Negress Notes (Brown Follies)

Negress Notes (Brown Follies) is a series of watercolors created by American artist Kara Walker between 1996 and 1997. Walker is known for her use of cut-paper silhouettes, collage, drawing, painting, performance, film, video, shadow puppetry, light projection, and animation to explore themes of power, race, and gender.1

Her work, including Negress Notes (Brown Follies), often uses racist caricatures and disturbing scenes from the antebellum American South, which has drawn criticism from some African American artists. Walker has stated that her intention is not to create pleasing images or provide easy answers, and that the silhouette form, like stereotypes, conveys significant meaning with minimal information. Her art challenges viewers by presenting complex issues of slavery, violence, and sexuality in a provocative manner.1