Inspirer: Kara Walker

Kara Walker is my newest inspiration. At first glance, her work would seem simple, or perhaps even playful. But with close examination, the viewer can find that her work really is complex, emotional and deeply disturbing.

Sex and violence and racism are all portrayed shamelessly in her massive cut paper murals, through nothing more than silhouettes.

Her eye for shapes is admirable and I hope to convey as much feeling as she does in my next project. In the project I have to do a black and white scene using only silhouettes just as Walker creates. Her inspiration was really something to me, so I thought I would share.

Here is an interesting interview:

Watch Stories on PBS. See more from ART:21.

Inspirer: Leonora Carrington

I have taken a lot of inspiration from this woman, suddenly. Her name was Leonora Carrington. Sadly, she passed away last year. She was a painter, and an incredibly interesting human being. Her work was typically surreal, a style of which I have always been fond of.

"Who Art Thou, White Face?"

The above painting I am particularly drawn to. Much of her work is extremely mesmerizing to me.

Oh, and just in case anyone is feeling especially generous and cares to donate to the "Alicia Is Too Poor To Buy Herself Interesting Things Fund" then I shall have you know that I desperately want to own this:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Hearing-Trumpet-Leonora-Carrington/dp/1878972197

It is a children's book called The Hearing Trumpet, written and illustrated by Leonora Carrington. Admittedly, I took interest because of this excerpt: “You may not believe in magic but something very strange is happening at this very moment. Your head has dissolved into thin air and I can see the rhododendrons through your stomach. It’s not that you are dead or anything dramatic like that, it is simply that you are fading away and I can’t even remember your name.” 

That is about all I can find from the book as well. But anyways, if you're interested, here is a nice blog post with many good examples of her work: http://timeisart.org/?p=306