Africa in America

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More About

• Seattle Art Museum
• Oliver Jackson
• Marita Dingus
• Kara Walker
• Racial Issues

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This small but varied exhibit explores issues integral to African-American art in the late 20th century: the legacy of slavery, the nature of displacement, and the interplay of ethnic and personal identity. The sculptures and paintings here run the gamut from rage-filled didacticism to subtle imagery. James W. Washington Jr.'s bird sculptures are intensely spiritual, while Kara Walker's disturbing silhouette, I'll Be a Monkey's Uncle (pictured), transforms stereotypes into highly personal symbols of anger. Ellen Gallagher's not-so-abstract painting, Host, employs lips and eyes in a very nuanced exploration of her biracial background; meanwhile, Oliver Jackson's huge, furious volcano of a painting can be seen as both an explosion of fury and a transcendent creative frenzy. The centerpiece of the show is Marita Dingus' powerful collection of small fabric torsos, 400 Men of African Descent. Each of the headless dolls is meticulously individual, and though the composition recalls the brutally tight conditions of slave-trading ships, there's also a binding unity about the piece that offers a vision of hope and strength. Seattle Art Museum, 100 University St., 206-654-3100. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sun.; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Thurs.