Kara Walker explores controversial themes of race, gender, sexuality and violence. She is best known for her appropriation of the silhouette, which she has used in room-sized installations, sculptures and smaller works on paper or here on this pitcher. Walker's work illustrates and overlays racial stereotypes of the past and present; her work not only addresses slavery and racial discrimination in the antebellum South, but also raises awareness to the intrinsic bigotry that still exists throughout the United States.