In September Landmarks, the University of Texas public art program, and the Visual Arts Center (VAC) will collaborate on “The Fact of Fiction,” an exhibition of video artwork by Kara Walker.
Beginning in September, one video a week will be screened continuously in the VAC’s Fieldworks Gallery. The VAC is in the Art Building on the UT campus.
“The Fact of Fiction” is organized by Kanitra Fletcher, Landmarks video curator.
Walker rose to prominence in the mid-1990s with her radical retooling of the 18th-century genre of cut paper silhouettes. Turning this genteel craft on its head, Walker created perverse, panoramic vignettes of stark figures — usually black forms against a white wall — engaged in erotic, racially-charged violence. With unflinching authenticity, they address both the history of American slavery and the persistent, residual racism of today.
The schedule for “The Fact of Fiction” is:
Sept. 25 – Oct. 3
“Testimony: Narrative of a Negress Burdened by Good Intentions,” 2004. Black and white video, 8:49 min.
Oct. 6 – 10
“8 Possible Beginnings or: The Creation of African-America, a Moving Picture,” 2005. Black and white video, sound, 15:57 min.
Oct. 13 – 17
“…calling to me from the angry surface of some grey and threatening sea,” 2007. Video, color, 9:10 min.
Oct. 20 – 23
“Fall Frum Grace, Miss Pipi’s Blue Tale,” 2011. Video, color, sound. 17 min.