A Subtlety

The project was commissioned by Creative Time and underwritten by New York-based real estate development company Two Trees, and was built with donated materials.

[1] The exhibition sparked conversations about the show's audience, the gentrification of Brooklyn, and the work's themes of race, sexuality, oppression, labor, and the ephemeral.

[2] The Domino Sugar Refinery site is owned by real estate developer Two Trees, and the bulk of the facility had been slated for demolition as part of the redevelopment.

[4] Creative Time selected Walker both because "[they] had been trying to get her to sign on to a public artwork for many years" and due to "the obvious historic connections between her work and the site".

Entrance to the exhibit required signing a waiver due to the asbestos and lead found in the structure, which was inhaled by those attending.

Salome Asega and Sable Elyse Smith, New York-based artists, organized a visit to the site for people of color who might otherwise have felt uncomfortable in the space given the behavior of the audience and the lack of structured guidance by Creative Time.

One piece of the sphinx, the left hand, was retained and shown in November 2014 at Sikkema Jenkins, the gallery which represents Walker.

Jamilah King, writing for Color Lines said "...it's reassuring that so many white people have a vested – or at least passing – interest in consuming art that deals with race.

"[12] This audience caused a major aspect of this controversial piece as they posted insensitive posts including "...jokes about the sphinx’s vagina or gag pictures where the subject pretends to pinch [the sphinx's] ass"[13] as well as a general insensitivity by those in the audience not found at other sites commemorating tragedies, such as the September 11 Memorial.

[13] Betye Saar stated she "felt the work of Kara Walker was sort of revolting and negative and a form of betrayal to the slaves,” in 1999 after staging a writing campaign against A Subtlety.