Artist Background

Kara Walker’s impressive style all started during her youth. She was born in 1969, in Stockton, California. At the age of 13, she and her family relocated to the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia. She was accepted as a young black woman in California to be thrown into an unfamiliar area during time in Georgia when the KKK was still present; states Steel Stillman, “In the Studio Kara Walker”, Art in America.  Her large art influence at a young age wasn’t surprising since her father was an art professor himself. Because of his background, she was introduced to art at a young age in the form of drawing.Walker describes her experiences as a young woman thrown into the art world, “I began drawing strips when I was five and from then on I wanted to be a cartoonist”. When her father was the art director he allowed her to even take college classes at the age of 13. Her artistic skills were growing with her age.

        Walker began her college career and received her bachelor’s degree from Atlanta College of Art. Next she received her master’s degree at the Rhode Island School of Design where she discovered her current style, states Rhonda Stewart, Crisis. Walker’s professors suggested that she create work that was “identifiably Black,” because being “Black” was the in thing. (2) While she was being pushed into this mindset she created a character, “the Negress,” which can be seen in most of her works. She developed this character by reading romance novels about the civil war.(1) Stewart describes Walkers character, “The term shape-shifts so that at times it has applied to her as the artist and at other times it’s stereotypical dusky slave mistress in the work”.(2) Walker’s black and white work takes everything literally, and makes the viewer figure out who the characters are based off of stereotypes. Sterman discusses the role of the black and white characters, “The slave figures are recognizable, with their thick lips or kinky hair, while the masters have sharp features. But the figures often bleed into each other, connected or contorted in jarring ways. The roles of victim and victimizer aren’t always clear".(2) A curator at the Tang teaching Museum and 
Art Gallery describes Kara’s works, “No matter how much you know about [Walker] or know about her work, you’re still uneasy. In that place of being unsettled, that’s where real transformation can happen. In that experience, true dialogue and conversation can happen”.(2) Her style makes it easy to understand why she did choose the silhouettes, they give the viewer a choice to make the stereotype real. Her work allows the viewer to learn to subtract from race and learn from their thoughts.

        With Kara’s strong works it’s easy to understand how she could be recognized worldwide. At the age of 27, in 1997, Kara won a “Genius” award from the MacArthur Foundation.(2) In 2002 her work was sent around the world in an exhibition from Sao Paulo Bienal in Brazil to the Centre d’Arte Contemporain in Geneva. Currently, Kara is an art professor at Columbia University in New York, where she is teaching at the School of Visual Arts.  

1. "Inside the Studio; Kara Walker." Interview by Steel Stillman. Art in America May 2011: 88-95. Print.
2. Stewart, Rhonda. "Still Here: Artist Kara Walker in Black and White." Crisis 111.1

Kara Walker is known for her black and white silhouettes depicting fornication, defecation and other various disgusting acts. With this piece, I wanted to incorporate Kara Walker’s grotesque style. In my photograph there is a boy pictured after he has vomited similar to imagery seen in much of Walker’s work. My photograph also covers controversial subject matter such as the eating disorder known as bulimia. The high contrast of the black and whites give the photograph a similar feel as Walker’s silhouettes. There is a lack of detail provided by Kara’s pieces, but that lack of detail with the high contrast silhouettes creates the story. l tried to create the same feeling of disgust that the viewer would obtain from viewing a piece of Walker’s work.