Kara Walker Response. Thomas Held
Posted on October 16, 2007
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As I climbed the poorly-lit and somewhat oppressively low-ceilinged stairs to Kara Walker’s exhibition, my steps slowed a bit as I began to hear music. Faint at first, it grew steadily louder as I ascended, until, when I reached the landing, I was confronted by a wall of noise built chiefly, I think, from strings. Having no formal musical training, I couldn’t tell you exactly what sort of piece it was, but I do feel comfortable in saying that it would not have been out of place at a funeral.
The reason I mention the music, which one might consider to be much less noteworthy than the art on display, is that it so perfectly set the tone for the exhibition. Its unrelenting mournfulness made it seem as though the air had become viscous and unyielding – the perfect soundtrack for contemplating the plight of slaves. As I reflected on it, I realized that the music suited the exhibition in other ways, as well. For example, its tempo remained consistent throughout the time I was there. It could have been playing on loop, which, come to think of it, it probably was. This, to me, echoes the fact that Walker’s own themes in her work have remained incredibly consistent: for the last ten years, her art has revolved around the abuse of slaves in the antebellum south. The music never really changed key, either, just as the tone of Walker’s work never seemed to vary from righteous, violent anger.
Walker’s work is undoubtedly powerful, but, walking through the exhibition, I felt that it was also anachronistic and mostly irrelevant to our world today. Of course, stereotyping and racism will never go away, but Walker’s focus on the injustices of the past makes me feel that her anger is misplaced. There are plenty of terrible things happening in the world today; why not explore more contemporary subject matter? The fact that she is conscious of the role stereotypes play in our culture today, as evidenced by one of the quotes on the wall about black women being used in advertising, only makes her one-note, playing-on-loop, fixation on slavery that much more frustrating.
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