Carrie

Mae Weems
Background
April 20, 1953 Weems was born in Portland, Oregon to Carrie Polk
and Myrlie Weems
She has an older sister
Background
Weems became interested in the arts through street theatre and
dance in 1965.
Her two friends Tom Vinters and Catherine Jelski were the ones who
introduced her.
Background
December 11, 1969
Faith C. Weems
Education
1973 she receives her first camera as a birthday gift.
She began taking pictures constantly.

1974-1976 she studies photography and design at San Francisco City

College.
1981 Receives BFA from California Institute of Arts.
Enters graduate school at University of California, San Diego and gets
her MFA in 1984
1984-1987 graduate program in folklore, University of California,
Berkeley
Background
1982 Begins research on black artists, travels to meet them and
records everything.
The same year she makes her first major video work on black
photographers, highlighting Roy DeCarava.
 Aint Jokin
She begins having many exhibits with her artwork.

BLACK WOMAN WITH CHICKEN BLACK MAN HOLDING WATERMELON

Kitchen Table Series
1990 she joins the PPOW Gallery in New York City.
The Kitchen Table Series is one of her most famous.
Kitchen Table Series
Made all in her own home with one single light source.
It shows the site of the battle between family, men and women,
friends and lovers, parents and children.
She used family members, friends and sometimes even strangers off
the street for this photographs.
Sea Islands Series
From Here I Saw What Happened And Cried
Louisiana Project 2003
Vision
Weems work explores issues of race, class and gender identity.
Photography can be used as a powerful weapon toward instituting
political and cultural change.
She explores through photography and video.
Accomplishments
Weems has received a lot of awards, grants and fellowships for her
work.
She is represented in public and private collections around the world
in many different museums.
She is the Artist in Resident at park Avenue Armory.
 Part of the Kitchen Table Series.
Weems realized in photographs,
women were more conservative while
men were the center of attention.

This is supposed to show that women

can be the center of attention in a
photograph.
This picture is supposed to liberate
not only women of color but all
women.
Works Cited
http://carriemaeweems.net/bio.html
https://www.artsy.net/artwork/carrie-mae-weems-untitled-woman-and-daughter-with-makeup-
from-kitchen-table-series
https://art21.org/artist/carrie-mae-
weems/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIgOTa253S1gIVnbbACh1rkgZSEAAYASAAEgLnQvD_BwE
http://www.diffractions.net/documentos/3_Rumi_Hara_Carrie_mae_weems.pdf
http://museums.depaul.edu/exhibitions/the-louisiana-project-work-by-carrie-mae-weems/