Artwork Title: After Manet
Artist: Carrie Mae Weems
2002-2003, chromogenic print on paper, Museum purchase made possible by the W. Hawkins Ferry Fund, 2004/2.3
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Weems explores the subjects of gender, identity, and racism in her work, questioning stereotypes and received ideas that influence popular opinions about race in the United States. The title of this piece is a play on words, implying that it is simultaneously "after" Manet in chronology and influence, but also "goes after" the nineteenth-century French painter with criticism. Here, the central figure recalls Manet's Luncheon on the Grass and Olympia — in the latter a nude woman reclines on a couch, offering her body to admirers while a dark-skinned woman proffers a bouquet of flowers in the background. In After Manet above, the Black female subjects play a central role, evoking a sense of youthful confidence. Weems presents her subjects both as empowered and independent, visions of freedom and optimism, owned by no one.
Weems has said of her art that she aims to write a new history by "linking figures to a historical narrative or tradition, and re-examining that tradition by putting in someone who was never there."
Reflection Prompts:
- As the United States kicks off Black History Month, it's important to remember and honor the lives and the impact of Black individuals throughout human history. Why might it also be important for individuals and society to write and envision new, more complex histories about our past?
- The Weems photograph above is inspired by but also critiques a famous image in the Western canon of "classics." But, more simply, it also captures a lazy afternoon in the park. In the middle of a snowy pandemic Winter, it can be easy to get lost in daydreams of warmer weather. What is the first thing you'll do outside once the weather turns warmer?
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Meet "Lucynder"
Nigerian artist Olawale Ololade Moshood (aka Ladetive), has taken a page from Weems' book and reimagined Da Vinci's Mona Lisa. His Lucynder, which recasts the famous image with a Nigerian model of the same name, recently went viral on social media.
Of course, Ladetive and Weems aren't the only artist to recast the Western canon. Ethiopian-American artist Awol Erizku received wide praise and acclaim for his 2009 print "Girl With A Bamboo Earring," and others have been remaking history in their own image for centuries.
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Artist Carrie Mae Weems has partnered with the Detroit-based Library Street Collective to present an art-driven public-awareness campaign throughout the city "to educate and enlighten Black, Brown, and Native American communities on the impact of this deadly virus on their lives."
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© Library Street Collective |
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WATCH: A History of Violence, Heave |
In February of 2019 UMMA and the Stamps School of Art & Design sponsored a talk from Weems where she discussed her complex body of work that centers on her overarching commitment to helping us better understand our present moment by examining our collective past.
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