Nam Maple - Post 5

“You know, we have to make art work for us within the context of our own individual belief systems. I've often thought about this. How do you do this with photography? How do you describe complex experiences in a photograph? What are the sights of it? What should it have to look like? What does it have to challenge? To whom is it challenging? You know, who's it for? All those kinds of questions are constantly shifting for me. The moment' thatI think when I have it locked down, it is the moment in which it flips; you can't talk about the pros without talking about the cons. You can't talk about the "positives" without talking about the "negatives." And you can't talk about the truths without talking about the untruths.”- Carrie Mae Weems

To me, this quote from Mae Weems is saying that any art we make is shaped by how we see the world. That’s really interesting when it comes to photography, since it’s about capturing a real moment. At first, it might seem like it’s just showing what’s there, but the way the photo is taken is also an important factor. Aspects such as the angle, what’s in the frame, and why it was taken. These are things that show the photographer’s perspective. The photo turns out that way because of the choices they made.

“The assumption that our ability as artists is restricted to our only

being able to deal meaningfully with the question of race and rage

overdetermined critical perception.”- Carrie Mae Weems

To me, the quote means that artists shouldn’t let meaning control what they create or when they create it. What matters most is making art and having a way to express yourself.

“In most every black person's life today, home is where you find it, just where you find it. To me this suggests an open possibility that home can be for me Portland, Oregon, to the same extent that it can be New York or Ghana or Maui or Senegal. It doesn't matter” -Carrie Mae Weems

Carrie Mae Weems seems to answer questions by really thinking about her past and the experiences that shaped her. There’s an honesty in the way she speaks that matches the reflective, personal nature of her work.