The art of carrie mae weems gets a major salute from the cleveland. Decaravas depictions of harlem in his book with langston hughes. Weemss recent blue notes series 201415 features blurred and obscured images of black icons. Carrie mae weems born 1953 is an american photographer and artist. Carrie mae weems is a contemporary american artist. Traveled to aka renga cultural center, fukuoka city, japan. Carrie mae weems, nee le 20 avril 1953 a portland, est une artiste afroamericaine. Carrie mae weems work is amazing, but this catalog does not do it justice. A 2006 rome prize from the american academy made possible a. Carrie mae weems has 14 books on goodreads with 140 ratings. Carrie mae weems from here i saw what happened and i cried 1995 not on view these four photographs are part of the work from here i saw what happened and i cried, an elegiac sequence of images and text that addresses photographys complicity in the reinforcement of racist ideas. They anchor my being, ground my existence, widen the path, feed and nourish, and the best reveal both the limits and the expanse of our humanitythey are powerful objects.
Image courtesy of the artist and jack shainman gallery, ny. Polaroid corporation, american, founded 1937 cambridge, massachusetts, sold, polaroid collection sale, sothebys, new york, june 21, 2010, lot 168, to daniel. Carrie mae weemss most popular book is class pictures. A lot of the images and text are so small that the images are difficult to decipher and some of the text is impossible to read. Find an indepth biography, exhibitions, original artworks for sale, the latest news, and sold auction prices.
Published by the fabric workshop, philadelphia, pa. I look at women, directed by carrie mae weems, 5min lincoln, lonnie, and me, directed by carrie mae weems, 15min art21, art in. Carrie mae weems untitled colored people grid 20092010. Narrative and storytelling is in the blood, declares carrie mae weems. Carrie mae weems, untitled colored people grid, 200910 september 2016. The screening will be followed by a conversation with weems and former moma curator laurence kardish. Apr 05, 2014 the strength of weems work, evident throughout the guggenheims 30year survey, lies in its subterranean resistance. In this work weems juxtaposes a black and white photograph with an alternate version of a line from the story of snow white.
Weems has also used fabric, text, audio and digital images as mediums in her work. Carrie mae weems is the 2017 recipient of the edward hopper citation of merit for visual artists, presented by governor andrew m. Eliciting epic contexts from individually framed moments, weems debunks racist and sexist labels, examines the relationship between power and aesthetics. Carrie mae weemss vibrant explorations of photography, video, and verse breathe new life into traditional narrative forms like social documentary, tableaux, selfportrait, and oral history. Similar themes can be found in weems work spanning from american icons 19881989 to from here i saw what happened and i cried. And the people at maruani mercer, carrie mae weems. Carrie mae weems reflects on her seminal, enduring kitchen. In an interview with cleveland npr affiliate wcpn weems tells dee perry that by using her own family, she was really trying to describe this family as a real family. Though known for work that tackles questions of race and gender, she says it addresses unrequited love and the human condition. Kitchen table series is the first publication dedicated solely to this early and important body of work by the american artist carrie mae weems. It focuses on subtle racist figurings from americas past. Her awardwinning photographs, films, and videos have been displayed in over 50 exhibitions in the united states and abroad, and focus on serious issues that face african americans today, such as. Mar 21, 2012 carrie mae weems created the following photo series american icons between 1988 and 1989.
Determined as ever to enter the picture both literally and metaphoricallyweems has sustained an ongoing. Cuomo and the new york state council on the arts in recognition of her significant artistic contributions to the state of new york. The 20 photographs and 14 text panels that make up kitchen table series tell a story of one womans life, as conducted in the intimate setting of her kitchen. Carrie mae weemss work has appeared in major exhibitions at the getty museum, the whitney museum, the williams college museum of art, and the museum of modern art, among others.
Black radical women, 196585, at the california african american museum, carrie mae weems. Her work has not gone unnoticed as shes been in numerous exhibitions, received awards such as the bet visual arts award and was the 2014 honoree for achievement in fine art from the lucie awards. Another series called american icons, completed in 1989, also focused on racism. One of her first projects, family stories is a series of pictures of weems own family, accompanied by textual commentary and audio interviews and was completed from 19781983. For over thirtyfive years, weems has developed a complex contemporary ongoing dialogue addressing issues of cultural identity, sexism, political systems, family. Carrie mae weems is still producing work, still challenging societal norms and using her artwork as a means to bring attention to overlooked topics. Carrie mae weems born april 20, 1953 is an american artist who works with text, fabric, audio, digital images, and installation video, and is best known for her work in the field of photography. It is often tough and intractable, but rarely in direct ways. Strategies of engagement examines this eminent american artists diverse and innovative career through both celebrated and rarely exhibited projects made during the last thirty years. Wikipedia entry introduction carrie mae weems born april 20, 1953 is an american artist who works with text, fabric, audio, digital images, and installation video, and is best known for her work in the field of photography. Collection of the museum of modern art, new york, gift on behalf of the friends of education of the museum of modern art. See available photographs, prints and multiples, and design for sale and learn about the artist. They were one of many bodies of works that she focused on to portray africanamerican life and the racism it endured on a subconscious level. Her next series, 1998s american icons, featured elegant still lives of ugly.
Artist carrie mae weems has used photography to explore national and personal history, using herself and her family as standins to explore common narratives, and using the medium as a tool to. Through a mixture of archival personal photos and the artists first major photodocumentary series, family pictures and stories, weems takes the viewer on a personal journey through her childhood in the 1950s to a broader examination of the history of black subjects in photography in the series from here i. Carrie mae weems on using photography to peel back the image. We turn to it constantly, whether you are listening to music, or pop in a film. The series aint jokin and american icons from the late 1980s. Carrie mae weems reflects on her seminal kitchen table series decades after she photographed it, just in time for its first standalone book release. The strength of weems work, evident throughout the guggenheims 30year survey, lies in its subterranean resistance. Carrie mae weems american photographer carrie mae weems is an american artist who works with text, fabric, audio, digital images, and installation video but is. How carrie mae weems rewrote the rules of imagemaking the. Among the recipients of the 20 macarthur fellowships is carrie mae weems, whose varied interests and skills encompass photography, film and activism. Oct 30, 2014 untitled eating lobster, 1990, by carrie mae weems photograph. Weems, who is probably best known as a photographer, initially studied modern dance. Carrie mae weems and the politics of photography bitch media. Carrie mae weems international center of photography.
Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. See more ideas about carry on, american artists and photography. Apr 16, 2020 carrie mae weems, born april 20, 1953, portland, oregon, u. In a career spanning two decades, photographer carrie mae weems has. In carrie mae weemss photographs, revelation and resistance. A photograph from kitchen table series, the seminal body of work carrie mae weems created in 1990, set a new artist record today. Black photography annual, a book of images by africanamerican photographers. Pr i wasnt interested in the act of performing before i made this series, i just thought of myself as the most convenient subject. Womens representation of women, curated by dana friishansen and yuko hayashi, sapporo american center gallery, sapporo, japan. She earned a bfa from the california institute of the arts, an mfa from the university of california, san diego and continued her studies in the graduate program in folklore at the university of california, berkeley. The kitchen, one of the primary spaces of domesticity and the traditional domain of women. This exhibition is presented at the edward hopper house to commemorate that honor. Carrie mae weems created the following photo series american icons between 1988 and 1989.
Carrie mae weems born april 20, 1953 is an american artist who works with text, fabric, audio. Sep 25, 20 among the recipients of the 20 macarthur fellowships is carrie mae weems, whose varied interests and skills encompass photography, film and activism. Mar 6, 2014 carrie mae weems is an american artist who is best known for her work in the field of photography. Henry art gallery, joseph and elaine monsen photography collection, gift of joseph and elaine monsen and the boeing company, 97. This thesis examines how mirror mirror, by carrie mae weems, draws attention to and breaks down the prevailing notions of racial difference. Primarily working in photography and video, but also exploring everything from verse to performance, weems has said that regardless of medium, activism is a central concern of her practicespecifically, looking at history as a way of better understanding the present. Awards include the anonymous was a woman award, the skowhegan medal for photography, the rome prize fellowship, and the pollackkrasner foundation grant in photography. Carrie mae weems american icons stevesocialchangeblog. In a career spanning two decades, photographer carrie mae weems has garnered impressive art world success. A fullcolor, visual book, titled carrie mae weems, was published by yale university press in october 2012.
Untitled eating lobster, 1990, by carrie mae weems photograph. Carrie mae weems american artist and photographer britannica. Around the kitchen table carrie mae weems combines performance and narrative to dynamic effect. In a new show, carrie mae weems takes on hollywood the. Carrie mae weems blue black boy from colored people 1989. Carrie mae weems, born april 20, 1953, portland, oregon, u. Carrie mae weems is an internationally renowned artist, best known for her work in photography. Over the past four decades carrie mae weemss artistic practice has centered on the use of photography to explore issues of race, the body, and the power structures that shape the way we understand the world. See more ideas about american artists, photography and carry on. They were one of many bodies of works that she focused on to portray african american life and the racism it endured on a subconscious level. Family pictures and stories 1983, is not jokin 1988, american icons 1989, the kitchen table series 1990. In sea islands series, made in the early 1990s, weems photographically explores the spiritual and cultural life of the gullah people living off the. In a new show, carrie mae weems takes on hollywood the new.
Allison unruh associate curator, mildred lane kemper art museum. Steeped in african american history, carrie mae weems s works explore issues of race, class, and gender identity. Reflections for now, which premiered at the spoleto festival last year and came to the kennedy centers eisenhower theater on friday night, shines a. Carrie mae weems s most popular book is class pictures. Considered one of the most influential contemporary american artists, carrie mae weems has investigated family relationships, cultural identity, sexism, class, political systems and the consequences of power. Her worksmore than a dozen major series and hundreds of individual piecesexplore issues of racism, sexism, and oppression, and blend the boundaries of history, anthropology, and beauty. Carrie mae weems quotes showing 12 of 2 art is the one place we all turn to for solace.
Steeped in africanamerican history, carrie mae weemss works explore issues of race, class, and gender identity. Revisiting carrie mae weemss indelible series almost three. Welcome to the official website of artist carrie mae weems. Carrie mae weems, the edge of time ancient rome, 2006, digital ctype print, 1.