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| Vee Hughes, Dorm, 2024 |
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| Carrie Mae Weems, Kitchen Table Series, 1990 |
1. “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.”
a. This quote made me think about how photographs have changed to be- for the most part- purely digital. As a child growing up, we only had photographs printed and I remember the excitement of receiving our printed photos in the mail, pasting them in journals and adding my own captions with pencils in the margins. Now so much media is digitized but even now I love printing my photos, taking polaroids and photo booth pictures and hanging them on my walls. Something about the image being an object makes it so much more valuable in my opinion.
2. A photograph passes for incontrovertible proof that a given thing happened.”
a. This quote made me think of the historical concept that all humans want is to be recognized for their existence. My roommate is a history major and we discuss the topic often; how handprints in caves and modern graffiti on the street serve the same message “I was here”. Photographs serve the same purpose. It’s why we take pictures of important days, to look back and remember. Sometimes photographs can even unlock hidden memories in a person. They are very powerful.
Revisiting Carrie Mae Weems’s Landmark “Kitchen Table Series”
1.“ ‘Everyone can relate to this work,” Sann said. “It’s not just Black women; it’s white women, Asian women. Men can see the women in their lives—memories from their childhood or scenes from their marriage or their family life. It’s so universal and yet representation like this is so rare.’ ”
a. This quote made me think about how ‘slice of life’ is one of my favorite genres. I think there’s something so captivating about art that shows just the mundanity of life. This kind of art acts as a mirror allowing a great number of people to see themselves and their lives reflected through this art.
2.“But it was also a seminal moment for Black representation in art, influencing an entire generation of artists who rarely saw their own selves reflected back on museum walls.”
a. This quote is so important as it addresses the history of racism in the professional art world which still carries out today. Representation is so important, especially in artistic spaces. White people have been the central focus of American and European spaces for generations and uplifting BIPOC artists is so important.
NY Times: How Carrie Mae Weems Rewrote the Rules of Image-Making
1.“This marginalization, being categorized as “black artist” or “woman artist” rather than simply artist, is something Weems has dealt with her entire career.”
a. This quote really rang true to me. Oftentimes people in marginalized groups are reduced to a label. This continues through almost all kinds of professions. This even made me think of how there are specific labels created for women in professions. Like ‘waitress’ instead of ‘waiter’. Or how some professions' names are even catered to men such as ‘fireman’ and ‘policeman’.
2.“Harvard, which initially threatened to sue Weems over the use of images from its archive, later ended up acquiring a portion of the series for its collection.”
a. This quote was disappointing but not surprising to discover. Large corporations and institutions, especially PWI’s, casual racist ideals come out far too often. The fact that the university seemed to switch up on Carrie Mae, likely only after her art was widely accepted by the public, is jarring to hear about.
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