Waite 1

Nicole Waite
Janet Fotu
5 Page Paper
October 5, 2016
Deborah Butterfield:
Born: May 7, 1949
Studied at: University of California
Now lives in: Bozeman, Montana and Hawaii
What two questions would you ask Ms. Butterfield about her art?
1. I would ask her why it is that the only thing she sculpted was horses and didnt ever do
any other animal or object.
2. I would also want to ask which one of her horse sculptures was her favorite/ which
material was her favorite to sculpt with.
What answer might she give from what you have read about her on the Internet?
Be sure to include an image of her work.
I feel like the first question she would answer saying that horses are just probably her
favorite animal doubling as her muse, I dont quite know what she would say for the second one,
I couldnt really find anything that said if she had a favorite type of material or not.

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Louise Nevelson:
Born: September 23, 1899
Studied at: Arts Student League of New York
Now lives in: She was living in New York when she died
What two questions would you ask Ms. Butterfield about her art?
1. I would want to ask her about her artwork in general, just what made her want it to be so
abstract and random.
2. I would really like to know why she did most of her sculptures in the darker colored
material versus a lighter color or multiple colors
What answer might she give from what you have read about her on the Internet?
From what I could find out about Louise Nevelson, the first question would be answered
easily. She would use stuff she found in the streets and assemble them in a way to show freedom
of expression as a political act. The second question though, I couldnt really find anything about
that, all I could find was that she would work with monochrome paint, that was particularly
black.

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Kara Walker
Born: November 26, 1969
Studied at: Rhode Island School of Design, Atlanta College of Art
Now lives in: She lived in California but doesnt show where she is now
What two questions would you ask about art?
1. I would ask her what made her want to do this type of artwork that looks like shadows or
silhouettes
2. I would want to know if when she is making her work if she bases them more as like a
cartoon ish shape or a realistic shape
What answer might she give from what you have read about her on the Internet?
Be sure to include an image of her work.
Reading about Kara and her artwork, I found out that her silhouettes are actually telling
stories about the history of American slavery with racism and violence through the unsettling
imagery. Her art shows the realities of the history so I would believe that she tries to make the
people in the images seem real and not like cartoons.

1. Reaction: This piece of artwork by Kara Walker I chose is a really deep piece and you

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can see that there is a strong story behind it and there is a lot of meaning to it
2. Perceptual Analysis:
a. Representation: The material she uses for her art is a white background with
black paint to form the silhouettes.
b. Formal Analysis: You can see that she has put so much detail into each shape
and figure. You can really see what she is trying to show you even though you cant see
every single detail in the pictures.
c. Formal Characterization: The different art works she has each tell their own
little story but they all connect, because her art is all based off of slavery in America and
racism. You can see the pain certain figures have and give while others arent showing
pain but joy in inflicting the pain.
1. Personal Interpretation: This image means that from what you can see just in it is that
the African Americans were treated poorly at all ages not just adults. You can see that
this little girl is in pain and she is being treated in such a way that would not be
acceptable at all today.
2. Contextual Examination: The history to this piece is just like I said before, Slavery in
America, with discrimination and violence towards the enslaved. In this particular image
it is an older man with a young girl probably elementary age if even that.
3. Synthesis:
a. Resolution: I think that theyre both right, I think that what you see from your
personal interpretation is also actually from the contextual examination. With some

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images it may not be that way where they both work to be correct but I believe that with
this one it takes both.
1. Evaluation:
a. Is the work successful? : Yes I think that her work was very successful in
showing what she had wanted to show, about the violence and racism there was. She
portrayed it very well in her work.
b. Is theme significant to us as human beings? : Yes I believe that the theme is
very significant to us as human beings, we learn about this kind of stuff in school all the
time and having this kind of art showing us what some people see when they think of it
helps remind us how awful it was that it happened.
c. How have your perception of and/or preference for the work changed?: My
perception and preference of the work havent really changed at all when I look at it I still
see it how I saw it to start with. It was an amazing piece of artwork, there was a lot of
meaning to it as well as telling a story.

Source: Anderson, T. (1993). Defining and Structuring Art Criticism for Education,
Studies of Art Education, 34(4), pp. 199-208.