David Hammons

An in-depth look at a public art project by David Hammons with an overview of the enigmatic artist's career. Published to commemorate David Hammons's (b. 1943) public art project "Day's End", located in New York City, this book documents the sculpture and offers broader context into Hammons's enigmatic work. In 2014, Hammons sent the Whitney Museum of American Art a sketch for a monument to Gordon Matta-Clark (1943-1978), paying homage to Matta-Clark's legendary "Day's End" (1975) – an industrial, cathedral-like space of altered architecture – once located near today's Whitney in Manhattan's Meatpacking District. Completed in 2021, Hammons's work, also titled "Day's End", was realized by the Whitney in collaboration with Hudson River Park, and is on permanent view. One of the most important artists working in the United States, Hammons makes art across mediums, often outside traditional venues. In addition to photographic documentation, the book includes essays on the origins of "Day's End", Hammons's career scope, and a contribution by poet Ben Okri.