From TIME · · 1m 20s
Hank Willis Thomas remakes history through art
A conceptual artist uses public sculptures and billboards to challenge how America remembers itself.
In brief
A conceptual artist uses public sculptures and billboards to challenge how America remembers itself. Art in public spaces can reshape collective memory and encourage civic participation by confronting uncomfortable truths. Originally reported by TIME.
A fist-shaped pick stands tall
In Philadelphia, a massive Afro pick with a clenched fist handle titled All Power to All People memorializes Black resilience as a public monument.
Subverting pop culture icons
Thomas is a conceptual artist who rewrites history by subverting the iconography of pop culture and mass media to expose hidden truths about American society.
Sculptures across major cities
Thomas's work appears in prominent public spaces including the Boston Common and downtown Brooklyn, demonstrating how artists can engage civically with their communities.
Five hundred billboards for voting
For Freedoms, a collective Thomas co-founded in 2016, has installed over 500 artist-designed billboards nationwide encouraging people to vote and engage in their communities.
Memorializing enslaved builders
In October, Thomas unveiled a sculpture at Davidson College in North Carolina honoring the enslaved people who built the institution, confronting the college's hidden history.
Progress is always under construction
Thomas believes the road to progress requires constant work and vigilance. His art insists that America must move forward, not backward, in reckoning with its past.
“The road to progress is always under construction.”
The headline
Art in public spaces can reshape collective memory and encourage civic participation by confronting uncomfortable truths.
