I am performing this role of the artist and this role of the 'negress' coming into a white-box institution. It's kind of a self-appointed role: the self-designated negress.
Kara WalkerRead
Once you open up the Pandora's box of race and gender... you're never done.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The exploration of race and gender issues can lead to ongoing and complex discussions that are never fully resolved.
Kara Walker's quote suggests that once individuals begin to engage with the intricate and often contentious topics of race and gender, they find themselves in an endless journey of discovery and discussion. The metaphor of 'Pandora's box' implies that these topics contain multiple layers and challenges that cannot simply be closed or resolved easily; instead, they require continuous examination and dialogue as new perspectives and issues arise.
Themes
RaceGenderDiscussionComplexityDialogueSociety
In practice
Example use cases
During a seminar on social justice, one could use this quote to emphasize the importance of continually addressing issues of race and gender.
More from Kara Walker
All quotes →There's no diploma in the world that declares you as an artist—it's not like becoming a doctor. You can declare yourself an artist and then figure out how to be an artist.
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I didn’t want a completely passive viewer. Art means too much to me. To be able to articulate something visually is really an important thing. I wanted to make work where the viewer wouldn’t walk away; he would giggle nervously, get pulled into history, into fiction, into something totally demeaning and possibly very beautiful
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Sugar crystallizes something in our American Soul. It is emblematic of all Industrial Processes. And of the idea of becoming white. White Being equated with pure and ‘true’ it takes a lot of energy to turn brown things into white things. A lot of pressure.
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I was making big paintings with mythological themes. When I started painting black figures, the white professors were relieved, and the black students were like, 'She's on our side.' These are the kinds of issues that a white male artist just doesn't have to deal with.
Kara WalkerRead
It feels like a game, this work I do. It is totally heartfelt, and I love the sticky terrain, the straight-up cartoons, how the irrepressible and icky rise to the surface. But I am not just trying to call forth bugaboos and demons for the sake of it, for fun.
Kara WalkerRead
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