Kara Walker
From Kristin:
I would like to make a short statement about the work of Kara Walker, who is
on view at the Walker right now. She does large installations of black
cut-paper silhouettes to depict historical slave relations in the pre-civil
war South.
In terms of representation, I loved a quote by Kara from the Walker
publication (March/April 07),
"The silhouette says a lot with very little information, but that's also what
the stereotype does. So I saw the silhouette and the stereotype as linked."
Kathy Halbreich (Director, Walker Art Center), continues...
"This mating of means and message––a post-war trope that pushed illusionism
out of abstract painting––is therefore updated, as it had to be, to confront
and contain content."
Comments
Kara's use of silhouettes and her reasoning are interesting to me. . . that the silhouette says a lot without very much information. I've seen her work, and I have to say that without knowing what it was about, initially, I thought her silhouettes looked whimsical- like a child's art. I make snowflakes out of paper with my daughter, so that was my point of reference- until I saw Kara's work close up. There's something very unsettling about what she is showing us- yet it works so well in the form of silhouettes. We can "finish the picture" if we wish. It's like the traditional portrait silhouette- we can decide for ourselves what color the person's hair is/was, the kind of outfit the person may have been wearing, the story behind the person. I think it's a great way to make the viewer think about what he/she is looking at.
Posted by: Julie Streitz | March 5, 2007 11:17 AM
I love Kara Walkers work and since we are learning about her in my 3d art class, and womens studies class, I found it pertinent to do a project on her. In art we are putting our sillouhettes on the walls. Its fun to see different forms of art and I think its always interesting.
Posted by: Tiffany Bair | March 14, 2007 4:40 PM