We have very sad news to report that will have repercussions throughout the worlds of both poetry and contemporary art: iconic artist Carolee Schneemann has died at the age of eighty-four.
Schneemann's passing has been marked by entities as diverse as Artforum and Jezebel. The former observed that "While best known for her performance and body art that challenged notions of gender and sexuality — as well as for her expressive paintings, installations, and photography — Schneemann considered herself first and foremost a painter. 'I'm still a painter and I will die a painter,' she said in an interview in 1993. 'Everything that I have developed has to do with extending visual principles off the canvas.'" Jezebel offered this summation of her life's work: "As an artist, Schneemann centered her often nude body in her practice, both challenging how male artists have long fetishized and objectified the nude female form in art, but also drawing attention to the creative force of the female body (or more specifically, the vulva) as many women artists were doing at the time." Their tribute continues, "Her interests were clear even from when she started as an art student in the 1950s, when she was kicked out of Bard for painting herself naked. (Scheenmann went to college despite her father’s objections; he refused to pay for a woman's education)," concluding, "The frequent messages of Schneemann's work, especially that the female body still demands to be reclaimed in fine art on the terms of those who exist in them rather than those who love to look at them, still resonate in 2019."
Schneemann's passing has been marked by entities as diverse as Artforum and Jezebel. The former observed that "While best known for her performance and body art that challenged notions of gender and sexuality — as well as for her expressive paintings, installations, and photography — Schneemann considered herself first and foremost a painter. 'I'm still a painter and I will die a painter,' she said in an interview in 1993. 'Everything that I have developed has to do with extending visual principles off the canvas.'" Jezebel offered this summation of her life's work: "As an artist, Schneemann centered her often nude body in her practice, both challenging how male artists have long fetishized and objectified the nude female form in art, but also drawing attention to the creative force of the female body (or more specifically, the vulva) as many women artists were doing at the time." Their tribute continues, "Her interests were clear even from when she started as an art student in the 1950s, when she was kicked out of Bard for painting herself naked. (Scheenmann went to college despite her father’s objections; he refused to pay for a woman's education)," concluding, "The frequent messages of Schneemann's work, especially that the female body still demands to be reclaimed in fine art on the terms of those who exist in them rather than those who love to look at them, still resonate in 2019."
Our modest Carolee Schneemann author page is home to a trio of Segue Series sets spanning nearly thirty years. First, there's a 1979 reading at the Ear Inn, where Schneemann read "Accident" and the final part of "Home Run Muse." Then, there are two readings from the Bowery Poetry Club from 2004 and 2008: in the first, she reads "Like Totally Like," "Thanksgiving Diary," and "From Dreams," while in the latter, she reads "State of Confusion" and "Americana Eating Apple Pie." You'll also find Schneemann's contribution to a 40th anniversary celebration of Technicians of the Sacred from the BPC, and video from Jerry Rothenberg's 80th birthday tribute at CUNY in 2011. You can listen to any and all of the aforementioned recordings here.
Our thoughts are with Schneemann's friends and family, as well as the multiple generations of authors and artists who were inspired by her groundbreaking work.
Our thoughts are with Schneemann's friends and family, as well as the multiple generations of authors and artists who were inspired by her groundbreaking work.
