Selfie with Carrie Mae Weems (Wednesday 2/3)

 

 

Carrie Mae Weems is best known for her black and white Kitchen Table series.  She created pictures that symbolize her life.  Carrie is at a table sitting with her head into her knees because it seems like she had a hard day or she’s going through something.  She’s sitting alone at the table with a glass of wine.  Each one of Carrie photos has a meaning behind it.  Carrie is alone because she probably needs a break from everything.  I recreated this photo because it shows a lot of emotion. I choose the Hookah to replace the wine because if I have a hard day I usually smoke some hookah to calm my nerves.  

 

Article: When Artist Create Flags 

1. “ Where all people have dignity, regardless of their nationality.

2. “The resilience of the human spirit to survive” 

Article: Painting with words, writing with colors

1. “This is my way of marketing the experience, something I see over and over again in my daily life.”

Selfie with Carrie Mae Weems

 

“In teaching us a new visual code, photographs alter and enlarge our notions of what is worth looking at and what we have a right to observe” Sontag 

“To photograph is to appropriate the thing photographed. it Means putting oneself into certain relation to the world...” Sontag 

“In the final scenes (of the kitchen table series), alone, she locks eyes with the camera, she finds pleasure, and comfort, with herself.” Weems (palumbo) 

“Weems’s black and white photographs are like mirrors, each reflecting a collective experience: how selfhood shifts through passage of time... ...the roles that women accumulate and oscillate between; how life emanates from the small space we occupy in the world.” Palumbo on weems

“Cindy was one of the first to explore the idea of malleability or fluidity of identity.” Hoban on Cindy Sherman 

“Artistic personae can not only be instantly created but also instantly animated and disseminated. Art via avatar.” Hoban on Sherman 

Selfie with Carrie Mae Weems

 

Carrie Mae Weem, Nude, 1990

Mayra Rodriguez, "Nude", 2021

Revisiting Carrie Mae Weems’s Landmark “Kitchen Table Series”

 

“She’s alone, folding into herself, a half-empty bottle of wine in front of her. She laughs with her friends, their movement leaving spectral trails across the frame. She sits with her young daughter, both hunched over their writing, resting a weary head in her hand. In the final scenes, alone, she locks eyes with the camera. She finds pleasure, and comfort, with herself.”

 

“She moves from lover to friend to mother and to herself, alone. She commands the stage—she plays a woman aware of the viewer, sometimes stealing a glance while others remain oblivious, at other times directly confronting the camera.”

 

The Cindy Sherman Effect

 

“She inspired a generation of younger artists to explore their own identities across a range of mediums.” 

 

“That’s what I see as one of her great strengths—the theatrics of camera vision. And she played it out incredibly, and then she just used that as the stepping-stone to take it further and further and further out.”

 

Susan Sontag- On Photography

 

“Photographs alter and enlarge our notions of what is worth looking at and what we have a right to observe.”

 

“To collect photographs is to collect the world.”

Selfie with Carrie Mae Weems

 

Carrie Mae Weems, "Kitchen Table Series", 1990

Chinoyerem Opara, Kitchen Table, 2021

    The photo above by Carrie Mae Weems inspired me to remake one of her photos I found most interesting. In the "Kitchen Table Series" the photos describe much of the experience of a black women's selfhood. All the photos in the series tell an experience or situation which I find fascinating. I guess it is true that a photo has a million words. The photo I recreated shows to me that it is okay to be alone. She is playing cards to keep her mind awake and also drinking a glass of wine to relax. Being alone gives you the opportunity to learn more about yourself and what makes you happy.

Susan Sontag

"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."(

"Photographs are perhaps the most mysterious of all the objects that make up, and thicken, the environment we recognize as modern." 

Carrie Mae Weems’s Landmark “Kitchen Table Series”

"Weems’s black-and-white photographs are like mirrors, each reflecting a collective experience:...the roles that women accumulate and oscillate between; how life emanates from the small space we occupy in the world." (Palumbo.)

"Men can see the women in their lives—memories from their childhood or scenes from their marriage or their family life" (Palumbo.)

The Cindy Sherman Effect

"Sherman’s coup was to cast herself as subject matter, making each of her staged characters the star of an implicit narrative, from the lush color centerfolds that followed the “Film Stills,” in 1982, to the strangely sexualized “Broken Dolls” of the ’90s." 

"By deconstructing and reinventing portraiture, which in itself was something of a dead genre when she arrived on the scene, Sherman influenced not only photographers but also painters and performance and video artists."

selfie with Cindy Sherman

1- Cindy

2- Me

“Finally, the most grandiose result of the photographic enterprise is to give us the sense that we can hold the whole world in our heads.”

“To photograph is to appropriate the thing photographed.”

Viewers may not be able to see the world outside of the kitchen’s walls, but her characters are trying to navigate it all the same.

“I knew that I was making images unlike anything I had seen before, but I didn’t know what that would mean,” she told W.

Originally painters painted self-portraits, and then she kind of blew it open with photographic portraiture.

I still like the idea of challenging myself through the more hands-on methods, only because I think it’s more challenging when you are limited.

            Photography is our new way to document our precious moments and everything we find it value and want it to be remembered. Taking picture is not only for places or other people but it can be used for selfies. Selfies are all about us, how we express our feelings, mood swing. Our reactions and facial expression just change every moment and in different situations, by selfies like Carrie Mae Weems.

I picked up one of Cindy Sherman because she was having a deep look or maybe she was thinking about something important. I can be just like sometimes looking into my life what it would bring to me and what I am supposed to do with my future.

work cited:

“Cindy Sherman: MoMA.” The Museum of Modern Art, www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/1154.

Editorial, Artsy, and Jacqui Palumbo. “Why Carrie Mae Weems's ‘Kitchen Table Series’ Is a Landmark of Contemporary Art.” Artsy, 19 Aug. 2020, www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-revisiting-carrie-mae-weemss-landmark-kitchen-table-series.

Hoban, Phoebe. “The Cindy Sherman Effect.” ARTnews.com, ARTnews.com, 18 Nov. 2019, www.artnews.com/art-news/news/the-cindy-sherman-effect-505/.

Susan Sontag, www.susansontag.com/SusanSontag/books/onPhotographyExerpt.shtml.

 

Selfie with Carrie Mae Weems

 

    I was inspired to recreate this picture because to me it shows deep emotion. When I looked at this picture it made me think about the hard day she might have had, the stressors that caused her to sit in her seat in that manner, how many glasses of wine she may have had to make herself feel better and if she was crying or not. After seeing this piece it made me think about all the days I was curled up and stressed about everything and what I did to make myself feel better.

Susan Sontag “On Photography”

“To collect photographs it to collect the world”

“The most grandiose result of the photographic enterprise is to give us the sense that we can hold the world in our heads”

Carrie Mae Weems “Kitchen Table Series”

“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”

“Everyone can relate to this work, It’s not just black women, it’s White women, Asian women.”

The Cindy Sherman Effect

“ I think I was part of a movement, a generation and maybe the most popular one of that movement at the time..”

“Now we all take it for granted that a photograph can be Photoshopped. We live in the era of YouTube fame and reality-TV shows and makeovers, where you can be anything you want to be any minute of the day, and artists are responding to that. Cindy was one of the first to explore the idea of the malleability or fluidity of identity.”

Selfie with Cindy

I wanted to recreate this photo of Cindy as she seems to be standing alone in a big, busy city. Cindy spent a lot of time growing up by herself and I thought this picture captured that. The look on her face shows her searching or looking far into a distance. Although I was looking at the camera, I wanted to still portray that mysterious, rather gloomy look.
 

Selfie with Cindy Sherman

 

Self Mirror Image 

 

My Self Mirror Image  

 

Susan Sontag- On Photography

"Even when photographers are most concerned with mirroring reality, they are still haunted by tacit imperatives of taste and conscience."

"Photographs really are experience captured, and the camera is the ideal arm of consciousness in its acquisitive mood."

Revisiting Carrie Mae Weems’s Landmark “Kitchen Table Series”

"Weems’s black-and-white photographs are like mirrors, each reflecting a collective experience"

"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."

The Cindy Sherman Effect

"-and by limiting her subject matter strictly to herself, while at the same time excavating countless permutations, she inspired a generation of younger artists to explore their own identities across a range of mediums"

 "Cindy Sherman has shown herself to be the ultimate master of self-morphing, utilizing everything from old-fashioned makeup and prosthetics to digital technology, inventing and portraying extraordinary alter egos and multiple identities that brilliantly reflect our image-saturated culture"

Selfie with Carrie Mae Weems

Carrie Mae Marrie, Kitchen Table Series, 1990

Susan Sontag “On Photography”

“To collect photographs is to collect the world.”

“Photographs really are experience captured, and the camera is the ideal arm of consciousness in its acquisitive mood.”

This article showed how powerful a picture is and that in reality, it holds many captured memories. Every photograph has a story or something to learn from it. 

Carrie Mae Weems “Kitchen Table Series”

“And from that table, a fictional life unfolds, with Weems playing the lead role.”

“Viewers may not be able to see the world outside of the kitchen’s walls, but her characters are trying to navigate it all the same.”

Carrie Mae Weems “Kitchen Table Series” was famously known for the stories behind the photograph. The story of a Black woman and her experiences. Weems played a major role.

The Cindy Sherman Effect

“Here we were, women coming out of the woodwork. She mirrored my state of mind at the time, a woman artist who was tired of all the bravado of the male-dominated art world.”

“A group of mostly women happened to be the ones to sort of take that on, partly because they felt excluded from the rest of the [male] art world”

Cindy Sherman had made a major effect in the art world, changing still life photographs. It influenced many young artists and inspired many women. Since women during Sherman’s time weren’t really part of the art world. 

 

Arianna Perez, Kitchen Table, 2021

Selfie with Carrie Mae Weems

 

     

                                         1) Carrie Mae Weem's Photo 

                                                2) My Photo 

        

                   The photographs from  Carrie Mae Weens "Kitchen Table Series" inspired me to remake one of them which were all in black and white. In this particular photo you see a mother reflecting on her daughter while sending her a message about doing homework. These particular photographers were made like mirrors each of them reflective on something very different such as selfhood and the roles of women but it also speaks about black representation in art. Carrie Mae Ween's just set a camera in her kitchen and began taking many pictures of her changing roles in her life. The black and white scheme adds the final touch as these pictures were taken back in 1990.  These photos are similar because at the time of the photo I was telling my niece to do her homework, in which sometimes I do find myself being the mother figure for my nieces when it comes to certain situations. 

Revisiting Carrie Mae Weems’s Landmark “Kitchen Table Series " - the series is not limited to a particular perspective. “I think [the series is] important in relationship to Black experience, but it’s not about race,”. 

"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.” 

Susan Sontag excerpt from On Photography - "Photographs furnish evidence. Something we hear about, but doubt, seems proven when we're shown a photograph of it. In one version of its utility, the camera record incriminates. Starting with their use by the Paris police in the murderous roundup of Communards in June 1871, photographs became a useful tool of modern states in the surveillance and control of their increasingly mobile populations."

"While a painting or a prose description can never be other than a narrowly selective interpretation, a photograph can be treated as a narrowly selective transparency. But despite the presumption of veracity that gives all photographs authority, interest, seductiveness, the work that photographers do is no generic exception to the usually shady commerce between art and truth".

The Cindy Sherman Effect by Phoebe Hoban for ArtNews- “I think I was part of a movement, a generation, and maybe the most popular one of that movement at the time, but it probably would have happened without me,” 

"Sherman’s paradigm shift was one step ahead of technology. Her kaleidoscopic investigation of the essence of her own—and, by extension, society’s—identity complex has relied on ingenuity, not gigabytes".

        

Selfie with Cindy Sherman

 

1) Cindy Sherman Photo 

2) My photo 

    The photograph inspired me most to remake one of Cindy Sherman photos were one of her black and white portraits.  In this photo I see a young women frowning towards the camera.  Cindy Sherman created this photo because she use to get lonely back then.  She also didn't have that many friends back then and she didn't know what to do with herself.  This photo shows that the lady is going through something mentally.  The background of this photo is very dark.  The black and white color scheme adds a very classic touch that is added to the photo. I believe both photos have similar characteristics such as the background.  The photo I took is very similar to Cindy Shermans photo because I smirked in my photo.  I'm a person that is always smiling or laughing.  I find a lot of things funny and everybody finds me funny/interesting. Cindy Sherman doesn't repeat her portrait photos at all.  A quote that I have from one of the readings is " Weem's black and white photographs are like mirrors, each reflecting a collective experience."  What this is trying to say is that each black and white photo has a meaning to it. The Cindy Sherman photo has a meaning that it leaves such as loneliness.  

Syllabus Spring 2021

 Self I As Image  Spring 2021

Wednesdays 2:10pm - 5:30pm

Prof. Doris Cacoilo                      

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Through the use of photography, computer graphics and mixed media this course will think about the increasingly complex relationship between our hyper-visual world of imagery and how we constantly navigate our own visual identity.

This is a general education course that is paired with the Tier 2 course, Self: I as Body.

Self: I as Image uses core themes of self-identity and imagery to explore, enrich and empower students to understand self and identity within a context of creative approaches to visual communication. Maintaining a positive sense of self and identity requires a continual process of meta-awareness of the role of imagery in self identity, visual communication and the cultural production of values and ideals.

This course uses a multi-faceted approach to understanding imagery that combines visual observation, cultural analysis, creative projects, contemplation and formal knowledge. This course addresses a need to have the language, knowledge, experience and critical tools necessary to explore the role images play in contemporary society and culture.

This course encourages a broader consideration of citizenship by thinking critically about the relationship of identity, images, values and ideals in a highly complex visual world. Conscientious citizenship is also honed by examining cultural representations of people and bodies and the affect these visual representations have on personal, social and cultural values and ideals.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING

Our class time will be split between online Zoom meetings which include lecture, class discussions and presentations individual time watching online videos, required reading and art and writing projects. While in class discussion please be respectful of the opinions of others even if they stand diametrically opposed to your own. For our remote Zoom classes you must be in class ON TIME and prepared for class each week. Failure to do so will be reflected in your participation grade. Failure to do so consistently can lead to failure in the course.

REQUIRED TEXTS

The Art of Self Invention by Joanne Finkelstein, I.B. Tauris, London: 2007

Ways of Seeing by John Berger, British Broadcasting Corporation and Penguin Books: New York 1990

Additional readings on Blackboard http://blackboard.njcu.edu/ and linked online.

Class blog: https://selfiasimagesp2021.blogspot.com/

CLASS PARTICIPATION and READINGS Attendance is mandatory. Attendance and participation in the class discussion is part of your participation grade. Weekly reading assignments will be assigned from your required texts and linked on the blog. The full reading schedule will be distributed on the class blog. Readings are due each week. All readings are REQUIRED unless otherwise stated. For each week’s readings you must select two quotes or passages from the readings and write a brief description or reaction to each quote. I will often collect these on Blackboard. Please have them typed up so you can submit them when it is requested. I will call on students each week during discussion to read and discuss these quotes. You must have these prepared for each reading for the Zoom discussion sessions.

WRITING ASSIGNMENTS Two short essay assignments that draw on the class reading will be during the semester. These will be explained in class and will be described in detail on the class blog. The assignments will be submitted by posting to the class blog. 

WEEKLY SELFIES Weekly selfie assignments must be posted to the class blog. These will be inspired by and in response to weekly readings and artist work. Details will be specified in class and on the blog each week. 

SELP PORTRAIT PROJECTS

This is a four-part project that asks students to measure experience over time and contemplate how we value images and the role that plays in navigating our own visual identity.

Parts 1-3: In response to the artist self portraits presented in the class students will be asked to create three self portrait projects in a variety of media. Each project will be in response to a particular artist's work or several artists works. The projects will explore the creation of a flag, a performance and a painting, drawing or collage that explores themes of self identity.

Part 4: FINAL Choosing any one or combination of processes that you have explored during the semester, compose an image that captures a self-portrait. Through an oral, written and visual presentation of your works, explain the following to the class:

• What is the subject of your image?

• What is the content of your image?

• Why did you make the choices that led to the composition?

• Explain the process and steps you went through and why you made those decisions.

• How you would categorize your work (ex. collage, graphic print, mixed media, etc).

• What artists or works are appropriate to compare your work to?

• What do you think this image conveys to the audience?

• What are the differences between the first self-portrait and your last self-portrait?

GRADING

Attendance is mandatory and all assignments must be finished and handed in on time to receive a passing grade for this course.

50% Self portrait projects

20% Short essays

20% Attendance/participation

10% Weekly selfie assignments

COURSE OBJECTIVES

Cultural/Social analysis

1. Question the relationship of beauty and images.

2. Question the role of photography and images in forming identity.

3. Understand the role of the artist/designer in producing two-dimensional composition within a social and cultural context.

4. Explore the relationship of imagery and visual perception to our sense of self and identity.

5. Adopt a critical posture in the consumption and production of images and photographs.

6. Discover how context provides images’ meaning.

7. Examine the capacity and ease of capturing, producing and sharing images and the role this plays in navigating personal, social and cultural communities.

Composition and Practice

8. Study both the elements (Line, Shape, Value, Texture, Form, Color) and the principals (Unity, Variety, Balance, Emphasis) of two-dimensional design.

9. Learn to analyze, interpret and describe images both orally and written using appropriate terminology.

Creative Production/Experience

10. Experience the creative process in an art studio environment.

11. Be creative in the use of composition, media and material.

12. Experiment in projects that employ the elements of two-dimensional design and produce two-dimensional compositions in various media.

13. Integrate the research of historical and contemporary artists and designers into projects that reflect consideration of composition and visual communication.

14. Communicate thoughts, ideas and/or expression through imagery and considered composition.

15. Compare creative productions and visual experiences with peers, both orally and written.

HEALTH AND SAFETY

You are not to risk the health or safety of yourself or any of the other people in the Art department. To ensure safety strictly follow all safety procedures explained to you as well as the New Jersey City University regulations. If you have any concerns or questions or are ever unclear about proper safety and health procedures, then ask the instructor or appropriate authority. 

 

If you feel you have any special concerns or problems that you would like to address please feel free to bring them to my attention. If there are any health concerns, either physical or psychological, that may affect your ability to fully participate in the class or complete assignments I am available to discuss possible solutions or address any of your concerns. If you have health or disability concerns that you would like to address but do not feel it is appropriate to discuss them with me there are services on campus available to address your concerns; contact Student/Health Services (Vodra Hall, Suite 107, 201-200-3456), the Art Department Office, or feel free to see me for contact info.

CLASS SCHEDULE

ALL READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE SPECIFIED WEEKLY IN ONLINE CLASS AND ON THE CLASS BLOG  It is the student’s responsibility to check the blog each week for required readings and assignments. All readings can be found in the required texts, online (linked from the blog) or on Blackboard.

If you ever have questions or concerns about the schedule, due dates, changes or anything else please ask me after class or e-mail me: dcacoilo@njcu.edu