Strange Fruit Hangs in the Corcoran Gallery of Art

A slave kneels in a cotton field, with a hat on that covers his eyes from the viewer, he presumably stares into the eyes of his mirror image-- a football player kneeling on a turf field.

The two figures described are decades apart but only inches away in Hank Willis Thomas' 2011 piece From Cain't See in the Morning, till Cain't See at Night. Though they would typically be seen as opposites, this digital artwork showcases the similarities between two ‘objects' that function with the sole purpose of creating profit for others.

Hank Willis Thomas is just one of 31 Americans featured in The Corcoran Gallery of Art's 30 Americans exhibit. The exhibit showcases 31 African-American artists that have used art to socially comment on race, sexuality, and historical identity within the last three decades.

The exhibit on display now through Feb. 12, 2012 has already attracted hundreds of art lovers to the Corcoran Gallery of Art.

The Corcoran Gallery of Art, located in downtown D.C ,is one of the Districts hidden jewels. Sometimes overshadowed by the Smithsonian Galleries, the Corcoran relies on its distinctive qualities to attract visitors. The Corcoran is the largest non-federally funded cultural institution in DC. Founded in 1869 by William Wilson Corcoran, it is the oldest art gallery in D.C.

According to Corcoran docent, Stephanie Wilkinson, The Corcoran has visitors "that appreciate the uniqueness of the collections hosted here, there's often work here where the ideas of the artwork are more important than the artwork itself."

The 30 Americans exhibit is a perfect example of one of many unique exhibits in the Corcoran. The exhibit started out as a private collection owned by The Rubell family from Miami. As the collection grew in size, the Rubell family donated the pieces to the Corcoran for the exhibit. The exhibit recruited artists to be a part of the exhibit up until the last minute before opening. There are now 31 artists in the 30 Americans exhibit due to an artist being added after the exhibit was named.

In addition to being part of the 30 Americans exhibit, Hank Willis Thomas has his own exhibit in the gallery on display now through Jan. 16, 2012.

Thomas' exhibit "Strange Fruit" explores the culture of lynching and the commodity of black athletes. Many of Thomas' works project the exploitation of black athletes to promote material goods.

The exhibit named after the original Abel Meerpol poem, later recorded by Billie holiday (1939), references the bodies of lynched blacks hanging from trees as if they were fruits.  Hank Willis Thomas uses his art to compare lynching at the turn of the 20^th century to the 21^st century enslavement of black athletes.

"I think that the irony of the ideal of the black male body is interesting….it is fetished and adored in advertising but in reality black men are in many ways the most feared and hated bodies of the 21^st Century," Thomas said.