Hank Willis Thomas

Caramel Cocoa Butta' Honey Lova' You're Like No Otha', 1982

2006

Chromogenic print

Not on view

This photograph is part of Thomas’s series UNBRANDED: Reflections in Black by Corporate America 1968–2008, which features images appropriated from magazine advertisements aimed at African Americans or that feature black subjects. The ads, from which Thomas digitally removed all branding information, were made for a range of products, including hair relaxers, menthol cigarettes, and body lotions, and for multinational companies such as McDonald’s, Coca–Cola, and American Express. The ads reinforce generalizations and cultural stereotypes around race, gender, and ethnicity and reflect how a culture views itself and its aspirations. His investigation encourages viewers to look critically at how mass–produced and widely disseminated images in the media construct and reinforce stereotypes about African American life, and how the public participates in these narratives.

Gallery label from

XL: 19 New Acquisitions in Photography, May 10, 2013–January 6, 2014.

Medium Chromogenic print
Dimensions 29 7/8 × 21 7/8" (75.9 × 55.5 cm)
Credit Fund for the Twenty-First Century
Object number 68.2011
Department Photography

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