Life in the afterimage: embodied performance in the work of Carrie Mae Weems, Adama Delphine Fawundu, and Renée Stout

This work examines the three photographic and performance series by contemporary Black feminist artists Carrie Mae Weems, Adama Delphine Fawunudu, and Renée Stout. These artists use visual strategies such as blurring the boundaries between past and present, invoking ancestral presence, and engaging with African diasporic traditions to create a visual archive that reclaims and celebrates the histories and identities of Black Americans. Their work is a response to the ongoing legacies of systemic racism and violence that continue to affect Black communities. By creating these visual memoirs, they offer a corrective gesture that challenges the erasure and marginalization of Black experiences and histories.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Art History

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2023

Author dc:creator

• Richter, Sarah

Contributors dc:contributor

• Weissman, Terri
• Romberg, Kristin
• O'Brien, David
• Vazquez, Oscar

• Black Feminist Artists
• Neo-colonial
• Photography
• Performance
• Carrie Mae Weems
• Renee Stout
• Adam Delphine Fawundu
• Self-portraits

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2023 Sarah Richter

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/120437

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F120437