Sexually, politically or aesthetically provocative contemporary art is easy to find, but true controversy is rare. For nearly a decade, Kara Walker’s artwork has excited loud response – both enthusiastic and horrified – and is bound to generate even more discussion now that her highly anticipated survey exhibition ‘My Complement, My Enemy, My Oppressor, My Love,’ is open at the Whitney Museum. Pilloried by many African American artists in the late 90s for trafficking in negative black imagery, Walker’s signature installations of black-paper silhouettes on white walls, drawings, projections and texts mine America’s past and present race relations in all their ugly complexity. If you gravitate towards art that demands a personal response from its audience, this is the hottest show in town.
For more information, visit the Whitney Museum’s website: