The End of Uncle Tom and the Grand Allegorical

Tableau of Eva in Heaven (1995)

 What is installation art ?
1. Installation art is an artistic genre of three-dimensional
works that are often site-specific and designed to
transform the perception of a space.
2. The term installation art is used to describe large-scale,
mixed-media constructions, often designed for a specific
place or for a temporary period of time.
3. Installation art is a modern movement characterized by
immersive, larger-than-life works of art. Usually,
installation artists create these pieces for specific
locations, enabling them to expertly transform any space
into a customized, interactive environment.

Rachel Whiteread, Embankment

at Tate Modern, London
 Biography of the artist
Kara Elizabeth Walker is an African American installation artist who explores
race, gender, sexuality, violence and identity in her work. She uses large paper
silhouettes to express social issues such as genders, race and Black history. Her
masterpiece has caught many attention and making her one of the leading artistic
voice on the subject of race and racism.

One of her artwork is Slaughter of the Innocents Kara Walker, the artist behind
(They Might be Guilty of Something) The End of Uncle Tom.
 Themes
● The theme for The End of Uncle Tom and the Grand Allegorical Tableau of Eva in
Heavenis racism and the enduring legacy of slavery in modern society.
● To convey messages about these themes, Walker uses the methods of paper
silhouettes and shadow to portray life-sized silhouettes to engaged in acts that are
violent, sexual and horrific. Walker also uses silhouetted stereotypical imageries
such as hyper-sexualised black women, thick-lipped black women and petticoat-
wearing white women.
● To portray these graphic scenes, Walker is not only fearless of exposing the human
form but she also refuses to shy away from the brutalities of slavery on African
American.
 History & Cultural Context
● Historical racism is the hallmark , ranging from the
racist history of slavery during the antebellum era to
modern day racism.
● In The End of Uncle Tom and the Grand Allegorical
Tableau of Eva in Heaven, is a visual retelling of Harriet
Beecher Stowe’s 1852 Uncle Tom’s Cabin novel.
● Stowe’s novel shows an almost romanticized picture of
slavery, portryaing those enslaved as docile, simple, and
religious whereas Walker’s piece shows the horrific
impact of slavery on the enslaved, such as sexual abuse,
violence, torture and humilation. Title page for Volume I of the
first edition of Uncle Tom's
Cabin (1852)
Miguel Covarrubias, lithograph
illustration for Harriet Beecher
Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin; or,
Life among the Lowly (New York:
Limited Editions Club, 1938),
facing page 236.

This illustration,
depicting Uncle
Tom's antagonist
Simon Legree
looming over, and
perhaps preparing
to beat, Tom,
appeared in the
1853 edition of the
book.
 Explanation

One child has left the group and is making her way, with
A woman, her
rhythmic defecation, toward three adult women who are
body ripped
naked to the waist and nursing each other. A baby girl falls
vertically in half.
from the lap of one woman while reaching for her breast.
 An adult man raises his hands to the sky, begging for deliverance, and
delivers a baby. A second man, obese and legless, stabs one child with
his sword while joined at the pelvis with another. A trio of children play
a dangerous game that involves a hatchet, a chopping block, a sharp
stick, and a bucket.
 Source
● https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Installation_art
● https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/i/installation-art
● https://mymodernmet.com/what-is-installation-art-history-artists/2/
● https://www.biography.com/artist/kara-walker
● https://afterlivesofslavery.wordpress.com/visual-art/the-end-of-uncle-tom-and-t
he-grand-allegorical-tableau-of-eva-in-heaven/
● https://magazine.artland.com/installation-art-top-10-artists/
● http://nearlygod-driven.blogspot.com/2012/08/art-review-end-of-uncle-tom-an
d-grand.html
● https://content.ucpress.edu/chapters/13091.ch01.pdf