“Crossroads,” 2012. Chromogenic print, plexiglas, and Lumisty film © HANK WILLIS THOMAS
During a boozy opening night dialogue with Danielle McCoy and Ragen Fykes of Wieden+Kennedy, and assistant professor Dr. Derrais Carter from the Pacific Northwest College of Art, Carter asked conceptual artist Hank Willis Thomas how he got someone to give themselves a Nike scar for his photograph “Branded Head.” Thomas replied, “Uh, this is Photoshop.”
It was surprising to hear someone take Thomas’ photo as truth, but also appropriate, as a major theme in his work deals with the “truth” of photography. In a brief conversation I had with Thomas about the retrospective, he stressed, “Truth is the most potent battleground there is.”