Seeing the Unspeakable: The Art of Kara Walker

by Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw

One of the youngest recipients of a MacArthur “genius” grant, Kara Walker, an African American artist, is best known for her iconic, often life-size, black-and-white silhouetted figures, arranged in unsettling scenes on gallery walls. These visually arresting narratives draw viewers into a dialogue about the dynamics of race, sexuality, and violence in both the antebellum South and contemporary culture. Walker’s work has been featured in exhibits around the world and in American museums including the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim, and the Whitney. At the same time, her ideologically provocative images have drawn vociferous criticism from several senior African American artists, and a number of her pieces have been pulled from exhibits amid protests against their disturbing representations. Seeing the Unspeakable provides a sustained consideration of the controversial art of Kara Walker. Examining Walker’s striking silhouettes, evocative gouache drawings, and dynamic prints, Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw analyzes the inspiration for and reception of four of Walker’s The End of Uncle Tom and the Grand Allegorical Tableau of Eva in Heaven , John Brown , A Means to an End , and Cut . She offers an overview of Walker’s life and career, and contextualizes her art within the history of African American visual culture and in relation to the work of contemporary artists including Faith Ringgold, Carrie Mae Weems, and Michael Ray Charles. Shaw describes how Walker deliberately challenges viewers’ sensibilities with radically de-sentimentalized images of slavery and racial stereotypes. This book reveals a powerful artist who is questioning, rather than accepting, the ideas and strategies of social responsibility that her parents’ generation fought to establish during the civil rights era. By exploiting the racist icons of the past, Walker forces viewers to see the unspeakable aspects of America’s racist past and conflicted present.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction

208 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2004

Reviews

[Timothy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've appreciated most of the books I've read on Kara Walker, but so far, this is the most informative and enjoyable. Shaw took the time to explain the history of imagery and image-making that go into Walker's work, but as a counterbalance to that complicated history and painstaking work process, Shaw's voice is patient at ease. The result is a text that is labored without being laborious, and gradually interspersed with appropriate examples. Seeing Walker's silhouettes in person (to scale) is much more awe-inspiring than seeing them in any coffee table book, so it is entirely practical that Shaw accept this and put out a book of manageable size that is also--somehow--comprehensive in its scope, at the time of writing. Later books by others have explored Walker's later works, but Shaw's book is an excellent starting point for someone interested in Walker and/or African-American art/history in general.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book goes a long way toward understanding Kara Walker’s art and its connection to slavery which is described fully in all its tragic brutality

[Hotavio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seeing the Unspeakable is a decoding of some Artist Kara Walker's works. The author breaks down a handful of her works, which might help some viewers understand the references Walker draws from. I did, at times, question whether the author's connections aligned with that of Walker's. Walker has no voice in this analysis, save from quotes taken from magazine articles. Still, some of the parallels between Waker's works and The works of others throughout history are fascinating.
The book is a decent length, though the arguments tend to reach. The analyses also do not cover Walker's greatest works. Shaw did, however, do a good job at capturing the rift Walker caused in the African American art community.
Though it wasn't quite as intriguing as Walker's giant paper cut installations, Seeing the Unspeakable was worth investigating.

[Nicholas Holden · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. At times the writing is a little too "grad school", but the content of this book is undeniably brilliant. Shaw really dives into the work and reveals so much about the history and influences. I didn't expect this book to be so rich with history, but it was DEEP. Not in a philosophical way, but just in a history way. The way we discuss race and history in popular is discourse is so wrong, but this book gets it all right. Its handled with care and intention. I love Walker's work and was surprised when reading about the criticism and censorship it received, I was first introduced to her in an AP Art history class in a Texas public school - I just assumed if it was in our curriculum it must be widely accepted.

If you are interested in fine art or American history I would recommend this to you.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kara Walker's cut outs of slavery and pre-civil war era stereotypes are so simple but so powerful. They really engage the viewer and challenge everything you know about race and slavery. They are sometimes grotesque and pornographic. They give a warped view of how it was back then - not really taking a side on slavery. She does this through her weird imagery like slave boys taking a dump, and characters suckling tits. This book dives deep into what Walker and her art actually are doing to the viewer. Plus, she has a fantastic show on at the Whitney (as of Nov.7'07)

[Naori · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very powerful analysis of such a provocative and controversial artist. This book is particularly interesting for its connections between Walker's work and notions of haunting. Brooks places Walker's work in conversation with Toni Morrison and develops a theory of trauma and memory that works to position Kara Walker's silhouettes as radical literary texts. A re-imagination of contemporary notions of freedom and a very interesting read...

[William West]

This is the catalog to an excellent exhibit I saw at the Whitney museum in NY.

I'm usually not a fan of specificaly "identity-based" art, theory, or politics. However, Kara Walker's cut paper silhouettes and animations combines all three to offer a portrait of female-African-American identity that is scaborous, hilarious, and frightening in its confrontationalism and satire. Exceptionally thought provoking. I thank Madame Nani for introducing me to Ms. Walker's world.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good analysis of Kara Walker's art and career which puts the various objections to her work in context. I disagree with some of the theoretical lenses applied to her work but all in all very comprehensive and approachable.

[Jennie · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can hear my views on this book here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-esEO...