After wandering around the Museum of Modern Art for a while, something quite unique caught my eye. This artwork, entitled “Untitled” by David Hammons, was created in 2010 using synthetic polymer paint and plastic on a canvas. When looking at it at first glance, the piece can be confusing, intimidating almost, because you can tell that the trash bags were placed strategically and for a purpose, but you don’t know what, and that creates a feeling of unfamiliarity and uncertainty which makes you uncomfortable. But, I believe Hammons wanted his audience to feel uneasy, to really grab our attention and make a statement. Yes, the piece is covered by raggedy, torn up trash bags but it is still art.

I could tell that Hammons wanted to be a little controversial and bold with his artistic choices, because we are taught in our society that paintings and art must be taken care of and treated delicately to prevent it from getting tarnished or damaged. But, what Hammons is doing here is completely throwing that concept out the window. All the times you were told to stand a little further from a painting or refrained from using flash photography is completely flip-flopped here. Here, he is throwing literal trash bags over a supposedly valuable painting that the artist spent the time, patience, and care to create. Here, he is hiding the piece of art that is so used to being at the forefront, the center of the stage, in the spotlight, and then taking something we use to put our garbage in and using that as the centerpiece. I believe that, by doing that, Hammons is kind of questioning the idea of hierarchies in multiple aspects of our society, from art to culture to wealth and our economy. It is bred into our nature to think in a such a rigid, structured way that we fail to really take a step back and reorient ourselves and our way of thinking. Hammons is setting us free – free from our own societal traps and deceptions.

I was really drawn to the piece because it was so different from what I was used to seeing on the walls of museums, no matter what art movement the work was part of. The concept of reversing the hierarchy was so new to me that it really put me in a different perspective and I appreciated Hammons for being creative and brave enough to do that. It’s such an important message that I think everyone should be able to take the time to appreciate.