David Hammons
Born in Springfield, 1943 and lives in Harlem, USA
David Hammons (born 1943) is an American artist especially known for his works in and around New York City and Los Angeles during the 1970s and 1980s. Much of his work reflects his commitment to the civil rights and Black Power movements. A good example is the early Spade with Chains (1973), where the artist employs a provocative, derogatory term, coupled with the literal gardening instrument, in order to make a visual pun between the blade of a shovel and an African mask, and a contemporary statement about the issues of bondage and resistance. This was part of a larger series of “Spade” works in the 1970s, including “Bird” (1973), where Charlie Parker is evoked by a spade emerging from a saxophone, “Spade,” a 1974 print where the artist pressed his face against the shape leaving a caricature-like imprint of Negroid features.