HWT in PDX: "All Things Being Equal..."

Northwesterners: If you want to see the work of an art superstar without getting on a plane, you better hustle. In two days, the Hank Willis Thomas exhibit “All Things Being Equal…” leaves Portland.

Thomas’ work is spectacular in all senses of the word: a ‘spectacle’ in size, subject matter, and beauty. So I was impressed but not surprised by the soaring flag-based piece the Portland Art Museum commissioned for this exhibit.

The stars and the title of “14,719 (2018)” represent a person killed by gun violence in America during 2018. The appalling death count sounds concrete, yet abstract at the same time. I’m not sure if the long banners allow an emotional distancing or if they create an undeniable immediacy.

Hank Willis Thomas, “Bearing Witness: Murder’s Wake” (detail & full-size)

Fortunately, other pieces help to scale down the shock and awe to a more human scale. On the staircase, a photo installation highlights friends and family who grieved after the shooting death of the artist’s cousin. The darkened spaces refer to people who might have met him, but never will.

The more intimate artworks spread a warmth throughout the rest of the exhibit, mostly pop culture pieces for which Thomas is best known. So you see stinging critiques of bling and advertising culture, as well as a heart-breaking short film about Willis’ murdered cousin. If you’d like to see both ends of the Hank Willis Thomas spectrum, like I said, get moving or get a plane ticket. The exhibit heads to Arkansas and then Ohio.