Outlook on Kara Walker by Nickeitta Leung
Posted on October 14, 2007
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Kara Walker: My Complement, My Enemy, My Oppressor, My Love, is a noteworthy exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Disperse throughout the exhibition are various conventional formatted art works of Walker such as, paintings, drawings and collages. On display are also more contemporary pieces such as, shadow-puppetry, colored-light projections, writings and video animations. The various pieces on display depict Walker’s exploration of social and political issues such as race and gender stereotypes,oppression, the civil rights movement, and feminism. Many of her pieces presented also exemplify the legacy of slavery.
The most illuminating part of this exhibition is Walker’s signature silhouettes. The impression of shadows cast upon the wall, these silhouettes are black paper cut outs waxed directly to the gallery wall. They depict historical narratives in a very seductive and almost mocking form. For example, one of Walker’s silhouettes in the gallery depicts what appears to be life on a plantation. Within this piece viewers see individuals doing various tasks such as fetching water. However, buried subtly within the piece is Walker’s mockery of the event by means of the sexual connotation noted in the scene. In the far left of this scenario viewers come across two individuals on what appear to be a roof, engaged in a sexual act. There are also other sexual implied scenes within the piece but, they are not quite obvious as this.
Many of Walker’s works give the impression as though they are works of an amateur artist experimenting. For example, they appear as though they are first draft sketches of a piece taken directly out of her drawing pad or as though they were done by a child. Similar to these works presented in the gallery, the silhouettes also look very child like and simplistic. Walker’s silhouettes are presented in a very fun cartoonish manner that is very humorous to the viewers, even though their content is very explicit. This is quite ingenious because it enabled her to present her works that flaunts violence and sex in a more appealing way to viewers without being too gruesome.
I am unaware of Walker’s agenda and what she wants her viewers to get from her work. Nevertheless, if it’s a reaction that she wants from her viewers, she’s got it. It is very unlikely that viewers of
Walker’s works will be very passive.
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