"The side of the Table I always see."Susan Sontag Excerpt from "On Photography""... photographs alter and enlarge our notions of what is worth looking at what we have a right to observe."Photographs have the power to change our ideas or perspectives, and even expand our understanding. Sometimes this field is going to make us see value in scenes that we never considered important. It's like a challenge on what is socially or ethically permissible to observe or document. Our way of seeing the world might change after observing a photograph.
"A now notorious first fall into alienation, habituating people to abstract the world into printed words, is supposed to have engendered that surplus of Faustian energy and psychic damage needed to build modern, inorganic societies."
I feel we were trained or accustomed to perceiving and understanding the world through written language which sometimes snatches the direct experience we have when observing a photograph. Faust was a character who made a pact with the devil for knowledge and power, so when the artist talks about "Faustian energy" made me think that every time we as viewers feel the ambition to interact more with the meaning of a photograph, that's going to have a cost.
NY Times: How Carrie Mae Weems Rewrote the Rules of Image-Makin
"This marginalization, being categorized as "black artist" or "woman artist" rather than simply just artist, is something Weems has dealt with her entire career."
I totally understand Weems's point of view because the categorization she's been having is limiting and taking away a full acknowledgment of the depth and breadth of her artistic contributions. She definitely faced some challenges, after being marginalized based on her race and gender rather than being recognized as an artist, plain and simple.
"I had these great, grand visions that I would move to New York City and that I would always arrive fabulously dressed, and I would always arrive late, and I would always leave early, and everybody would want to know who I was. ‘Who is she?’ That was my fantasy."
Here, you can appreciate how the artist had big aspirations since she was young. The art world is very complex, and all beginnings are somewhat unusual because you don't know what life is going to place in front of you and what it will cost you to present yourself and your ideas. Not only that but also the reactions you will receive from those who see your art. I feel like artists are exposed to numerous critics, opinions, and even comments from the audience. This not only can affect their creative process but also the way they feel about themselves.
Revisiting Carrie Mae Weems's Landmark Kitchen Table Series
"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 see clearly what Weems was trying to tell us. While other characters are attempting to comprehend and engage with a bigger, more complex reality, even though they are also constrained by their physical environment, viewers are confined in their perspective and only see a small portion of a situation. It's frequently used to talk about issues like restricted viewpoints, curiosity, or people's natural desire to learn about and comprehend their surroundings. I feel like this applies to real life because one is going to understand better what's going on in your life than the person who is going through it, but because the perspectives are totally different. You have to wear someone else's shoes to understand their steps.
"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. It’s so universal and yet representation like this is so rare."
While her work manages to connect with a broad audience, it suggests such inclusive and relatable representation, especially in art or culture, is not commonly found. and it's so unusual to find elements that speak to so many people across different backgrounds and experiences.
No comments:
Post a Comment