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
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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote explores the symbolic meaning of sugar in relation to American culture and the pressures of conforming to ideals of purity and whiteness.
Kara Walker's quote reflects on the deeper implications of sugar beyond its physical form, suggesting that it symbolizes the industrial processes that shape society and the values that equate whiteness with purity. The statement raises questions about the societal pressure to conform to certain ideals and the significant effort required to achieve these imposed standards, particularly in the context of race and identity. The choice of the word 'brown' as an oppositional concept highlights the struggle faced by those who do not fit into the constructed notion of 'whiteness' and the sacrifices demanded to alter one's identity.
Themes
SugarWhitenessPurityIdentityPressureIndustrializationSoul
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about racial identity, one might quote this to emphasize societal pressures.
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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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.
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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.
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Once you open up the Pandora's box of race and gender... you're never done.
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