Work by Hank Willis Thomas features in Object Lessons at the Edward Hopper House Museum and Study Center from the 20th of March to the 14th of June 2020. Childhood objects store great meaning for us. When we carry them with us to adulthood, in physical form or in memory, they retain their power—as symbols, as touchstones for expression, as connectors to our past. Object Lessons explores the connection between such objects and mature artistic expression through the childhood objects and later work of Edward Hopper, Shervone Neckles, Vik Muniz, Tony Oursler, Jean Shin, and Hank Willis Thomas & Kambui Olujimi.
Thomas's film, Winter in America (2006) "is a collaboration between Hank Willis Thomas and Kambui Olujimi based on the murder of Songha Thomas Willis, who was killed outside of Club Evolution in Philadelphia on February 2, 2000. The title of the project was borrowed from the 1974 Gil Scott-Heron album of the same name. The story is derived from interviews with Todd Rose and Teddy Paterson, the main eyewitnesses to the crime, and notes taken by Leslie Willis-Lowry, the victim's mother, during the ensuing murder trial. This project is comprised of a stop-motion animation short film and a book of photographs. Both elements enlist G.I. Joe action figures that the artists once used to create similar violent narratives as children. The packaging for the action figures reads, "for children ages 5+," even though they all come with guns. Through this project the artists examine the breeding of a culture of violence in young boys, who are invited to author violent scenarios before they can even read."
-Endnote by Hank Willis Thomas
Edward Hopper House Museum & Study Center has in its collection and on long term loan numerous objects that young Edward Hopper found or created. These items—and those of the other artists in this show—provide clues about their early inspiration. While their processes vary widely, all respond to the symbolic content of objects in ways that reflect the importance of culture, tradition and moments that elicit sensory memories in shaping their development as artists.
