Response to Kara Walker Exhibit
Posted on October 16, 2007
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Response to Kara Walker Exhibit
Daniel Cowen
The Torah reading cycle restarted two weeks ago with the famous quote of “let there be light.” I always thought of this as the birth of human thought, as all we know is derived from contrast, contrast like light from darkness. In Kara Walker’s exhibit at the Whitey there are many layers of contrast used to display racial differences and suppositions, dark and light, young and old, male and female, innocence and deranged sexuality.
At first, silhouettes on a large wall seem innocent, cartoon-like shadows of southern gentlemen, belles and various southern scenes. Looking closer one notices subtle and disturbing nuances. A belle in a bell shaped dress leans in to lay a kiss on her honey. Following her dress down, though, one notices an extra pair of feet under the dress, not hiding there in playful jest, but impish and impious, perhaps unknown to both parties involved in the kiss.
The gentlemen’s sword comes to a point at the buttocks of a small child with stereotypical and exaggerated Negroid features holding a dead duck. The sword barely misses the buttocks and the haunting that creeps out of the dead duck’s body creates an eerie violent and sexual scene. The silhouette of a moon over a lightly clouded sky adds to this effect.
Race is alive and well in Kara Walker’s work, though what she is trying to say about it is not clear. I’m sure there are a few stubborn individuals who still clasp to these images as factual representations, but what does this exhibit hold for those who have let racist sentiments slip from our shoulders? Is this merely disturbing imagery with a racial tinge, like a comedian who adds a race joke into his normal routine for a few extra laughs? Will many visitors to the Whitney be profoundly changed or reassured of their politics by clever aesthetic, and the aesthetic is very, very clever.
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