Kara Walker debuts her provocative silhouette installations

In 1994, Kara Walker debuted her large-scale black paper silhouette installations depicting antebellum scenes of slavery with graphic, disturbing imagery that forced a reckoning with American history. Her work sparked fierce debate in the art world and broader culture, and at age 27 she became one of the youngest recipients of the MacArthur 'Genius' Fellowship. Walker transformed the genteel Victorian silhouette form into a searing critique of race, gender, and violence in American history.