Overview

Chicago is home to more intact African American street murals from the 1970s and 1980s than any other U.S. city. Among Chicago’s greatest muralists is the legendary William “Bill” Walker (1927–2011), compared by art historians to Diego Rivera. Francis O’Connor, America’s foremost mural historian, called Walker the most accomplished contemporary practitioner of the classical mural tradition that runs from Giotto to Rivera. Though his art could not have been more public, Walker maintained a low profile during his working life and virtually withdrew from the public eye after his retirement in 1989. Author Jeff W. Huebner met Walker in 1990 and embarked on a series of insightful interviews in 2008. Those meetings form the basis of Walls of Prophecy and Protest, the story of Walker’s remarkable life and the movement that he inspired. Featuring thirty-five color images of Walker’s work, this handsome edition reveals the artist who was the primary figure behind Chicago’s famed Wall of Respect and who created numerous murals that depicted African American historical figures; protested social injustice; and centered imagination, love, respect, and community accountability.

Full Product Details

9780810140585

Table of Contents

Reviews

Jeff W. Huebner's important, well-researched and affectionate Walls of Prophecy & Protest: William Walker & the Roots of a Revolutionary Public Art Movement goes a long way toward making sure that Walker and the origins of the community mural trend don't get lost in the fog of the past. --Patrick T. Reardon, Third Coast Review Huebner's Walls of Prophecy and Protest preserves a moment in time since eroded by financial pressures and systemic racism . . . Scholars interested in African American history and culture, public art, social protest movements, or memory will find this an engrossing, albeit often tragic, read. --K. B. Hannel, Saint Leo University in CHOICE Jeff W. Huebner's meticulously researched, clearly written book, Walls of Prophecy and Protest: William Walker and the Roots of a Revolutionary Public Art Movement . . . elucidates Walker's life and the historical, political and social environment on the South Side of Chicago where many of his murals were painted. Huebner parses the murals, most no long extant, and narrates the building of community among collaborating artists and in the streets as Walker painted . . . Huebner has a journalist's gift for narrative, and while he hits all of the important art historical points, compelling stories give his account a sense of human drama . . . --Janina Ciezadlo, New Art Examiner Without a doubt this book is the most important work written on William Walker. It illuminates how living and caring on the South Side of Chicago shaped Walker and how deep his national impact on mural making as a social practice was in the second half of the twentieth century. --Kymberly N. Pinder, author of Painting the Gospel: Black Public Art and Religion in Chicago

Huebner successfully addresses the conflicts Walker created and addressed when he insisted on representing the challenges of systemic racism and black poverty instead of just positive imagery . . . The author enables the reader to see that the desire to see public art as both uplifting and a call to action were Walker's endless tug of war as an activist and an artist. --Kimberly N. Pinder, Professor of Art History, University of New Mexico

Author Information

Jeff W. Huebner is an arts journalist, freelance writer, and regular contributor to the Chicago Reader. His articles and occasional reviews have also appeared in ARTnews, Public Art Review, Sculpture, Chicago magazine, and the Chicago Tribune. He is the author of Murals: The Great Walls of Joliet and the coauthor of Urban Art Chicago: A Guide to Community Murals, Mosaics, and Sculptures and Chicago Parks Rediscovered. In July 2017, Huebner and seven other writers were the first recipients of the annual Dorothea and Leo Rabkin Foundation award, which supports arts criticism and journalism.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available