In the Hood

by David Hammons, 1993

Athletic sweatshirt hood, wire

David Hammons said “art is about symbols and ‘outrageously magical things happen when you mess around with a symbol” (Cotter “David Hammons Is Still Messing With What Art Means”). Hammons uses recognizable and familiar objects as symbols of urban living, and uses these symbols to convey his messages of experiences from living in an urban area. By using familiar objects and reworking them instead of creating completely new pieces, his work becomes a bit more universal, giving audiences of all types the opportunity to try to learn and understand urban living and black culture. This hood symbolizes the body and spirits of those black people who are faced with difficult situations because of their skin color.

In one way, the title literally says “In the Hood” and the book talks about the experiences of African-Americans. Many African Americans would describe where they live to be "in the hood". The other side of it literally portrays one of those experiences that young black people go through, using Trayvon Martin’s story as a way to symbolize this experience. The irony of it is that this piece was created in 1993, long before Trayvon Martin's story. This just goes to show that these issues that young black kids face have continued within our society. The way that Hammons chooses to display the hood resembles that of a deer head being displayed on a wall after a kill. Hammons may have chosen to do this to try to possibly mirror how young black kids feel while living in a society that has deep roots in racial oppression as well as the recent actions of white men killing black people.

-Coter, Holland. "David Hammons Is Still Messing With What Art Means." The New York Times. The New York Times, 24 Mar. 2016. Web. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/25/arts/design/david-hammons-is-still-messing-with-what-art-means.html?_r=1

-"David Hammons." David Hammons - Exhibitions - Mnuchin Gallery. Exhibit-e.com, 2016. Web http://www.mnuchingallery.com/exhibitions/david-hammons_1

-Fiebelman, Beck. "Trayvon Martin, David Hammons and How to Think About Hoods."Clyde Fitch Report. N.p., 07 July 2016. Web. http://www.clydefitchreport.com/2013/07/trayvon-martin-david-hammons-and-how-to-think-about-hoods/

~ Research by Dominique Boisvert, Jennifer Buckman, Stephanie Chávez