Flower Silhouette

Ira Blount · 2008

A flower surrounded by stems and branches supporting eleven mature leaves is the central focus of this image. Though paper silhouettes were common in the 1800s, artist Kara Walker “revived” the medium in the 1990s in her work’s exploration of Blackness, gender, violence, and sexuality. Both the traditional craft and modern revival of silhouetting may have influenced Ira Blount in making this piece. In this image, Blount subverts the rigid gendered assumptions of the nineteenth century by embracing women’s domestic arts and encouraging others to free themselves from the limitations of labels by experiencing the joy of crafting.