News
Kara Walker: The Emancipation Approximation at the Castellani Art Museum
The Castellani Art Museum will present an exhibition of The Emancipation Approximation by Kara Walker from February 15 – May 31, 2009. The Emancipation Approximation consists of twenty-six 34” x 44” prints, composed in the style of silhouette cut-outs. The title references Lincoln’s 1863 Emancipation Proclamation, freeing the slaves in the later stages of the Civil War.
Born 1969, Kara Walker has taken her place at the forefront of the contemporary art scene trailing a storm of controversy, alternating between derision and praise for her work. From her small, intense drawings to her wall-scale paper silhouette cutouts, she presents a range of racial and sexual narratives that are provocative, unsettling and often difficult-to-view. Her works convey an uneasy mixture of historical facts and fiction that engage the viewer in an unsettling dialogue about the nature of racism and sexism in our culture and in our nation’s history. Emancipation Approximation Series is on loan from the Albright-Knox Art Gallery.
This compelling art exhibition will spark discussion on issues of racial intolerance and social injustice, as well as America’s legacy of slavery. An opening reception for The Emancipation Approximation will be held from, 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, February 22, 2009.
