Over fall break, I spent one very quick day in NYC. Luckily I made time for one exhibit, (the one I HAD to see) Kara Walker at the Whitney. The images are powerful and engaging - she creates a narrative using simple sihouettes, (simple in that they're black paper cut-outs), but made with such detail that they come to life. I had seen images of her cut-out's before, but I had never seen Walker's videos or sketches. I found the sketches to be the most honest because they weren't as planned out or as precise as the cut-outs or videos. Some of the images incorporated Walker's writings - reactions and reflections about her images. They revealed her frustrations and thoughts, as if she was analyzing her own work.
Though Kara Walker has recieved negative criticism about her work, especially from African-American artist Betye Saar, who believes that Kara's work does nothing productive for the Black community, I think her work has made an attempt to help move past racism. Some people believe that the best thing for abolishing racism is to forget the past - to not discuss it because we'll just keep reliving it and having to start over. The problem with ignoring the past, is that it was never really discussed in the first place. Resurfacing racially charged images like Kara Walker's exaggerated portraits, is not something artists like Kara Walker are content with doing, but it forces the audience to engage the images and discuss the issue at hand.
There are some scholars who believe that moving past racism requires a "color-blind" society - one that would encourage equality because color would not be acknowledged. Though being color-blind might seem ideal, it ignores everything that makes equality impossible for our society. White people have an advantage of 400 years of being privledged, and those issues have never been addressed. It doesn't make sense to ignore the advantages that have allowed whites to be the "dominant" race, and claim that everyone is at an even, leveled, playing field. Being color-blind only shows that someone is not aware of their whiteness, aware of their privledged status. It also asks for people of color to ignore race as well. But how can someone of color ignore it, when they are constantly reminded of it everyday? Wether it be in advertising, television, school, the workplace - white dominance is everywhere, yet invisible to those who are not aware of it. These issues need to be talked about and acknowledged, before anyone can even begin to request a color-blind society. Kara Walker's work asks us to engage these issues, regardless of the difficulty in accepting the past for its truth.
