Portland Art Museum presents Carrie Mae Weems. Three Decades of Photography and Video, on view FEB 2 – MAY 19, 2013.
Afro-Chic (video still), 2010. DVD, 5 minutes, 30 seconds. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York. © Carrie Mae Weems
Born and raised in Portland, Ore., Carrie Mae Weems is internationally recognized for her powerful photography-based art that investigates issues of race, gender, and societal class. Carrie Mae Weems: Three Decades of Photography and Video presents more than 200 photographs, videos, and installations tracing the evolution of Weems’ career.
On her 21st birthday, Weems received a camera as a gift and quickly realized its potential to express abstract political and social theories and incite change. During the past 30 years, her work has explored a variety of issues, providing a complex picture of humanity and creating greater awareness and compassion for difference.
Featuring some of her most groundbreaking work, including Ain’t Jokin’, From Here I Saw What Happened and I Cried, Ritual and Revolution, and the recent series Constructing History: A Requiem to Mark the Moment, Weems’ work will challenge audiences by highlighting issues of power, race, and gender. www.portlandartmuseum.org