Past Film/Video | Documentaries

The Melt Goes on Forever: The Art and Times of David Hammons

(Judd Tully and Harold Crooks, 2022)

A man looks at a billboard, painted by David Hammons, that depicts Reverend Jesse Jackson with pale skin, blonde hair, and blue eyes. “How Ya Like Me Now?” is painted across Jackson’s blue suit.

This documentary offers an enticing portrait of David Hammons, a celebrated African American artist whose elusive, rule-breaking practice offers an essential commentary on race in America.

Through archival footage, animation, and interviews with artists, curators, and scholars, The Melt Goes on Forever chronicles Hammons’s life and work. Beginning his practice in Los Angeles during the Watts Rebellion–era 1960s, he rose to global prominence with work that deeply criticizes American society and the art world while challenging commonly held notions about growing up Black in the US. Offering a priceless glimpse of this private, enigmatic figure, the documentary features fellow contemporary artists Lorna Simpson, Robert Storr, Betye Saar, and Papa Colo. Hammons’s work has been presented at the Wex in such exhibitions as Blues for Smoke (2013), Hard Targets (2010), Work Ethic (2004), and Will/Power (1992). (101 mins., DCP)

IMAGE CAPTION 
David Hammons, How Ya Like Me Now?, 1989. Photo: Philip Brookman, courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment.

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SUPPORT FOR FILM/VIDEO PROGRAMS PROVIDED BY
Rohauer Collection Foundation 

WEXNER CENTER PROGRAMS MADE POSSIBLE BY
Greater Columbus Arts Council
The Wexner Family
National Endowment for the Arts
Ohio Arts Council
L Brands Foundation
The Columbus Foundation
Nationwide Foundation
Institute of Museum and Library Services
Vorys, Sater, Seymour, and Pease

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY
Mike and Paige Crane
Axium Packaging
CampusParc
Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams
President Kristina M. Johnson and Mrs. Veronica Meinhard
Nancy Kramer
Larry and Donna James
Lisa Barton
Johanna DeStefano
Jones Day
Alex and Renée Shumate

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Past Film/Video

The Melt Goes on Forever: The Art and Times of David Hammons