Carrie Mae Weems
(Book)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

"Since the 1980s, the artist Carrie Mae Weems has challenged the status of the black female body within the complex social fabric of American society. Her photographic work probes various spaces from the American kitchen table, to the historical archives of the Hampton School, to the ancient landscapes of Rome. Tugging at established roots of power that perpetuate violence and injustice, Weems's photographic portraits of her muse have not only become iconic, but she has become a rallying voice for change through her engaged performances, video work, and convenings. This October Files volume brings together critical essays and interviews that explore Weems's work, shedding light on her interventions in the fields of photography, African American art, and the institutions that shape the field of art history at large. Essays by Deborah Willis, Erina Duganne, Sarah Lewis, Robin Kelsey, Katori Hall, Salamishah Tillet, Dawoud Bey, and Jennifer Blessing that probe the underpinnings of photographic history in Weems's work, primarily focusing on her earliest series from the 1980s and 1990s, including The Kitchen Table series. Texts by Yxta Maya Murray, Kimberly Juanita Brown, and Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw that reconsider how Weems engages the photographic archive as in From Here I Saw What Happened series, historical spaces in Roaming and The Louisiana Project, or the legacy of critical aesthetic concepts like the sublime in art history. Engaging beyond the art object, Huey Copeland, Coco Fusco, and Thomas Lax consider Weems's impact of the space of her exhibitions by making connections between installed work and the institutions. Interviews also operate as a critical form of analysis for Weems's body of work, so we have included a variety of more-recent interviews with fellow photographer Dawoud Bey, MET social media manager Kimberly Drew, and acclaimed Curator Thelma Golden, among others. These essays not only provide a clear glimpse at the writing on Weems, but also indicate numerous horizons on how to interpret her work for future scholars"