Today's artist is Kara Walker(born November 26, 1969). She is a contemporary American artist who explores race, gender, sexuality, violence and identity in her work. She is best known for her room-size tableaux of black cut-paper silhouettes. Her work at times have been met with criticism and controversy as some critics find her images to conjure up the negative stereotypes of history of slavery and the antebellum era. I think any time one's work evolves around race, gender, and sexuality, it will evoke criticism based on one's subjective feelings and his/her own personal experience. I find her work to be exquisite and very telling of the pains of the past, which cannot be forgotten in a world where racism still exists.
Ok, getting off the soapbox!
Enjoy the works of Kara Walker~
Gone, An Historical Romance of a Civil War as it Occurred between the Dusky Thighs of One Young Negress and Her Heart, 1994; cut paper on wall; 15 x 50 feet
Restraint, 2009
etching with aquatint and sugarlift
Cut, 1998, cut paper and adhesive on wall
The artist installing her work, From the Bowel to the Bosom
I feel like art should be provocative and have a story to tell, even if it is a controversial one. Love this!
ReplyDeleteOoh - i like your statement! i wish she could do our silhouettes... haha, wishful thinking.
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