Question 1

True or false: Kara Walker's signature medium is large-scale cut-paper silhouettes, a technique Kara Walker invented entirely on her own.

Accepted Answer

False. Silhouette art existed long before Walker, but she revived and subverted it to critique antebellum stereotypes. Not her invention.

Question 2

True or false: Kara Walker's primary artistic medium is cut-paper silhouettes.

Accepted Answer

True. Kara Walker is best known for her life‑size cut‑paper silhouettes that explore race, gender, and history.

Question 3

True or false: Kara Walker created a giant sugar sphinx at a former Domino Sugar Factory.

Accepted Answer

True. In 2014, Kara Walker unveiled 'A Subtlety', a massive sphinx made of sugar, commissioned by Creative Time for the Domino Sugar Factory in Brooklyn.

Question 4

True or false: Kara Walker was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in 1997 at the age of 27.

Accepted Answer

True. She received the MacArthur Fellowship in 1997 at age 27, recognized for her provocative silhouettes exploring race and gender.

Question 5

True or false: Walker once created a life-size sugar sculpture of a Black woman sphinx for the Domino Sugar Factory.

Accepted Answer

False. Her 2014 installation 'A Subtlety' was a monumental 35-foot-tall sugar sphinx, not life-size.

Question 6

True or false: Kara Walker won a MacArthur Fellowship in 1997.

Accepted Answer

True. Kara Walker received the MacArthur 'genius' grant in 1997 at age 28, making her one of the youngest recipients.

Question 7

True or false: Kara Walker created a series of watercolors based on the 1915 film 'The Birth of a Nation' to critique its racist imagery.

Accepted Answer

False. Kara Walker's watercolor series 'The End of Uncle Tom' critiques stereotypes from the novel 'Uncle Tom's Cabin', not the 1915 film 'The Birth of a Nation'.

Question 8

True or false: Kara Walker's art is limited to hand-cut paper silhouettes.

Accepted Answer

False. While Walker is famous for hand-cut silhouettes, she has also worked with video, digital projections, and other media, such as in 'Fall Frum Grace, Miss Pipi's Blue Tale' (2011).

Question 9

True or false: Kara Walker's sculpture 'A Subtlety' was made entirely from dark chocolate.

Accepted Answer

False. 'A Subtlety' was constructed from white sugar (polystyrene coated with sugar), not chocolate. The sugar theme referenced the history of sugar and slavery.

Question 10

True or false: Kara Walker received the National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama.

Accepted Answer

False. Kara Walker has never received the National Medal of Arts. The award has gone to other artists, but not to Walker.

Question 11

True or false: Kara Walker's silhouettes are always exactly life‑sized human figures.

Accepted Answer

False. Kara Walker's silhouettes vary widely in scale, from small hand‑cut paper to large‑scale wall installations. They are not all life‑sized.

Question 12

True or false: Kara Walker's first major museum retrospective was held at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Accepted Answer

False. Kara Walker's first major retrospective, 'My Complement, My Enemy, My Oppressor, My Love,' was organized by the Walker Art Center in 2007, not MoMA.

Question 13

True or false: Walker was once sued by a descendant of a slave owner depicted in one of her silhouettes.

Accepted Answer

False. No such lawsuit exists. While her work has sparked debates, there is no record of a descendant suing her.

Question 14

True or false: Walker's work has never been shown outside the United States due to its controversial themes.

Accepted Answer

False. Her art has been exhibited internationally, including at the Tate Modern in London and the Venice Biennale.

Question 15

True or false: Kara Walker’s first major museum exhibition was at the Whitney Museum of American Art when Kara Walker was 23.

Accepted Answer

False. Her first major museum show was at the Renaissance Society in 1997; the Whitney exhibition came later, in 2007.

Question 16

True or false: Kara Walker was born in Stockton, California.

Accepted Answer

True. Kara Walker was born on November 26, 1969, in Stockton, California, and later grew up in Atlanta, Georgia.

Kara Walker Trivia Questions