Beginning as Challenge
When I started, no one wanted to see what I was doing. But I believed this story had to be told
Kara Walker
American artist known for her monumental silhouettes exploring American slavery and racial trauma through cut black paper.
All moments: Kara Walker
- Shadow as Voice — Kara Walker
A silhouette is both erasure and spectacle. Black paper is my paint for pain and beauty
- Hope Through Darkness — Kara Walker
Art doesn't have to be comfort. It can be challenge, it can be pain, but that is truth
- Voice of the Erased — Kara Walker
My work speaks for people whose voices were erased from history. I give them a place to be seen
- Imagination Unfiltered — Kara Walker
The dark side of imagination is precisely where creativity happens. We must go there
- Language Without Words — Kara Walker
Silhouettes don't need words. They speak to what words cannot express
- The Right to Fail — Kara Walker
The worst that can happen is rejection. But rejection is part of the process, and I have learned to accept it
Related moments
- Documenting History — Questlove
As a documentarian, I feel a responsibility to preserve the history of Black music and culture
- Birth of a Legend — Paul McCartney
The Beatles were about growth. We changed every single day.
- All Music Is Folk Music — Louis Armstrong
All music is folk music. I ain't never heard a horse sing a song.
- The Art of Service — John Legend
As an artist, I see my role as serving humanity and raising my voice for justice
- Alien Artist — David Bowie
I never tried to fit in. I prefer to be myself, even if it's alien.
- Humble Beginnings — Paul McCartney
Nobody believed in us at first. We just believed in ourselves and the music.