“Through the act of performance,
with our own bodies, we are
allowed to experience and to connect
—Carrie Mae Weems
women who were overlooked, ignored, or undervalued
because of their gender. The place settings commemorate
thirty-nine historical and mythical women from the
Western world. Each setting symbolizes the story of one
woman. The table has been
constructed in the shape of a
triangle, a symbol of equal-
ity, representing Chicago’s
hope that the contributions
of men and women can be
valued equally. In addition to
the place settings, 999 names
of other important woman
have been inscribed into the porcelain tile floor. In total
the The Dinner Party commemorates 1,038 remarkable
women.
Carrie Mae Weems (b. 1953) Mourning
A storyteller and photographer, Carrie Mae Weems has
pursued degrees in both fine arts and folklore. In her
series, Constructing History, Weems restages famous
historical moments with students from Savannah College of Art and Design, effectively breathing new life
into the past. The student-volunteers act out iconic
scenes of the 1960s and the Civil Rights Movement.
Weems views the events depicted in this series as precursors to the United States’ recent election of its first
African-American president.
Students who participated in the making of these
photographs reported having moving experiences
in which they felt a deep sympathy with the figures they depicted. Weems describes the emotional
nature of creating the Constructing History series:
“Through the act of performance, with our own
bodies, we are allowed to experience and to connect the historical past to the present—to the now,
to the moment. By inhabiting the moment, we live
the experience; we stand in the shoes of others and
come to know firsthand what is often only imagined, lost, forgotten.”
Roger Shimomura (b. 1939) December 7, 1941
from An American Diary Series
An American Diary consists of thirty acrylic paintings inspired by the diary entries of Roger Shimomura’s
grandmother, Toku Shimomura. The series begins with
Toku’s entry about the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor
and continues through her time in a Japanese internment camp. Displaying transcripts of Toku’s diary along
with his paintings, Roger Shimomura uses both text
and images to create narratives that help us understand
and acknowledge the past. Through the American Diary
series, Shimomura, a third-generation Japanese-Ameri-can, empathically connects himself and his viewers with
earlier generations.
Shimomura’s work reflects both Western and Eastern
influences including Pop Art, comics, and traditional
Japanese prints known as Ukiyo-e. He depicts ordinary
people as well as comic book heroes and stylized Japanese figures. The integration of styles, American popular
culture, and Japanese tradition is reflective of Shimomura’s complex cultural identity.
Roger Shimoura, May 16, 1942, from An American Diary series, 1997. Acrylic on
canvas, 11 x 14" ( 28 x 35 cm). ©Roger Shimomura, courtesy the artist and Greg Kucera Gallery, Seattle.
Judy Chicago (b. 1939) The Dinner Party
Judy Chicago was a pioneer in the Feminist Art
Movement of the 1970s and the development of
women’s art education. She continues to create
and promote feminist art today. Filling in history’s gaps, Chicago’s landmark work, The Dinner
Party, includes place settings for many important
