Unrealistic College Standards

 

Unrealistic College Standards

On Photography

"Humankind lingers unregenerately in Plato's cave, still reveling, its age-old habit, in mere images of the truth."

This sentence caught my eye because it reflects on a concept I learned in high school, "Plato's Cave" and it made me think about how the images we are shown depend on so many external factors that can be easily manipulated to show a certain view.

"Photographs, which fiddle with the scale of the world, themselves get reduced, blown up, cropped, retouched, doctored, tricked out."

This part of the writing made me reflect on how something so powerful, such as a photograph, can be manipulated (back into Plato's cave allegory) in a way where what we see captured in them might not reflect reality. 

How Carrie Mae Weems Rewrote the Rules of Image-Making

"It’s the series that made her career and inspired a new generation of artists who had never before seen a woman of color looking confidently out at them from a museum wall(...)" 

This is the sentence that made me realize that there might have been pictures of women of color in museums before, but never in a place of power. In a place of confidence. The significance of Weem's work is critical for taking back the power, not simply from the dominant gender, but taking the power back from underrepresentation. 

"If there’s a bitter irony in the way in which historically white museums have turned to socially engaged black artists to help solve their problems — asking the victim, in essence, to become their savior" 

This specific quote shines a light on how many businesses, including museums, will hire people of color to present themselves as "socially and racially conscious". However, these same companies might do so to keep a "quota" or "image" that does not truly reflect their morals to attract more customers. 

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

"As she fired her camera shutter in her kitchen, Weems knew she was achieving something new in her work with “The Kitchen Table Series,” but she couldn’t have anticipated the power her daily performance would have three decades on: a series so universal and timeless, yet crucial in amplifying Black perspectives in art."

Many artists create art without knowing the impact their pieces will have on society. It is virtually impossible to know how impactful your piece will be. Art is subjective, but particular pieces have the power to shape history. I believe Weems shaped history by inspiring many other underrepresented artists to show their culture, their homes, and their "kitchen tables".

“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."

This quote reflects how, despite being done by a black woman, the idea can resonate with many individuals. This is a perfect example of how Weems is simply a genial artist, not a "black artist" in a separate category, but a genius artist, who is a black woman. She made a piece so universal, and yet so representative for the black community.