Carrie Mae Weems' photo series "Painting the Town" captures the aftermath of George Floyd's murder, showcasing boarded-up storefronts in Portland, Oregon, adorned with graffiti. Commissioned by National Geographic, Weems emphasizes the cultural impact of these images, drawing parallels to mid-20th-century civil rights movements. The work challenges viewers' perceptions of both photography and expressionism, reflecting a broader societal rupture. By connecting her present work with past artistic movements, Weems crafts a poignant narrative about art's role in social change.
"I couldn't believe what I was seeing, I immediately knew that it was of profound importance," Weems told the Chronicle of traveling to Portland. "I started photographing with the aim of developing a body of work that would come out of looking at what it meant to the city, to the nation, and to me personally as an artist."
"Painting the Town" is both technically masterful in the precision and clarity of the images and also a brilliant reference back to the turmoil and civil rights revolutions of the mid-20th century, part of what Weems quoted writer Amiri Baraka as calling 'the changing same.'
"It starts to give you another sense of what the Abstract Expressionists themselves were after in the 40s and the 50s," Weems said of seeing the boarded up storefronts, with slashes of bold paint censoring anti-racist messages left by protesters.
"It's also trying to articulate a form of rupture, not only in terms of the art, but it had ramifications outside of the paintings," a comparison Weems could apply to 2020.
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