Collection in Context: Silhouette, Studio Museum in Harlem, New York (2007)

Silhouette: Collection in Context presents a selection of photographs, drawings and sculptures from The Studio Museum in Harlem’s permanent collection. This topical look at the silhouette in various artistic forms highlights its potential as a poignant and poetic art form.

In the work of a number of Black artists, this graphic form has resurfaced as a means to explore the polarized positions of the oppressor and the oppressed, and the power plays of exploitation, accommodation and complicity. Artists, such as Kara Walker, have adopted the antiquated medium of the silhouette to revive discussions surrounding identity, the antebellum South and slavery. This theme is also visible in For Whom the Bell Curves (2006), Robert Pruitt’s wall sculpture made entirely of gold chains that loosely trace slave trade routes from Africa to Europe and the Americas. (This work, a part of Silhouette, is on display downstairs in the lobby.) Hank Willis Thomas, who manipulates logos and brands from African-American advertisements, encourages the viewer to “look harder and think deeper about the empire of signs that have become second nature.” In his digitally manipulated photograph, Who Can Say No to a Gorgeous Brunette? (1970/2007), the 1970s afro silhouette, a symbol of African-American pride, retains its power even today.

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Image: Silhouette: Collection in Context, 2007. Installation view. Photo: Adam Reich

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Collection in Context: Silhouette, 2007
Studio Museum in Harlem

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‍Christine Y. Kim © 2026. Site Credit: Common Space