Affirmative Blaction: Kara Walker Straps One On and Sodomizes the South
Kara Walker at the Whitney blew me away. First of all, the sheer size and quantity of works in the exhibit is almost unbelievable. This was one of my favorite exhibits by far - I am still recovering from the barrage of social issues and blatant sexuality which totally ripped my head to shreds.
As we all know, slavery was nothing more than institutionalized rape. You don’t need black slaves to get the cotton picked and processed, they could have paid wage-laborers or serfs as they did during the Industrial Revolution and Agricultural Revolution, respectively - the conditions were identical and the product would have been the same. Slavery existed because it provided white men (and women too) with dominance over another human being and the ability to whatever they wanted to this person, i.e. sex. Kara Walker sees right through the facade of Southern hospitality and etiquette of the landowning gentry and peers into the soul of the greedy horny devil we know as plantation owners. The opening piece has an idyllic Southern gentleman and Southern debutante kissing by the moon light on the lake. Closer examination reveals two pairs of legs under the lady’s dress. She has made her statement right there - slavery was about sex, as are most things in life.
There is so much to say as there was so much to see in this exhibition. I feel almost overwhelmed by this, but I shall continue.
The films were absolutely ridiculous. They were pornographic and yet done in a style children would enjoy - she caters to everyone to get her message across. The drawings done on notebook paper (there were over a hundred of them) were my favorite. Each one was different and followed the struggle of a black woman in America from slavery to present day. They were crude, rude and occasionally put you in the mood (I’m sorry I couldn’t help that one, the rhyme scheme was too tempting). Her broad range of media and skill is astounding - she used practically every kind of media you can imagine. The innovative use of projectors as a means of puppetry was awesome.
As for the blatant sexuality, I applaud Ms. Walker as it is about time someone says “fuck it” (both literally and figuratively) and expose the dark animal desires hidden behind the “economic institution (cough-cough) of plantation slavery.” Everywhere I looked, I was sure to find a penis, vagina, or breasts, and most importantly, something being done with or to them. She has captured raw animal aggression in her anger at slavery and racism and in the sexual motivations behind human bondage (not that kind…unless you’re into that…call me).