So I started with those two (Walker and Newsome) and went on from there adding Firelei Baez, Omar Diop, Kehinde Wiley, Carrie Mae Weems, Ikire Jones, Amy Sherald, and a whole lot more in an effort to capture that idea of closer looking and layered meaning. Of course, when you start off with an idea it takes a turn for another idea. Conveying a message in visuals in difficult because I may know what I want to get at, ultimately the art itself controls the direction, and that was a big takeaway for me. Having to move and add and subtract from the images became a maddening process, and to be completely honest I am not 100% happy with my Pecha Kucha but it does at least capture this idea of representation of blackness that underlined my initial research.

I found Google Keep a great way to keep track of the websites I was visiting and keeping my information together rather than just bookmarking it. Creating a collage of photographs an ideas on a Doc also kept my information together and provided a visual into what I was interested in, some of those images made the cut and some didn’t.

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This photo does not belong to me. It is from the Museum of Fine Art, Houston: https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/resurrection-story-with-patrons/YwG70RlvpAaYoQ

• Three etchings unite to create a triptych bringing with it religious connotations and importance to the middle scene
• Use of profile emphasizes the distinct stereotypical racial features, such as large protruding lips
• The patrons are carved out of a dark space rather than a white space allows Walker to add dimension and their own level of importance
• Patrons themselves serve to highlight the main narrative and the protagonist in the middle etching
• The woman’s hand reaches forward the bending of the elbow in contrast to having the arm completely outstretched seems to imply a desire to be a part of the scene, or an act of devotion.
• The male figure does not reach and instead illuminates the scene.
• Placement of the wooden planks act as a bridge into the scene. The diagonals created  create a sharp dipping angle that opens the scene to the viewer rather than closing it off.
• Pattern of dark wood textured pieces is broken by free-flowing form that is a splash of white and gray
• The slanted lines of the landscape draws viewer’s eye deeper into the canvas while creating 3-dimension through a sense of receding space.
• Etching divided into 3 spaces: the fore-, middle-. and background.
  • Foreground: wooden planks create a sharp dipping angle that opens the scene to the viewer rather than closing it off.
  • Middleground: contains the main action of the piece and houses the central female figure. Almost all figures are in caught is some sort of motion. The pattern departs with the lone male figure on the right. He stands separated with a straight spine, body facing the background with his head tilted towards the female figure. His stillness mimicking that seen in the background, guiding the viewer into the background of the piece.
  • Background: contains the least action, but is still visually interesting and contains elements that highlight the central figure in the middle ground. The triangular clouds and the white space bringing out the deepness of the black used for the larger figure and her features while the shadows cast on the still ocean frame her lower body. The horizon line creating some contrast to the diagonal and curving lines seen in the fore-and middle ground with the use of sharp vertical peaks rising in the distance.
• Using hierarchic scale, the stature of the rising female figure in the middle etching marks her for importance in contrast to the figures around her.
• The female figure has a darker coloring in relation to those around her. The  smaller figures are lighter in nature- off black- whereas the main figure is a deeper black. Nothing else in the piece is as dark in color as the female figure.
• Positioning of clouds and figures around her mark the large figure out for importance. The triangular shape of clouds emphasizes by creating a frame that centers her head as the focal point of the piece and brings out her darkness through the white and grayness of the clouds.
• The smaller figures contort in relation to the large figure, creating triangular areas of flow in which the eyes travels
  • The figures on the left bend until their bodies until they are almost parallel with the ground. The ropes/ lines the figures are grasping creates a connection between them on the ground and the where when viewing either group draws the viewer’s eyes towards the woman.
  • The figures on the woman’s right are connected through her back. They push her upward, their elongated bodies creating another triangular space that constructs a path viewing from the ground to the figures and then upward towards the woman. These paths of viewing create movements, expressed through the tilt of the central figure body and the tilting of the figures that are hoisting her from the ground.
• The inclusion of the eye on the woman gives expression and life to the figure, it distinguishes her from an otherwise inanimate shrine.
• The darkness of the piece, the heavy use of blacks and grays, invites the viewer to take a closer look. From further away the detailing in the smaller figures, such as the overdrawn lips on the child figure, and the background are washed away when compared to viewing the etchings closer.
  • Concept of viewing and the levels of viewing presents itself multiple times in the work of Kara Walker.
  • The idea of viewing a work and taking in how the visual elements work together to create a beautiful aesthetic, and then delving deeper into the actual construction and minute details of each element.

Kara Walker’s Resurrection with Patrons (2017) is composed of inter playing elements of line, color, and form that come together to emphasize the figure of the protagonists in the main scene of the three panels and create depth. Three etchings unite to create a triptych bringing with it religious connotations and importance to the middle scene. The shows a departure from Walker’s distinct silhouette style, but still carries some elements of the style. The figures in the scene are placed in profile, a characteristic of the silhouette style, but lacks the stark black and white contrast. The use of profile emphasizes the distinct features of the characters in the etching and places on the use of stereotypical racial features, such as large protruding lips, that were historically used for black caricatures in the 18th to mid-20th century. Instead of employing the classical style of silhouette where the outline of the figure is in black and placed against a white background—the patrons are outlined in white and carved against a black background. The design choice allowed Walker to add dimension to these two characters using light gray shadows that accentuate their clothing and their exaggerated features while giving the patrons their own level of importance.  Although the action of the piece is not focused on the patrons, the attention to clothing and addition of detail to the body and face give the patrons their own visual stage. At the same time, the patrons themselves serve to highlight the main narrative and the protagonist in the middle etching. The female and male figures face the middle in profile with their arms extended. The positioning of the hands and arms are an important element to note as they add to the story. The woman’s hand reaches forward, the motion implicated by the bend of the elbow and the gray wash of shadow that creates a break between her breast and arm. The bending of the elbow in contrast to having the arm completely outstretched seems to imply a desire to be a part of scene, or an act of devotion. The male figure does not reach and instead illuminates the scene. The illumination suggested by the candle he holds and legitimatized by in color of the wooden planks in his panel. Unlike the planks seen in the first two etchings which are quite dark, the planks in his panel are gray and the detail on them can be seen easier. The candle acting as a bridge into the scene.

Besides the patrons, the placement of the wooden planks act as a bridge into the scene. The diagonals created by the wooden planks create a sharp dipping angle that opens the scene to the viewer rather than closing it off. The pattern of dark wood textured pieces is broken by the introduction of a free-flowing form that stands in contrast to the linear darkness around it with its splash of white and gray. The slanted lines of the landscape aids in drawing the viewer’s eye deeper into the canvas while creating 3-dimension through a sense of receding space. The textured wooden pieces and the placed the white and gray patch produces an invisible line that originates from the angle of the planks to a rush of white and gray which serves as guide to the large female figure and into the middle ground.The middle ground contains the main action of the piece and houses the central female figure. Almost all figures are in caught is some sort of motion. The smaller figures lean in angles that showcase exertion, those to the front pulling while those to the right push. The protagonist herself is situation in a diagonal line that indicates motion and continues this trend of nonlinear line use. The pattern departs when the attention is shifted to the lone male figure on the right. He stands separated with a straight spine, his body facing the background while his head tilting towards the female figure. His stillness mimicking that seen in the background which guides the viewer into the background of the piece. The background contains the least action, but is still visually interesting and contains elements that highlight the central figure in the middle ground. The triangular clouds and the white space bringing out the deepness of the black used for the larger figure and her features while the shadows cast on the still ocean frame her lower body. The horizon line creating some contrast to the diagonal and curving lines seen in the fore-and middle ground with the use of sharp vertical peaks rising in the distance.

Using hierarchic scale, the stature of the rising female figure in the middle etching marks her for importance in contrast to the figures around her.  She towers over the other figures in the etching and has a darker coloring in relation to those around her. Looking closer at the piece, the smaller figures are lighter in nature whereas the main figure is a deeper black. In fact, nothing else in the piece is as dark in color as the female figure-they are off black . Besides scale and coloring, the positioning of the clouds and figures around her mark the large figure out for importance. The triangular shape of clouds emphasizes by creating a frame that centers her head as the focal point of the piece and brings out her darkness through the white and grayness of the clouds.The smaller figures contort in relation to the large figure, creating triangular areas of flow in which the eyes travels. The figures on the left of the woman bend until their bodies are almost parallel with the ground creating a triangular space of emphasis. The ropes/ lines the figures are grasping creates a connection between them on the ground and the where when viewing either group draws the viewer’s eyes towards the woman. The figures on the woman’s right also frame her in a similar fashion through their connection with her back. They push her upward, their elongated bodies creating another triangular space that constructs a path viewing from the ground to the figures and then upward towards the woman. These paths of viewing create movements, expressed through the tilt of the central figure body and the tilting of the figures that are hoisting her from the ground. The inclusion of the eye on the woman gives expression and life to the figure, it distinguishes her from an otherwise inanimate shrine.

The darkness of the piece, the heavy use of blacks and grays, invites the viewer to take a closer look. From further away the detailing in the smaller figures, such as the overdrawn lips on the child figure, and the background are washed away when compared to viewing the etchings closer. The concept of viewing and the levels of viewing presents itself multiple times in the work of Kara Walker. The idea of viewing a work and taking in how the visual elements work together to create a beautiful aesthetic, and then delving deeper into the actual construction and minute details of each element.

I wrote two sets of notes. The first set are the ones I took looking at the piece for an hour, and the second ones is a rewritten version for the purpose of legibility and organization.

1st Set

Before organizing and making more legible.

Before organizing and making more legible.

Before organizing and making more legible.

2nd Set

Notes after organizing

Notes after organizing

Notes after organizing

Some of the artists I looked into I was introduced to in the Making Africa exhibition at the High Museum last year. Other have just stuck with me through time, and some I encountered in my research of the artists that I knew. At first I was really interested in the Ikire Jones brand and the use of black bodies in classical scenes, in particular the idea of wearable art. Casey helped me tremendously with finding a book on WorldCat and ILLing a book entitled Dandy Lion by Shantrelle P. Lewis. Although looking into black dandyism was interesting, it was not what I was looking for. I liked the concept presented through black dandyism, of using elements that are historically Western in nature and mixing it with an Afrocentric motif or narrative. The idea of subverting an image or using a style deliberately to inserting the black body and narrative into the mainstream narrative through the use of certain medium and aesthetic.

During my research process, I mostly bookmarked pages with information on them that I found relevant and started a bookmark folder for them. When I started reading Dandy Lion, I relied mostly on notes that I will probably transcribe into my word document of ideas. I also inserted images into my word document or saved them in Google images and Artstor. My research style is a bit more interesting. I tend to do a brain dump in the beginning of to just get some sense of where my interests are and where to begin looking. Truthfully, I have not really figured out what elevates one idea over the other. It seems that the ideas that made me ask questions or linked to another field of thought stood out and promoted more research. The intertwining of race, representation, and art became a big one for me. Then it became a game of narrowing it down, which I am still in the process of.

List of possible artists to explore:

Kara Walker

Firelei Báez

Ikire Jones (Wale Oyejide )

Omar Diop

Rashaad Newsome

Kehinde Wiley

I know that I tend to think in sporadic bursts that prompt me to rapidly scribble down ideas on paper or online before they disappear. My research becomes more methodical once I have found something I wanted to explore and I am asking specific questions. That can become one of my weaknesses and strengths. The strength is generating ideas and making connections between subjects and academic fields whereas the  weakness comes from trying jumping from idea to idea. I jump from one idea to another, and sometimes I forget where I was going with the original idea.

Kara Walker

I remember seeing some of Walker’s work at my local museum in my hometown. That was years ago when I was in middle school and at the time I did not fully grasp the scope of her work, but it still left me speechless and unsettled. Years later, her work still leaves me speechless and unsettled, but this time with a sense of understanding.

I relate to Walker’s work on an aesthetic level and on a content/ subject level. Walker uses history and imagery to portray a message.  I connect with her over how she sees connections between the past and the present, and I am intrigued by her ability to create a visual representation of that connection. More importantly, she is able to capture the duality of the South. She captures the beauty of the Antebellum South with the Gone with the Wind elements that conjures, the beauty of a bygone era; and yet, she manages to also encompass the ugly reality of its existence. She takes both these identities and blends them into something indistinguishable from each other. The use of black and white silhouettes simplifies the image and allows the viewer to focus entirely on the meaning of the work and its complexities. It allows for something deeper to slip into the mind and under the skin. She uses not only her art, but projectors in some of her work to literally allow the viewer to become a part of the scene, they are drawn into history.

Her art is good art because it makes the viewer question and feel on multiple levels. You could look at her art and find something new and interesting each time, and it tells a story. It tells a story with a satirical tone with the lovely Gone with the Wind image first, and then something off catches to viewers eye and they sink deeper into the South’s complexities. It is grossly beautiful with a raw and refined edge.

https://art21.org/artist/kara-walker/

https://www.artsy.net/artist/kara-walker

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