Culture and Family — Past & Present The Work of Deborah Willis & Hank Willis Thomas

Top frame: The water that carries the boat can always overturn it. Middle frame: The prettiest papayas are always emptiest inside. Bottom frame (from left to right): Amor de lejos, amor de pendejos. (Long distance love is for idiots.); Always leave the house with red lipstick on.; There is a point where crying over a lost lover is more about your ego than your heart.; You can make a man love you by putting his picture on a table and burn a candle on top of it for nine days.; Don’t sweep a person’s feet. Deborah Willis and Hank Willis Thomas From the Words to Live By Series, 1-9, 2008 nine digital c-prints; 8 x 50-1/4 inches (each) Courtesy of the artists and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York

Top frame: When you argue with an intelligent person you cannot win Top frame: When you argue with an intelligent person you cannot win. When you argue with a stupid person you cannot stop. Middle frame (from left to right): The devil doesn’t need any more advocates.; You can make a man love you by putting a lock of hair in his shoe.; If your eye is itching, it’s a sign you will get some money.; He’s cool as a cucumber.’ Always bet on black. Bottom frame:(from left to right): It’s bad luck to put your hat on the table.; If something scares you when you are pregnant, it will mark your child.; Honey, if you don’t know what you are talking about, listen, and keep your mouth shut.; It’s bad luck to hang a purse on a doorknob.; To cure a headache, dip a wet rag in vinegar and hold it across your forehead. Deborah Willis and Hank Willis Thomas From the Words to Live By Series, 1-9, 2008 nine digital c-prints; 8 x 50-1/4 inches (each) Courtesy of the artists and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York

Top frame (from left to right): Imagination without power is simply dreaming. Power without imagination is brutality.; A cow knows where to find the weak fence.; If you hold onto something too tight, it will make your hand hurt.; Never give a gift of knives unless you want to sever ties.; Never buy underwear for your girlfriend, because you never know who is going to take them off. Middle frame (from left to right): Kill them with kindness.; There are other fish in the sea.; Always keep mad money, just in case.; The militant, not the meek, shall inherit the earth.; So far from God, so close to the U.S.A. Bottom frame (from left to right): Know what you are saying, but don’t say everything you know.; Always try to resolve issues with your partner in bed.; Keep your nose to the grindstone.; A good speech is like a woman’s dress, it is long enough to cover the subject, but short enough to be interesting.; Life is like a highway. Don’t let no one move you out of your lane. Deborah Willis and Hank Willis Thomas From the Words to Live By Series, 1-9, 2008 nine digital c-prints; 8 x 50-1/4 inches (each) Courtesy of the artists and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York

Deborah Willis & Hank Willis Thomas Sources: https://enfocoinc.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/ral_5954.jpg; http://www.ellingtonarts.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Hank-Willis-Thomas.jpg Deborah Willis & Hank Willis Thomas

Sometimes I See Myself In You, 2008 Deborah Willis and Hank Willis Thomas Sometimes I See Myself In You, 2008 digital c-print; 25-1/4 x 54-1/4 inches Courtesy of the artists and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York

Thomas and Thomas, 2008 Hank Willis Thomas Thomas and Thomas, 2008 digital c-print; 22 x 29-3/4 inches Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York