Further explore the exhibition’s themes of semi-visibility through a slow-looking exercise related to this work.

Transcript
Narrator: "Pledge," by Hank Willis Thomas, is edition two of two from 2018. This large screenprint on retroreflective vinyl is mounted on Dibond, a thin aluminum panel, and measures 8 feet wide by 6 1/2 feet high.

Most of the image appears like a photo negative, an inversion of the original photograph, so the bright portions appear dark and the dark areas are brightened. In this case, a group of children gather together along the lower half of the image. They have a ghostly sheen and present like a dim photo negative, drawing attention to a large American flag above them, flowing across the top-left quadrant. This flag is the only part of the image that is not inverted and stands out boldly in contrast to the ghostly white image surrounding it.

To fully experience the work, the viewer must reveal the complete image, which, due to the retroreflective nature of the vinyl, becomes visible when exposed to bright light. The artist encourages the use of a camera flash, and in this way, the viewer gains multiple perspectives—in essence, revealing a hidden image or exposing a twinned opposite.

The full image, revealed after using a camera flash, is sepia toned, appearing aged like an old photograph. In greater detail, the image presents a group of young children, fourteen which are visible, standing in front of a high blank outdoor wall. In the upper-left corner of the image, a few buildings peak over the top of the wall. The children are facing forward, presented in full portrait from the ankles up. It is a diverse group with various skin tones, ethnicities, and hair colors represented. They all have short, cropped hair and appear to be boys roughly ten years old, standing at similar heights. A child at the center stands slightly in front of the group and looks toward the camera with both hands grasping a thin pole upon which a large American flag waves over their heads. Its stripes flow toward the left of the photograph, stretching across the span of three children. The group stands at attention looking toward the flag, holding their right hands to their hearts in the gesture traditionally used during the Pledge of Allegiance.

Ver todos los episodios