MY ART CURATORIAL

Garcia Simpson

Art Appreciation

CURATORIAL STATEMENT

Silhouettes are all around! You may not have noticed but

if you look carefully you can see them in posters, on the side of

buses, in instruction manuals, the internet, on book jackets and

even your shadow. Artist love them because, with just a simple

outline, they evoke an immediate presence of a real individual

without the overburden of irrelevant detail. They draw us in,

creating a sense of the familiarization, while at the same time

receding into the shadows: Leaving us to concentrate on the main

message of a design.

SILHOUETTES

Capturing the essence of one’s thoughts and

ideas into art masterpieces is what artist share in their

craft of expertise but

how they create, manipulate and bring to life their magic

is what sets them apart from each other. Charles Burns,

Kara Walker and Karl Johnson are three such artist that

have mastered this craft and taken it to the next level!

CHARLES BURNS

BIOGRAPHY

Born in London 1961

Degree in Fine Art (painting) (1984)

Worked as a street artist

The Roving Artist (Mike Herbet)

WORKS

A set of caricatures cut at a student ball.1993, Black cardstock with white background,5 x 8 inches

S I L H O U E T T E S C A N F O R M A H I S T O R I C A L L Y - A C C U R A T E A D D I T I O N T O A W I D E R A N G E O F G E O R G I A N , R E G E N C Y , A N D

V I C T O R I A N E V E N T S

Full-length freehand silhouettes cut at a Jane Austen event in Bath. 1993,Black cardstock, 6 x 8 inches

“ A m o d e r n - d a y s i l h o u e t t e a r t i s t l o o k s a t t h e s u r p r i s i n g w o r l d o f t h e s h a d o w p o r t r a i t a n d a s k s " w h e r e d i d i t c o m e

f r o m ? “C H A R L E S B U R N S , R O V I N G A R T I S T

Self-Portrait, 2012,Black card stock and Real-life photograph,8 x 10 inches

KARL JOHNSON

BIOGRAPHY

Born California in 1955

Taught by his father

Worked for Hong Kong Disney

Sight impaired (Right eye)

Works featured in national publications/TV shows

REPRESENTATIONAL

Wedding Couple cut free hand by looking at photo, 2001, archival quality acid free paper, 11 x 14 inches

REALISM

Robert Wagner (composer), 2003,archival quality acid freePaper, 16 x 20 inches

Imagination is the Key!

“Family Afloat”,2002, archival quality acid free Paper,16 x 20 inches

KARA WALKER

BIOGRAPHY

Born in California 1969

BFA (1991) MFA (1994)

John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

award

Professor at Columbia University MFA program

C H A R A C T E R S D I S P L A Y P O W E R S T R U G G L E S O F A L L K I N D S : P H Y S I C A L , E M O T I O N A L , P E R S O N A L ,

R A C I A L , S E X U A L , A N D H I S T O R I C A L .

“Excavated from the Black Heart of a Negress, 2002, cut white paper on black background,6 x 8 feet

C O M P O S I T I O N S P L A Y O F F S T E R E O T Y P E S A N D P O R T R A Y, O F T E N G R O T E S Q U E LY, L I F E O N T H E

P L A N T A T I O N, M A S T E R S A N D S L A V E S E N G A G E I N A P R O F O U N D LY U N S E T T L I N G H I S T O R I C A L S T R U G G L E .

Darkytown Rebellion, 2001, Black cut paper with color projection, 14 x 37 ½ feet

“ I ' M N O T R E A L L Y A B O U T B L A C K N E S S , P E R S E , B U T A B O U T B L A C K N E S S A N D W H I T E N E S S , A N D W H A T T H E Y M E A N A N D H O W T H E Y I N T E R A C T W I T H O N E A N O T H E R

A N D W H A T P O W E R I S A L L A B O U T. ” K A R A W A L K E R

Slavery! Slavery!1997, cut black paper on wall, 12 x 85 feet

REFERENCES

Sayre, Henry. “A World of Art,” 2012, 7th Edition (Prentice Hall)

The Roving Artist: Silhouette Cutting as Art and Entertainment, 2014

http://www.roving-artist.com (CB)

Cut Arts, “Original silhouette art by master scissor artist Karl Johnson.” 2014.

http://www.cutarts.com (KJ)

ArchiveWalkerWalker, “Rise Up Ye Mighty Race.” 2014.

http://arttattler.com/archivewalkerwalker.html (KW)

The Art of Kara Walker, “A Companion to the Exhibition.” 2014.

http://learn.walkerart.org (KW)