Watercolor References

Kara Walker - I'll Be a Monkey’s Uncle

This piece is called "I'll Be a Monkey's Uncle" by Kara Walker. It was created in 1996. It's lithograph on paper and is 39 3/4 x 35 inches. It depicts a seemingly young African-America female with unkempt hair wringing out a rag and a monkey in men's clothing reaching out towards her, its tail wrapped around it and pointing at the girl. The piece is in black and white.

The black and white coloring leaves for a very simple look of  silhouettes.The composition is very symmetrical, and has each character on opposite sides of the paper. In stance of the monkey seems threatening to the girl, and the monkey seems to be pointing towards her with both its tail and hands.

It feels like this piece is supposed to represent racism. Firstly with the name, it shows how white people had closely related black people as monkeys.