Sometimes art can invoke powerful emotions and end up surrounded by controversy. For instance, the emotional reaction to Picasso’s Guernica is well documented. The Chinese governments reaction to the art of Ai Weiwei landed him in jail. Even Kapoor’s Cloud Gate, which we all refer to as “The Bean”, received its fair share of criticism.
As you have probably read, the unveiling, in Boston, of The Embrace by the artist Hank Willis Thomas has invoked powerful emotions among its supporters and detractors. Supporters point to the bona fides of Willis Thomas’ resume and his undeniable brilliance (for the record, I think Willis Thomas is absolutely brilliant). The detractors point to the historical dismemberment of the Black body and the omission of Martin and Coretta’s faces as a continuation of violence. There are others who see something totally different, which I won’t mention in this space, that may say more about their need for therapy than their critique of the sculpture. LOL! I did chuckle a bit when I saw a picture of the sculpture and a picture from the movie Baby Boy side by side though. Whatever your feelings about The Embrace, I encourage you to learn more about the various work of Hank Willis Thomas.
Last year, while on a work trip to Salt Lake City, Utah, I had a chance to visit the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art (UMOCA)(I always make time for art when I travel). UMOCA was hosting the exhibition Our Wake Up Call for Freedom, a collaborative with the For Freedoms art collective, of which Willis Thomas is a founding member. As I walked through the exhibit, a few pieces caught my attention…they were ALL by Hank Willis Thomas. Below are a few pictures from that exhibit.
What struck me was how intentional each piece was, using actual prison uniforms, U.S. flags, to an assortment of flags. I was mesmerized as I walked repeatedly between those works. I took a few photos and typed some notes in my phone. I wanted to document how I felt and didn’t want to forget the name Hank Willis Thomas.
Like many, I was on the fence when I first saw it. I am big supporter of art in public spaces, but I couldn’t articulate how I felt about The Embrace. I decided that, to understand what Willis Thomas had in mind with The Embrace, it would be best to start with his own words. In a recent Time interview, Willis Thomas explains:
“I started to just look through archival images that I’ve encountered because in my own studio practice, I make a lot of sculptures that are about gestures, inspired by photographs. So I ultimately landed with a few different ideas, but the most compelling was what became The Embrace. It was because it was not just about Martin Luther King, which the original commission was about. It was about his partnership with his wife, that picture where you could see the weight of his body was on her shoulders. I thought that was a powerful metaphor for his legacy. And the way in which she, after he was assassinated, literally carried it on her shoulders.”
When you read the words of Willis Thomas, his artistic vision becomes crystal clear.
If we move beyond our cynicism and internet grandstanding, we may begin to see the beauty of The Embrace. In that same Time interview, Willis Thomas shares:
“I can’t really I can’t blame anybody on the internet for seeing what you see when you have only seen something from one angle. It’s sculpture that people are invited to go inside. So, honestly, the fact that there are no pictures of [that] online, on the inside, says how much more to the work there is. So I’m very excited that there’s elements of this work that can’t be captured [in images online].”
There you have it!
In the near future, I plan to visit Boston to experience The Embrace. I want to step inside, look up, inhale, and exhale deeply. I want the full experience. So let us all get up off our asses and experience art…as it is meant to be seen…in person.
