Hank Willis Thomas, who is not simply an incredible creative person but a great and captivating speaker.
Gus Mollasis is a writer, author, filmmaker and film teacher. His PBS series, Diamonds Along The Highway –Florida Stories, returns for a third season in 2018. He can exist read on the pages of Sarasota Scene and found teaching pic effectually boondocks at venues such as the Longboat Key Education Center. Gus also penned a biography on one of his heroes, Detroit Lions Hall of Famer Lem Barney.
Source: http://www.scenesarasota.com/magazine/scenes-from-an-interview-christopher-jones/
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