Carrie Mae Weems and Winton Marsalis

Carrie Mae Weems uses photography to display cultural mode in what reads like deeply thought out journal entries. Her world is to display not her own diary, but those of the exploited. She uses text, color, light and narrative to express the plight of African people. Winton Marsalis, in this youtube video, plays in song what Weems' pictures tell us visually. Listen to the notes. Watch Carrie Mae rise to begin a standing ovation, then watch her dance in her yellow vest. She celebrates being herself while she explores what it is to have been herself in the dominant Eurocentric mythology of the past.



We have a few of her photographs in our collection, including "Jim, if you choose to accept, the mission is to land on your own two feet" seen here.



I cannot help but to love Carrie Mae Weems.