Untitled
Date1994
Mediumgelatin silver print
DimensionsImage: 24 × 20 inches (61 × 50.8 cm)
Image (Sight): 18 3/4 × 18 3/8 inches (47.6 × 46.7 cm)
Framed (Previously Framed At): 30 1/4 × 24 1/4 inches (76.8 × 61.6 cm)
Portfolio/Series"Kitchen Table" series, 1989-1990 and "Printed Matter Photography Portfolio 1. Portraits"
Credit LineGift of Zoë and Joel Dictrow.
Object number2012.12.2
Copyright© Carrie Mae Weems.
The images and text contained on this page are owned by Telfair Museums or used by the Museum with permission from the owners. Unauthorized reproduction, transmission or display of these materials is prohibited with the exception of items deemed “fair use” as defined by U.S. and international copyright laws.Label TextCarrie Mae Weems used her domestic space and body as the subject for a groundbreaking group of photographs, The Kitchen Table Series. This choice was motivated by practical considerations: Weems worked as an assistant professor at Hampshire College and when she had time to dedicate to her art, she relied on her own availability and willingness to pose for her camera to represent her vision fully. The series explores the universality of relationships and patterns of behavior that occur in domestic spaces, of which the kitchen table is an essential component. Nourishment–both for the body and soul– occur at the kitchen table. Weems also sees in this space an arena specifically for women of color to become part of the conversation and invoke their stories. On a purely aesthetic level, the beauty of the image is focused on its softness and by the single, luminary lamp overhead. That softness is undercut by a possible tension arising from the lack of communication and body language between the two characters. While the man remains seated at the table, his attention fixed on an open newspaper, a half-full glass of water at his elbow, the woman is standing, her gaping robe revealing lingerie. Her downward gaze fixes on the back of the man’s head. The viewer, placed at the far end of the table, is unsure if the man is unaware or unwilling to notice her.
This photograph came to Telfair Museums as part of a Printed Matter portfolio, and while it is not one of the original twenty photographs and text panels in The Kitchen Table Series, its subject matter ties the work to the series’s legacy. Weems considers this series pivotal in her career and in the history of art. The series argues that the home can act as a place for women to be complex beings; it can also be a space for women of color to participate in the narrative.
