Not Manet's Type

Artist Carrie Mae Weems (b. 1953)

Date2010

MediumArchival pigment print, edition 4 of 5, with 2 artist proofs

DimensionsFrame Dimension: 40 1/2 × 20 3/4 × 1 1/2 in. (102.9 × 52.7 × 3.8 cm)
Sheet Dimension: 40 × 20 in. (101.6 × 50.8 cm)

ClassificationsPrint

Credit LineJane and Victor Darnell Fund and Members Purchase Fund

Object number2021.2

DescriptionAcquired as part of the 2020/20+Women@NBMAA Initiative.

In her 2010 work Not Manet's Type, photographer Carrie Mae Weems takes the role of a muse in five nude self-portraits accompanied by brief inscriptions below. Each of the sardonic statements may be read as a feminist response to the way in which male artists have used or objectified women's bodies and a commentary on the presence of black women (or lack thereof) in the history of modern art.

Steeped in African-American history, Weems’ works explore issues of race, class, and gender identity. Primarily working in photography and video, but also exploring everything from verse to performance, Weems has remarked that regardless of medium, activism is a central concern of her practice—specifically, looking at history as a way of better understanding the present. “Photography can be used as a powerful weapon toward instituting political and cultural change,” she has said. “I for one will continue to work toward this end.”

"STANDING ON SHAKEY GROUND I POSED MYSELF FOR CRITICAL STUDY BUT WAS NO LONGER CERTAIN OF THE QUESTIONS TO ASK. IT WAS CLEAR, I WAS NOT MANET'S TYPE PICASSO -- WHO HAD A WAY WITH WOMEN -- ONLY USED ME & DUCHAMP NEVER EVEN CONSERED ME. BUT IT COULD HAVE BEEN WORSE IMAGINE MY FATE HAD DE KOONING GOTTEN HOLD OF ME. I KNEW NOT FROM MEMORY, BUT FROM HOPE, THAT THERE WERE OTHER MODELS BY WHICH TO LIVE. I TOOK A TIP FROM FRIDA WHO FROM HER BED PAINTED INCESSANTLY - BEAUTIFULLY WHILE DIEGO SCALED THE SCAFFOLDS TO THE TOP OF THE WORLD."

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