Carrie Mae Weems

American, born 1953

Blue Black Boy

Carrie Mae Weems (American, born 1953). Blue Black Boy, 1997. Monochrome color photograph with silkscreened text on mat, artist's proof 1/2, 30 x 30 inches (76.2 x 76.2 cm). Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York; Gift of Seymour H. Knox, Jr., by exchange, 2008 (P2008:20.1). © 1997 Carrie Mae Weems.

© Carrie Mae Weems

Image downloads are for educational use only. For all other purposes, please see our Obtaining and Using Images page.

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© Carrie Mae Weems

Image downloads are for educational use only. For all other purposes, please see our Obtaining and Using Images page.

© Carrie Mae Weems

Image downloads are for educational use only. For all other purposes, please see our Obtaining and Using Images page.

Blue Black Boy, 1997

Artwork Details

Materials

monochrome color photograph with silkscreened text on mat

Edition:

artist's proof 1/2

Measurements

sheet: 30 x 30 inches (76.2 x 76.2 cm); framed: 31 x 31 x 1 1/2 inches (78.74 x 78.74 x 3.81 cm)

Collection Buffalo AKG Art Museum

Credit

Gift of Seymour H. Knox, Jr., by exchange, 2008

Accession ID

P2008:20.1

Carrie Mae Weems often turns the camera lens on herself and her family, documenting her experience as an African American. In her “Colored People” series, the artist references the “shades of blackness” people assign to themselves and others. By captioning monochromatic images with words that suggest innumerable meanings and interpretations, Weems creates visual puns that raise an important question: What does color mean? These photographs are a poignant reminder of the fact that all of us see the world through culturally determined filters.

Label from DECADE: Contemporary Collecting 2002–2012, August 21, 2012–January 6, 2013