Photographer and video artist Carrie Mae Weems had just received word the other day that BET planned to honor her outstanding work at an upcoming ceremony, alongside Aretha Franklin and Berry Gordy. “Imagine that,” she exclaimed to The Root about sharing the stage with the two celebrities. But Weems is a star in her own right. She was awarded a $625,000 MacArthur fellowship in September for her decadeslong work highlighting the harsh realities of race and gender through melodically infused images and videos. “I am so honored that so many of my colleagues felt that I deserved the award,” she said. She plans to use the award money for a film project. Here, she shares some of her amazing images with The Root.
Untitled (Colored People Grid), 2009-10.
Mourning, from Constructing History: A Requiem to Mark the Moment series, 2008.
A Broad and Expansive Sky—Ancient Rome, from Roaming series, 2006.
Untitled (Man and Mirror), from Kitchen Table Series, 1990.
The Louvre, from Museum series, 2007 to present.
Quad from Here I Saw What Happened and I Cried, 1995-96.
Wilfredo, Laura, and Me, from Dreaming in Cuba series, 2002.
May Flowers, from May Days Long Forgotten series, 2002.
Missing Link (Happiness), from the Louisiana Project, 2003.
When and Where I Enter—Mussolini’s Rome, from Roaming series, 2006.
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