Photographer Carrie Mae Weems is often described as an artist who grapples with issues like racism, gender and class. But she says she thinks of her work as being about love and “the breadth of the humanity of African-Americans who are usually stereotyped and narrowly defined and often viewed as a social problem.” Weems joins us to talk about the first major retrospective of her work, which just opened at the Cantor Arts Center, and the MacArthur genius grant she received last month.
Sample Works from 'Carrie Mae Weems: Three Decades of Photography and Video'
Carrie Mae Weems. "Family Reunion from Family Pictures and Stories", 1978-84. Gelatin silver print, 30 x 40 in. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York. © Carrie Mae Weems