Blue Black Boy
by Carrie Mae Weems , 1997
Silver print with text on mat
Blue Black Boy is by Carrie Mae Weems, an artist who works with digital images, installation video, and photography. Throughout her work she has explored “cultural identity, sexism, class, political systems and the consequences of power.” She is best known for her work in photography that engages racism and discrimination. She also tries to show cultural and political change in her photographs. Her work has been shown in many galleries around the United States.
The photograph is placed in the text because it is showing a picture of a boy that can be interpreted in different ways. Weems places the three words under each identical picture to make the viewer look at the picture in three different ways. Each picture has a boy that is black with blue on it; by separating the pictures with words, the viewer can look specifically at the word and read it differently in relation to the picture. This can represent the way we discriminate against people in our society whether we view them as having less authority,“boy,” or seeing them differently because they have black skin. Blue is a more mysterious word and suggest injury to the social category of "black boys" since bruises are described as "black and blue." Blue is also a term for sadness or depression. Again, this work may suggest that the "black boy" may be be down or blue categorically.
Links:
https://www.artsy.net/artwork/carrie-mae-weems-blue-black-boy-from-colored-people
http://www.sfgate.com/art/article/Carrie-Mae-Weems-review-A-stark-dash-of-color-4908132.php
http://www.kemperartmuseum.wustl.edu/node/11590
https://artblart.com/tag/carrie-mae-weems-blue-black-boy/
Image from:
/ https://artblart.com/tag/carrie-mae-weems-blue-black-boy/
~ Research by Celia Kline, Catherine Liu