Seeing the Unspeakable

“[A] rich, careful, and important exploration of one of America’s most significant artists: Kara Walker. . . . Seeing the Unspeakable is especially important for readers interested in how the suppression of African American art history has influenced contemporary artists.” - Christine Hamm , Altar Magazine

“[T]his is a measured and always interesting account of what is constantly challenging work.” - Alan Rice, Journal of American Studies

“As we work like Kara Walker to build a just and post-racist society, this important artist is discussed thoughtfully and appreciatively by a serious scholar in a well-written book.” - Michael R. Mosher , Leonardo Reviews

“Shaw has created a useful and readable text that provides entry points into understanding Walker’s art and the discourses surrounding it. Her excavations of the various aspects of Walker’s work are carefully written and engaging to readers who are familiar with African American history, culture, and art history as well as those who are learning about these sources for the first time through Walker’s art. She has managed to organize a truly unwieldy subject, allowing it to maintain its dynamism while discussing it in a digestible fashion. Seeing the Unspeakable is a fascinating study of Walker’s art and a model for further examinations of the challenge of contemporary art.”
- Bridget R. Cooks, CAA Reviews

"[A] timely collection of essays dedicated to disentangling the intricacies of Kara Walker's disturbing and evocative artworks. . . . DuBois Shaw's book should be appreciated as the first notable attempt to position Walker's impressive body of work solidly within a rigorous scholarly framework."

- Derek Conrad Murray , Parachute

"Shaw's 'reading' of [Walker's work] is intriguing and seemingly flawless. . . . Those interested in art history and issues of race and representation will surely find this book rewarding, but possibly unsettling." - KaaVonia Hinton , Foreword Reviews

"Shaw's book places [Kara Walker's] work within a larger artistic canon, which contextualizes the significance of her works and the phenomenal artistic talent. . . . [A]ccesible. . . . [E]venhanded. . . ." - Tracey Lewis , Black Issues Book Review

“Seeing the Unspeakable is an extremely important work. Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw is the first writer to place this controversial young artist’s work firmly in an art historical perspective. She combines careful scrutiny of the art’s formal traits with wide-ranging iconographic analysis, canny theoretical interpretation, and a revelatory examination of the work’s critical reception. The result is an extraordinary piece of scholarship.” - Judith Wilson, University of California, Irvine

“It is not easy to write a scholarly work on a living artist whose talent for generating controversy at times obscures her formidable creative talent. However, Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw has done it, with remarkable intelligence and style. She brilliantly contextualizes Kara Walker’s work in terms of art history and African American history in a book that will be of tremendous value to scholars across many disciplines.” - Henry Louis Gates Jr., Harvard University