Make Money or Make a Difference
February 19, 2018
Larry Walker, Make Money or Make a Difference, 1995. Collage; mixed media
Make Money or Make a Difference is reminiscent of poster-plastered walls that often cover urban streets. This aesthetic effect of Larry Walker’s use of collage is a distinguished trait in his art, sometimes paying homage to the likes of Robert Rauschenberg. His paintings incorporate found remnants of posters, newspapers, magazines, paper announcements and so forth to create a cohesive composition in which the color, texture, shape and value of the found materials work harmoniously. This approach is evident in Make Money or Make a Difference. The images, text and paint are structured to engage the viewer. On the lower right side of the composition, one may read the text “Make Money or Make a Difference,” a statement that also serves as the title. Walker has noted that some words in his artwork are insignificant, but often times they are used to “assist the viewer’s response or frame of reference.” The integration of text into the work allows the ideas to resonate with the viewer. “Make Money or Make a Difference” may serve its audience subjectively– possibly as a wake-up call or as a motto worth pondering. The phrase sits above an image of laborers either returning to or from work. This juxtaposition suggests a relationship between the average working-class individual and the question of survival that determines if one should continue making money to support their livelihood, or if they can make a difference and change unfair societal and economic patterns. Concern for the human condition is a prevailing theme in Walker’s work. Issues of racial violence, pop culture, and politics all fall under this thematic umbrella, as they are inevitable in the human condition and society today. He relates his art to Rauschenberg and Raymond Saunders, insisting that “one can find attitudinal and methodological connections” to their works.
In 1954 Larry Walker came to Wayne State University to study drawing and painting. After two years in the program, he redirected his interests to education and graduated with a B.S. in Art Education in 1958. Walker’s life in Detroit did not slow down there. After years of teaching for Detroit Public schools, he returned to Wayne State to pursue a graduate degree in painting and drawing; an achievement made while supporting a family, teaching full time, working a part time job, and exhibiting in the local art scene. Walker acknowledges that he gained a lot during his time at Wayne State, and he applauds many of his former instructors, including Wayne Claxton, David Mitchell, Mary Jane Biegler, Peter Gilleran, G. Alden Smith, Louise Jansen Nobili, and Dr. Francis Villamane, to name a few.
Larry Walker’s art has been exhibited in a number of notable institutions, including the Studio Museum in Harlem and the Los Angeles County Museum. This Summer and Fall (2018), the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia will hold a major two-part retrospective of Walker’s work, to be open from June 1 - July 31 and August 11 - October 22.
Written by Danielle Cervera Bidigare