Carrie Mae Weems: The Usual Suspects

West Galleries

Reception January 24, 6-7:30 PM

On January 11, Kennedy Museum of Art will open Carrie Mae Weems: The Usual Suspects. The exhibition includes recent photographic and video works questioning stereotypes that associate black bodies with criminality. Comprised of three associated works, All the Boys and The Usual Suspects examine the racial stereotypes at the heart of deaths of black men and women at the hands of police, and confronts the viewer with the fact of judicial inaction. The third piece, People of a Darker Hue , is a meditative compilation of video, found footage, narration, and performance commemorating these deaths.

Considered one of the most influential contemporary American artists, Carrie Mae Weems has investigated family relationships, cultural identity, sexism, class, political systems and the consequences of power. Determined as ever to enter the picture— both literally and metaphorically—she has sustained an on-going dialogue within contemporary discourse for over thirty years. During this time Carrie Mae Weems has developed a complex body of art employing photographs, text, fabric, audio, digital images, installation, and video.

Carrie Mae Weems: The Usual Suspects is organized by LSU Museum of Art. The project, which includes a fully illustrated catalogue, is a collaboration between the LSU College of Art + Design, the LSU School of Art and LSU Museum of Art. Support for this exhibition is provided by The Winifred and Kevin P. Reilly Jr. Fund with additional support from LSU Museum of Art Annual Exhibition Fund donors.

Additional public events are scheduled in conjunction with this exhibition:

January 22, 7 PM, Public Lecture by Carrie Mae Weems, Baker Center Ballroom, 4th Floor

January 25, 8 PM, Master Class Performance, Forum Theater, RTV Building