Carrie Mae Weems Untitled ( Kitchen Series)

The Artist:

Carrie Mae Weems was born in Portland, Oregon in 1953. Before becoming a teenager Carrie Mae began to have an interest in the art of theater and dance. At the age of 16 years old she had her first child. Two years later Carrie Mae moved to San Francisco, then New York with her daughter, but didn't have much luck finding a job so she ended back up in San Francisco. As a birthday gift Carrie received her first camera in 1973. Shortly after beginning her education in photography and design Carrie later earns her bachelors degree at California Institute of the Arts in 1981, then in 1984 her masters from UC, lastly earning her doctorate in 1999. Between the time of her education Carrie Mae had many pieces of work that are now an inspiration to women photographers. Receiving her first major commission Carrie moved to Paris in 1993, then again steps back into New York by 1995 in which he marries Jeff Hoone. Carrie Mae Weems has many of her pieces in travels exhibits as well as exhibits all over the United States. At 59 Carrie is still using photography to empower those around her with her latest pieces on anti-violence, which is a public art project named Operation: Active.

The Work:

The photograph I selected is one shot from a series of work that I think fits very well with my topic of love. The series Untitled (kitchen table series)is a four-part tableau presenting characters in a domestic drama. Focusing on the intimate relationship of an educated working class black women and the space of a kitchen, the series addresses the themes of marriage, friendship, children, and loneliness. (Arnason 765) I felt a great sense of the lack of emotional and physical love between a married couple. The background shows a women who has taken herself to what she would believe to become a more desirable level for her husband, but in which his response shows no interest at all. Along with her expression the pose in which she is standing in gives her much of her character that you can almost read her mind in the amount of disbelief she is in. I also believe the lighting in this piece plays role in poetic imagery as the light fades her into the back ground matching the thoughts of her husband. In reverse the bright light is streaming down over top of the mans head as if the women was hoping that the light above his head signaling that he has some type of active thoughts and doesn't care to stare lifelessly into a newspaper. The empty chair to the right of the table adds a bit of emotion to the scene because it seems as though there are no other chairs around and the same emptiness of the chairs can play off of the woman's emptiness as the presents her sexual frustration. Her work has continued to have a unique power to embody difficult social truths and deep personal experiences. (Canning 55)

My Reaction:

This photograph caught my eye because it felt realistic in its emotion. I believe that this is a photograph that many married individuals can relate to. Love being an emotion can create many negative or positive emotions depending on the current standing of a relationship. Love is a very powerful part of people that can be carried into many motives that other emotions feed off of. I felt as though this photograph depicts the separation of a married couple in a way that isn't usually looked at and is so relevant to many times to come in married lives. Although times have changed you can replace the news paper with a newer technology and you will still fell the strong amount of tension between that man and women. Over all I believe that Carrie Mae Weems is a brilliant Photographer and her work shows a side that I haven't seen before in photography. Weems directs the viewer to those aspects of African American life that she deems important. (Arnason 765)

Work Cited:

Arnason, H. Harvard., and Elizabeth Mansfield. History of Modern Art: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture, Photography. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2010. Print.

Goodlin, Lisa. "Carrie Mae Weems." Carrie Mae Weems. Web. 07 June 2012. <http://carriemaeweems.net/>.

Harper, Glenn. Interventions and Provocations: Conversations on Art, Culture, and Resistance. Albany, NY: State University of New York, 1998. Print.