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Hank Willis Thomas (American, born 1976). LOVE RULES, 2018. Neon tubing, transformers, and electrical wires, 69 × 367 7/16 in. (175.3 × 933.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Contemporary Art Committee and William K. Jacobs, Jr. Fund, 2019.10. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Photo: Jonathan Dorado, Brooklyn Museum, DIG_E_2018_Something_To_Say_Hank_Willis_Thomas_01_PS11.jpg)
Hank Willis Thomas (American, born 1976). LOVE RULES, 2018. Neon tubing, transformers, and electrical wires, 69 × 367 7/16 in. (175.3 × 933.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Contemporary Art Committee and William K. Jacobs, Jr. Fund, 2019.10. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Photo: Jonathan Dorado, Brooklyn Museum, DIG_E_2018_Something_To_Say_Hank_Willis_Thomas_06_PS11.jpg)
Hank Willis Thomas (American, born 1976). LOVE RULES, 2018. Neon tubing, transformers, and electrical wires, 69 × 367 7/16 in. (175.3 × 933.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Contemporary Art Committee and William K. Jacobs, Jr. Fund, 2019.10. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Photo: Jonathan Dorado, Brooklyn Museum, DIG_E_2018_Something_To_Say_Hank_Willis_Thomas_05_PS11.jpg)
LOVE RULES
Hank Willis Thomas
Contemporary Art
On View: Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Pavilion, 1st Floor
About this Brooklyn Icon
The Brooklyn Museum is commemorating its 200th anniversary by spotlighting 200 standout objects in its encyclopedic collection.
“What do you do to give love? How is love breaking the rules you have in your life?” These are the main questions that artist Hank Willis Thomas responds to in his massive neon sculpture LOVE RULES. Thomas created the work to further the legacy of his late cousin Songha Thomas Willis, whose last words were “love over rules.” The illuminated portion of the text periodically rotates between LOVERULES, LOVERULES, LOVERULES, and LOVERULES, suggesting that love shifts depending on the people and circumstances involved.
Thomas’s artwork and statements are among the first things visitors see upon entering the Brooklyn Museum. This iconic image communicates to all entering the Museum that love is, in the artist’s words, “not an action of receiving, but rather an action of giving.”
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Gallery Label
Hank Willis Thomas is a Brooklyn-based conceptual artist who focuses on themes of identity, the media, and popular culture. Thomas's site-specific neon sculpture Love Rules, here in the main lobby, welcomes visitors to the Brooklyn Museum. The artist explains the work's personal meaning:
I grew up in a family where love overruled. My cousin, Songha Willis, was murdered in Philadelphia in 2000. A month after he died, I found a recording of the incident, and his last words were "love over rules."
This neon installation poetically affirms the Importance of love and compassion amid the violence of our challenging times-particularly as we search for ways, both political and creative, to stop gun violence. Beyond that singular issue, Thomas hopes that his cousin's last words inspire others to probe love's role in our lives:
Love is an Invitation to people to stand up and be generous every day of their lives. It is not an action of receiving, but rather an action of giving. My question is what do you do to give love? How is love breaking the rules you have in your life?
The Brooklyn Museum is commemorating its 200th anniversary by spotlighting 200 standout objects in its encyclopedic collection.
“What do you do to give love? How is love breaking the rules you have in your life?” These are the main questions that artist Hank Willis Thomas responds to in his massive neon sculpture LOVE RULES. Thomas created the work to further the legacy of his late cousin Songha Thomas Willis, whose last words were “love over rules.” The illuminated portion of the text periodically rotates between LOVERULES, LOVERULES, LOVERULES, and LOVERULES, suggesting that love shifts depending on the people and circumstances involved.
Thomas’s artwork and statements are among the first things visitors see upon entering the Brooklyn Museum. This iconic image communicates to all entering the Museum that love is, in the artist’s words, “not an action of receiving, but rather an action of giving.”
***
Gallery Label
Hank Willis Thomas is a Brooklyn-based conceptual artist who focuses on themes of identity, the media, and popular culture. Thomas's site-specific neon sculpture Love Rules, here in the main lobby, welcomes visitors to the Brooklyn Museum. The artist explains the work's personal meaning:
I grew up in a family where love overruled. My cousin, Songha Willis, was murdered in Philadelphia in 2000. A month after he died, I found a recording of the incident, and his last words were "love over rules."
This neon installation poetically affirms the Importance of love and compassion amid the violence of our challenging times-particularly as we search for ways, both political and creative, to stop gun violence. Beyond that singular issue, Thomas hopes that his cousin's last words inspire others to probe love's role in our lives:
Love is an Invitation to people to stand up and be generous every day of their lives. It is not an action of receiving, but rather an action of giving. My question is what do you do to give love? How is love breaking the rules you have in your life?
MEDIUM
Neon tubing, transformers, and electrical wires
DATES
2018
DIMENSIONS
69 × 367 7/16 in. (175.3 × 933.3 cm) (show scale)
COLLECTIONS
Contemporary Art
ACCESSION NUMBER
2019.10
CREDIT LINE
Gift of the Contemporary Art Committee and William K. Jacobs, Jr. Fund
EXHIBITIONS
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is on view in Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Pavilion, 1st Floor
CAPTION
Hank Willis Thomas (American, born 1976). LOVE RULES, 2018. Neon tubing, transformers, and electrical wires, 69 × 367 7/16 in. (175.3 × 933.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Contemporary Art Committee and William K. Jacobs, Jr. Fund, 2019.10. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Photo: Jonathan Dorado, Brooklyn Museum, DIG_E_2018_Something_To_Say_Hank_Willis_Thomas_01_PS11.jpg)
EDITION
Edition of 3 (1 AP)
IMAGE
in situ, DIG_E_2018_Something_To_Say_Hank_Willis_Thomas_01_PS11.jpg. Photo: Jonathan Dorado, Brooklyn Museum, 2018
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RIGHTS STATEMENT
© artist or artist's estate
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