David Hammons is a dedicated poacher. Whether taking snow from the streets of Harlem to make and sell snowballs, hair from the floors of barber shops, chicken wings from take-out restaurants, or Night Train bottles tossed into vacant lots to create sculpture, drawings, quilts, and other objects, he bestows a sense of esthetic order on these ordinary, often gritty souvenirs of urban life and black culture. The artist’s provocative use of stereotypes unifies the generous range of props and settings.

For Rock Fan, 1993, Hammons placed an enormous boulder in front of Chapin Hall, a prominent campus