Slaughter of the Innocents (They Might be Guilty of Something)
- Slaughter of the Innocents (They Might be Guilty of Something)
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Kara Walker addresses the history of slavery and today’s persistent racism through vividly rendered narratives. Using cut-out silhouettes that reflect and confound stereotypes of the Antebellum era, Walker demands that we confront this toxic legacy. Critic Hilton Als has written, “In Walker’s work, slavery is a nightmare from which no American has yet awakened . . . leaving us all scarred, hateful, hated, and diminished.”
Slaughter of the Innocents (They Might be Guilty of Something) is among Walker’s first large-scale compositions mounted on canvas. Here she restages the Biblical narrative, with violence matched by mourning, subjection countered by erotic power.
ProvenanceThe artist; [Sikkema Jenkins & Co., New York]; purchased by MFAH, 2017.
Exhibition History"Sikkema Jenkins and Co. is Compelled to present The most Astounding and Important Painting show of the fall Art Show viewing season!," Sikkema Jenkins & Co., New York, September 7–October 14, 2017.
"Witness," Nancy and Rich Kinder Building Inaugural Exhibition, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, November 15, 2020–November 15, 2022.
Published References Carroll, Rebecca. “Review: The Next Coming of Kara Walker,” WNYC News, September 8, 2017, http://www.wnyc.org/story/review-next-coming-kara-walker/ (illus.) Felsenthal, Julia. “Kara Walker’s New Show Was a Sensation Before It Even Opened,” vogue.com, September 8, 2017, https://www.vogue.com/article/kara-walker-sikkema-jenkins Frank, Priscilla. “Abusive, Cartoonish, Obscene: How Kara Walker Painted Trump’s America,” Huffington Post, September 11, 2017, https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/kara-walker-trump-art_us_59b2d120e4b0dfaafcf7d240 (illus.) Hewitt Ward, Allison. “Kara Walker and the New History Painting,” Brooklyn Rail, October 4, 2017, www.brooklynrail.org/2017/10/artseen/Kara-Walker-and-the-New-History-Painting Hirsch, Faye. “Sikkema Jenkins: Kara Walker,” Art in America 105, no. 10 (November 2017): 105. Mzezewa, Tariro. “Kara Walker Is Tired of Talking. But Her Canvases Scream,” The New York Times, September 14, 2017. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/14/opinion/kara-walker-is-tired-of-talking-but-her-canvases-scream.html Pickney, Darryl. “Black Lives Matter,” The New York Review of Books, November 9, 2017, http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2017/11/09/kara-walker-black-lives-matter/ (illus.) “Praise, Controversy and Criticism for Kara Walker's New Show,” The Takeaway, September 18, 2017, http://www.wnyc.org/story/kara-walker/ (illus.) Rosenberg, Alyssa. “Kara Walker’s work is meant to drive you crazy. That’s what makes it great”, The Washington Post, October 3, 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/act-four/wp/2017/10/02/kara-walkers-work-is-meant-to-drive-you-crazy-thats-what-makes-it-great/?utm_term=.ff9db8be9ba7 Saltz, Jerry. “Kara Walker’s Triumphant New Show Is the Best Art Made About This Country in This Century,” vulture.com, September 6, 2017, http://www.vulture.com/2017/09/kara-walker-sikkema-jenkins-and-co.html Smith, Roberta. “Kara Walker Traces Slavery’s Bitter Legacy With New Ways of Drawing,” The New York Times, September 9, 2017 https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/07/arts/kara-walker-sikkema-jenkins.html Thomas, Selin. “Kara Walker’s Nightmares Are Our Own,” The Paris Review, Oct 4, 2017, https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2017/10/04/kara-walkers-nightmares/ Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
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