Installation of “Look Away! Look Away! Look Away!” 10’x60’ at Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College
1. Kara Walker is an African-American artist famous for her exploration of race, sexuality, and gender as well as their intersection. Born in Stockton, California in 1969 she studied bachelor and master of fine arts in Atlanta and Rhode Island schools in 1991 and 1994 respectively. Walker had great interest in the Victorian silhouette to communicate to her audience. She created a theatrical space with cut papers making characters that fornicate inflicting violence on each other. Her father was a painter and professor thus was a great influence to her love for art. By age 3, she decided to follow her passion and just as her dad, she became an artist expressing issues affecting humanity. At first, Kara Walker was apprehensive about representing racial matters in her work but during her master’s program, she made her decision to condemn racism, gender bias, and sexuality. Her work is mostly cut paper silhouettes mostly black figures against a white background addressing the history of American slavery and racism through violent imagery. Other media include watercolor, video animations, gouache, shadow puppets, as well as projections. She has exhibited her work in various museums such as the Apartheid in Johannesburg, the San Francisco, the modern Art, and the museum of contemporary Art in Chicago.
2. Kara writes her message to condemn slavery, gender bias, and racism in America. She is from the minority race in the US although from a wealthy family since her father was a university professor and artist. The artwork is related to the views of Christianity, which are similar to my own.
3. Kara did her artwork at the time when racism was rampant and Black Americans were discriminated due to their color. The two pieces of arts was created to represent the plight of workers in sugar plantations and factories as they were poorly paid despite their effort to provide the country with sugar during the 19th century.
4. Installation of “Look Away! Look Away! Look Away” is an artwork in which Kara uses an old art form from popular culture. The images are made from silhouettes cut from black paper to make commentary work on the history of slavery and race relationships. The work reveals stories from historical romance novels. “The Marvelous Sugar Baby” is a big sugarcoated woman-sphinx with only earrings and a kerchief on her head. It reveals women private parts and although it is attractive, it throws several interpretations. The right hand reveals power of the white woman and her left hand seems clenched to form a fist.
5. The two artworks have some similarities such as materials used which include use of paper-cut silhouette and white background. The color and size of the images differs since “The Marvelous Sugar Baby” utilizes white paper and measures 513 by 463 inches while “Look Away” utilizes black color for the images and measures 10 by 60 inches.
6. Looking at the artworks by Kara Walker made me reflect on the plight of the minorities in America as they struggle for identity and equal considerations. I admire the courage of the artist to represent the pains of others through creativity. I feel that discrimination of any nature should be addressed and people advised to live in harmony with one another. The work reminds me about the stories I have read about the suffering of Black Americans during the slavery period due to racial prejudice. The two works represents realistic images of human suffering due to color discrimination in the US.
B. Kerry James Marshall
The Portrait of a Curator 2009
1. Kerry James Marshall was born in 1955 before establishment of the Civil Rights Act in Birmingham and embarked on African American art painting black figures. His work involves art history dating back to the Renaissance to twentieth century abstraction. The images are portrait, landscape, as well as tableau touching gender and racial matters. He schooled in Los Angeles together with Charles White who was a social realist painter. His work has been exhibited throughout Europe and North America. . He studied at Otis College of Art and Design where he graduated in 1978. He took part in a residency program held at Harlem Museum and several solo exhibitions including international ones such as the 1999 Whitney Biennial. A comprehensive monograph featuring essays by the curators normally accompanies his work. Marshall is renowned for creating large-scale paintings, sculpture work, and any objects depicting African-American history. He explores black beauty contrasting it with the western notion that light skin depicts elegance. Marshall has received various awards including the MacArthur Foundation genius grant in 19977 as well as the Fifth Star Award by the City of Chicago. Such events made his work famous as it spread the message of appreciation for the black color.
2. The artist intends to spread the message of racial prejudice and promote the idea of black beauty. The artworks are from the same country but the minority black race. They are from wealthy backgrounds considering the elegancy in the portraits. His work does not depict a religious culture different from mine.
3. Marshall’s paintings depicted the history of black identity in the United States and Europe. His work represents the era in which artwork that focused on black subject was excluded from artistic canon and considered as exploring race. Marshall altered the attitude by demonstrating black beauty in various portraits including nude ones.
4. The “Untitled Studio” painting reveals models and traces of the painters work such as paintbrushes, stacked canvases, and lighting. The image is that of Marshall’s studio although the artist is missing. It depicts the site of art production representing the tradition of artists painting their studios. “The Portrait of a Curator 2009” is an image of an elegant woman gazing strongly and sitting beside a yellow tulip. It represents a contemporary figure instead on historical ones. The image is an acrylic on PVC panel depicting modern black woman. It reveals satisfaction of black women with their skin color and acceptance of identity.
5. The two works are quite similar as they depict black elegance contrary to the notion that white color represents beauty. The portraits show dark people of African-American origin against bright backgrounds. They are realistic paintings in three dimensions drawn to scale. The curator composes only one character while the Untitled Studio reveals four people in a studio.
6. The two artworks by Kerry James Marshall are quite informative as they enable me to understand the history of America and racial prejudice. The artist promote personal image by depicting his characters in a way that attracts the audience and appreciates their appearance. The characters are well dressed and elegant despite their dark skin color that shows that beauty is a matter of perception. Looking at the portraits make me to appreciate human beings regardless of color, race, sex, or gender and remember great black Americans who have contributed in eradicating racism in western countries such as America and Europe.
