(Springfield, Illinois, 1943- )
Lives and works in New York City
David Hammons' work is centered
in the black urban experience, and he often uses sarcasm as a means
of confronting cultural stereotypes and racial issues. Having once
said that the Harlem neighborhood of New York City is as rich in
ruins as Rome, he has collected rocks and other 'artifacts' in Harlem
and used them in his work. Rock
Head is
a smooth, elongated oval boulder found in Harlem, upon which hair
swept from a Harlem barbershop floor has been glued, then given
a haircut by the same barber. The significance of hair within African
American culture and the social importance of the male barbershop
are also powerfully evoked in this work. |
