<I>The Katastwóf Karavan</I>
date: label: Date
content: 2017
name: label: Created by
content: Kara Walker, American, born 1969
notes: label: Caption
content: This is a maquette of the life-size work Katastwóf Karavan, which first appeared as an installation at Algiers Point on the bank of the Mississippi River in New Orleans as part of Prospect New Orleans triennial. Algiers Point once served a holding area for enslaved persons before their sale and the sculpture functioned as a temporary memorial. The "katastwóf" of the title is a Haitian Creole word translating to "catastrophe" in English. The sculpture houses a calliope, a steam-powered musical instrument that was once used for amusement aboard steamboats. Walker programmed the calliope to play music for three days, including songs such as Jimi Hendrix’s “Freedom” and “Down by the Riverside” and various original music and songs performed by artist and musician Jason Moran.
label: Description
content: This is a painted laser-cut stainless-steel maquette in the shape of a 19th century caravan cart. The rectangular, black cart has four wheels, four sides, and a slightly peaked roof. The wagon depicts a violent story of slavery with each of the four sides presenting a different scene depicted in black, laser-cut silhouette figures.
label: Description
content: One long side of the cart depicts a line of four figures of varying heights, three male and one female, tied together by the necks. The front individual stands slightly bent forward with both hands held out in front of him; the two middle figures have their hands bound behind them; the female figure is last with her hands also held out in front of her. Facing them are three figures seated on each other's shoulders. The topmost individual, wearing tails and a brimmed hat, wields a long whip as he points at the bound figures. The scene is surrounded by a silhouette of tall trees and foliage with a crescent moon in the night sky above them.
label: Description
content: One short end of the cart depicts a the figure of a woman standing in profile with one arm raised above her head. Her other arm is bent and her hand grasps at the tall plants growing around her. She wears a headscarf and a wide skirt, the latter of which is split by a tall narrow plant growing up the center of the skirt. The opposite short side of the cart depicts the figure of the same woman laying in a prone position. Her head is thrown back, her arms raised, and her legs spread. Bolls of cotton rise from her body to float above her.
label: Description
content: On one long side of the cart is a scene of two figures carrying a third, prone figure between them. The male figure holding the feet has an iron slave collar around his neck, with a bell tied to it. The figure carrying the head is a young girl; she raises a spoon-like implement in one hand. A fourth figure crouches above the scene, among the tree branches and vines that overhang the scene, reaching down to pull out the heart of the prone figure.
place: label: Place made
content: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
label: Cultural Place
content: Haiti, Caribbean, Latin America
label: Place depicted
content: Algiers Point, New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Art
label: Topic
content: Slave trade
label: Topic
content: Slavery
label: Topic
content: Technology
label: Topic
content: Violence
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Visual Arts
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2022.4
objectType: label: Type
content: maquettes
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: © Kara Walker
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: steel with paint
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D: 9 1/8 × 14 5/8 × 5 1/2 in. (23.2 × 37.1 × 14 cm)