Thursday, January 30, 2014
Why Carrie Mae Weems Doesn’t Want Your “Black” Art Exhibitions (or Your Women’s Shows Either)
The annual rite of February’s African-American History Month in America feels more and more like a mixed blessing with each passing year. On one hand, setting aside time to learn the story of Jackie Robinson,
for example, ensures that the story of the struggle won’t be forgotten.
On the other hand, what does designating a specific month for
African-American history say about the other months? Can we and should
we really compartmentalize history in this way? Similarly, when
well-intentioned museums stage group exhibitions for African-American
and/or women artists, does the value of making up for past wrongs
outweigh the continuation of using such categories? Artist Carrie Mae Weems, subject of the exhibition Carrie Mae Weems: Three Decades of Photography and Video, the first solo retrospective ever of an African-American woman artist at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City,
believes that the time for racial- and/or gender-based shows is over.
Why Carrie Mae Weems doesn’t want your “black” art exhibitions (or your
women’s shows either) may help end the days of such curatorial practices
and open up a new way of seeing not just these artists, but difference
itself. Please come over to Picture This at Big Think to read more of "Why Carrie Mae Weems Doesn’t Want Your “Black” Art Exhibitions (or Your Women’s Shows Either)."
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