Idea No. 7 Narrative

A narrative is essentially a story. Storytelling in art is much more instantaneous than in literature because the unfolding of plot takes place through a quick visual rather than pages and pages of writing. Art as a narrative can do much more than traditional story telling with its multiple viewpoints, representation of time in a single scene, or physical representation of an abstract story.

I immediately thought of Kara Walker and her silhouettes that reference history, literature, culture, and the darker aspects of human behavior. I admire her style and use of narrative as a theme. While the themes of her narratives are sometimes racial in nature, the piece is all the more powerful because of her use of white and black colors only.