Weekly Selfie 1-Yosiry Beltre

I couldn't use the kitchen but I wanted to capture the vibe of tirelessly working on something like the picture below, so I just propped up my laptop and took it in my room. 

Yosiry Beltre, Student Life, 2024

Carrie Mae Weems, Kitchen Table Series, 1990 

 Susan Sontag excerpt from On Photography

Quote: "To collect photographs is to collect the world. Movies and television programs light up walls, flicker, and go out; but with still photographs the image is also an object, lightweight, cheap to produce, easy to carry about, accumulate, store."

Response: While photos can be a way to make money like with paparazzis, at the end of the day it's also a way to view things from a person's view. You can tell a lot about a person's preferences and experiences based off of what lighting/angle they use or what/who they take pictures of. 
Quote: "For many decades the book has been the most influential way of arranging (and usually miniaturizing) photographs, thereby guaranteeing them longevity, if not immortality -- photographs are fragile objects, easily torn or mislaid -- and a wider public."

Response: The idea of immortality in photographs reminds me of the practice of Post-mortem photography, where people would pose with their dead loved ones and take a family photo. This was often done because most people didn't have the luxury of taking photos whenever they want, but still they wanted to preserve their image to show future generations. 

Revisiting Carrie Mae Weems’s Landmark “Kitchen Table Series” by Jacqui Palumbo for Artsy
Quote: "This woman can stand in for me and for you; she can stand in for the audience, she leads you into history. She’s a witness and a guide"

Response: The kitchen table series is unique in that regard because it's very authenticly made with a concept that most people can understand. 
Quote: "I think that most work that’s made by Black artists is considered to be about Blackness. Unlike work that’s made by white artists, which is assumed to be universal at its core."

Response: This reminds me of the superhero conversation, because up until recently most protagonists in books, paintings, and Tv shows were typically white westerners. This has the effect of categorizing non-white non-western artists as being the "other" or somehow less relatable. 

NY Times: How Carrie Mae Weems Rewrote the Rules of Image-Making
Quote: "Bodacious manner, varied talents, hard laughter, multiple opinions,"

Response: This is how Carrie Mae Weems describes herself and I have to agree too, her art is full of personality that can't be credited to other artists. 
Quote: "I feel like I’m racing against the clock."

Response: Even though the context behind the quote is just about her massive workload, it can also have a double meaning; most people have had this moment in their life where they feel as though they're not doing things at the age they're "supposed" to, like pursing a certain job or education for example. It doesn't help that society makes it feel like if you don't do things when you're young you'll never be able to do them again.