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Kara Walker: White Shadows in Blackface
Themes and motifs in the art of Kara Walker, from blackface to abjection, by a leading art historian In 2002, Kara Walker was selected to represent the United States at the prestigious São Paulo Art Biennial. Curator Robert Hobbs wrote extended essays on her work for this exhibition, and also for her show later that year at the Kunstverein Hannover. Because these essays have not been distributed in the US and remain among the most in-depth and essential investigations of her work, Karma is now republishing them in this new clothbound volume.
Among the most celebrated artists of the past three decades, with over 93 solo exhibitions to her credit, including a major survey at the Whitney Museum of American Art, Walker is known for her tough, critical, provocative and highly imaginative representations of African Americans and whites reaching back to antebellum times. In his analysis, Hobbs looks at the five main sources of her blackface Americana, Harlequin romances, Julia Kristeva’s concept of abjection, Stone Mountain’s racist tourist attraction and the minstrel tradition.
Robert Hobbs (born 1946) has written more than 50 books and catalogs, focusing on such artists as Milton Avery, Alice Aycock, Lee Krasner, Robert Smithson and Kehinde Wiley. Since 1991 he has held the Rhoda Thalhimer Endowed Chair of American Art in the School of Arts, Virginia Commonwealth University. Since 2004 he has served as a visiting professor at Yale University.
Now based in New York, Kara Walker was born in Stockton, California, in 1969. She received her MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1994; soon afterward, Walker rose to prominence for her large, provocative silhouettes installed directly onto the walls of exhibition spaces.
Among the most celebrated artists of the past three decades, with over 93 solo exhibitions to her credit, including a major survey at the Whitney Museum of American Art, Walker is known for her tough, critical, provocative and highly imaginative representations of African Americans and whites reaching back to antebellum times. In his analysis, Hobbs looks at the five main sources of her blackface Americana, Harlequin romances, Julia Kristeva’s concept of abjection, Stone Mountain’s racist tourist attraction and the minstrel tradition.
Robert Hobbs (born 1946) has written more than 50 books and catalogs, focusing on such artists as Milton Avery, Alice Aycock, Lee Krasner, Robert Smithson and Kehinde Wiley. Since 1991 he has held the Rhoda Thalhimer Endowed Chair of American Art in the School of Arts, Virginia Commonwealth University. Since 2004 he has served as a visiting professor at Yale University.
Now based in New York, Kara Walker was born in Stockton, California, in 1969. She received her MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1994; soon afterward, Walker rose to prominence for her large, provocative silhouettes installed directly onto the walls of exhibition spaces.
174 pages, Hardcover
Published August 29, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 22, 2025
I ducked into the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts gift shop when I was in Philadelphia recently. I saw this book about Kara Walker and decided to buy it as she is a favorite artist of mine.
This volume contains two essays about Walker’s art. The first one focuses on Walker’s stated ideas in her art. That her art focused on American slavery makes white people squirm is a given. The more surprising aspect of her art is that it also makes black people uncomfortable with her uncomfortable silhouettes. She prods this even more when she says things like, ‘all black people in America want to be slaves a little bit.’
The second essay wrestles with the legacy of minstrelsy in American history. This is the tradition of white people mimicking and lampooning black stereotypes. The essay explores the role of the shadow in all of us and particularly with blackface. Back in slavery times the black silhouette was used in ads calling for the return of fugitive slaves. This essay navigates the humor, horror, dehumanization and outrage that her art triggers. Once you’ve seen a Kara Walker tableau, you can never unsee it.
This volume contains two essays about Walker’s art. The first one focuses on Walker’s stated ideas in her art. That her art focused on American slavery makes white people squirm is a given. The more surprising aspect of her art is that it also makes black people uncomfortable with her uncomfortable silhouettes. She prods this even more when she says things like, ‘all black people in America want to be slaves a little bit.’
The second essay wrestles with the legacy of minstrelsy in American history. This is the tradition of white people mimicking and lampooning black stereotypes. The essay explores the role of the shadow in all of us and particularly with blackface. Back in slavery times the black silhouette was used in ads calling for the return of fugitive slaves. This essay navigates the humor, horror, dehumanization and outrage that her art triggers. Once you’ve seen a Kara Walker tableau, you can never unsee it.
June 2, 2026
⭐️3.75
I withhold 5 stars because I would have liked more elaboration on the exhibits included from either Kara or the author. The partial notes at the beginning and the lack the end was irksome because the pieces are difficult to perceive especially since some are cut by their placement in the book’s crease. (They maybe should have considered a fold out spread of the exhibits so they wouldn’t be so distorted & or compromised by the book’s composition/binding). The written portion was solid however the segue into Roland Barthes & Sander Gilman at the end offset the rest of the book to me - they didn’t fit or mesh with the other portions smoothly. Also I sort of wish there was more elaboration or analysis of Kara’s quoted remarks, but I guess that isn’t the author’s place to say, though I did wonder how he interpreted her words a white make admirer. 🙃
I withhold 5 stars because I would have liked more elaboration on the exhibits included from either Kara or the author. The partial notes at the beginning and the lack the end was irksome because the pieces are difficult to perceive especially since some are cut by their placement in the book’s crease. (They maybe should have considered a fold out spread of the exhibits so they wouldn’t be so distorted & or compromised by the book’s composition/binding). The written portion was solid however the segue into Roland Barthes & Sander Gilman at the end offset the rest of the book to me - they didn’t fit or mesh with the other portions smoothly. Also I sort of wish there was more elaboration or analysis of Kara’s quoted remarks, but I guess that isn’t the author’s place to say, though I did wonder how he interpreted her words a white make admirer. 🙃
September 20, 2023
Challenging read for a person not steeped in the language of the two writers. But even so it helped explain many layers of the artist's work and included many quotes from the author as well. At first I didn't understand the connection of her work to Harlequin Romance novels until their business models were explained and Kara's quote, "My work is intended to function like Harlequin Romance novels, which veil themselves in history and encourage women to participate in stories that are not in their best interests." As noted within the book, these (romance novels) seemingly trivial escape routes are actually user-friendly prisons." Hope to travel someday to see her work in person.
November 7, 2024
Enjoyed the ideology. This provided great insight, and understanding of her pieces.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews