Chris Blattman

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Unbranded

UNBRANDED is a series of advertising imagery targeted at African-Americans found in magazines from the late 60s to current day which have been digitally manipulated and appropriated by artist Hank Willis Thomas. He has removed all traces of advertising information like logos, headlines and text, which he hopes encourages viewers to recognise that which has become second nature to our experience of life in the modern world.

” I believe that in part, advertising’s success rests on its ability to reinforce generalisations around race, gender and ethnicity which can be entertaining, sometimes true, and sometimes horrifying, but which at a core level are a reflection of the way culture views itself or its aspirations”

That is Hank Willis Thomas. Half his Unbranded collection is at the Brooklyn Museum. Here is a sample of the collection:

Why We Fight - Book Cover
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