Reviews // Lisa

Carrie Mae Weems’ “From Here I Saw What Happened and I Cried” (1995) is a collection of photographs based on slavery. Weems rephotographed the pictures, enlarged, and toned them in red, creating a sense of uniformity. They were then framed under glass that had sand blasted texts. Each picture had a message that went along with the central theme of African American inequality in the United States. In doing this, Weems creates a work of her own that challenges traditional Anglo American perception of African Americans and one that is both personal and accessible to all.

Weems’ challenges traditional Anglo American perception through the printed messages and the depictions of the subject matter. Each of these messages is addressed to the subject matter. The first picture is a profile picture of a naked tribal African woman. The shape of the face and breasts are quite noticeable and is seemingly directing the viewers to the following pictures to the right. The positioning of the female marks the beginning of the piece where the other pictures follow. The sharp features of her breasts and face reject neoclassical standards of female beauty that continue to have a lasting influence in America today where roundness of breast and face are associated with female beauty. The message on the picture says, “From here I saw what happened,” which starts the theme of inequality in African Americans. A few powerful statements from the piece include: “You became a scientific profile,” “An anthropological debate,” “A photographic subject,” “You became a playmate to the patriarch,” “Some said you were the spitting image of evil,” and “You became the joker’s joke.” Each of these messages speaks to these people, clearly emphasizing all the afflictions with which African Americans are dealing. Each picture is placed in a circular frame, showing the influence on the camera. It is possible that the original photos were used in the same context as the message, for example one of the photos states that these people have become an anthropological debate. It is possible that the original intention of this photograph supported an anthropological study. Weems’ creates a new purpose for these photos, one that is filled with compassion and grief for people rather than of an object. She also fights the dominant Anglo influence in these photographers, as the photos that were taken by them were pushing their view of African Americans to the viewer. At the same time, Weems’ message also speaks to us in a very harsh and real way on how these people were objectified to be a photographic subject or an anthropological debate. It seems to me that Weems attempts to break this objectification by creating a more personal experience. Most of the photos only have one person.

I believe that she aimed to produce a very striking collection of photographs that called upon historical and social conflicts, which it clearly has accomplished. Simply observing the other viewers in the museum, who had shocked facial expressions and looks of astonishment, it was easy to see that she accomplished her goal through this series of photographs.