Fekus

Hiiiiii.  So far this morning, despite the huge amount of work I have to finish, I've ate, finished a book, and now I'm writing this. Foooocus, Ronald. It's still early, after this I'll have at least 10 hours to be productive.  Maybe even up to 12 hours if I can get past my 10:30 bedtime (that's a big maybe though). 

I want to write about Kara Walker.  You may remember when my studio sprung a leak in November.  Some of my artist books fell victim to the leak and unfortunately, After the Deluge by Kara Walker was the hardest hit.  This was particularly upsetting because I rarely buy artist books...they can get pricey.  But, she's so good I couldn't resist.  Fortunately, I've recently received a new copy of the book! Thanks! So, with my new book in hand, I want to share Walker's work with the two, maybe three, people that read this blog!  I saw her work for the first time in November 2007 at the Whitney Museum of American Art.  This show was entitled My Complement, My Enemy, My Oppressor, My Love and it was fantastic.  I am really foggy on the details of the exhibition but I do remember feeling overwhelmed by the stories she tells.  More importantly, I was taken aback by her execution. Black paper cut and pasted to white walls. So simple, extremely effective.  Her work is about racism (and so so much more).  She combines racial stereotypes with all too true stories from before the abolition of slavery.  By eliminating definition with line work, the silhouettes throw the stories in the viewer's face by forcing them to decipher the imagery.   For me, the fact that I realize I am looking at stereotyped silhouettes of African and Caucasian people is enough to make me uneasy.  Without ever consciously encouraging the use or perpetuation of these stereotypes, I am still highly aware of their distinctions.  Additionally, I am thankful that I have been introduced to the upsetting situations being illustrated.  I felt simultaneously embarrassed (that I could pick out the race of the individual characters) and relieved that I felt embarrassed (my parents raised me right)!  The silhouettes work flawlessly to heighten this awareness. By the time you realize what you're seeing (which for most people is seconds later), you've already been staring too long.  This is how her work affected me, I'd be interested in knowing how it affected others. If you ever get the opportunity to see her work in person, please do. If nothing else, the scale of the work is hard to portray in a book or on the internet. Enjoy!

Camptown Ladies, 2007

Gone, An Historical Romance of a Civil War as it Occurred between the Dusky Thighs of One Young Negress and Her Heart (detail) 1994

Roni!

ANNA! Do you want my damaged but still usable copy of After the Deluge? I can't remember if you bought one too.