Untitled 1990

David Hammons created this photograph, Untitled, which captures a sculpture installation in a wooded area. Hammons emerged as an artist during the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s, which called for Black self-determination and challenged racial stereotypes. Hammons critically engages with the art world and the broader socio-political landscape. He often uses discarded materials, found objects, and his own body to create artworks that challenge notions of value, race, and class. Take for example the urinals, objects of waste, are placed in trees. This creates a conversation about the devaluation and mistreatment of Black bodies in public and private spaces. The forest setting, a place of natural beauty, becomes a site of questioning and unease. Hammons once said, "I'm not going to be anybody's object." Here we see Hammons invites us to question the structures of power and the ways in which they shape our perceptions and experiences.