Diaries of Home

November 17, 2024 - February 2, 2025
Carrie Mae Weems, Untitled, 1990

Carrie Mae Weems 

Untitled (Woman standing), 1990 

Gelatin silver print with text panels 

27 1/4 x 27 inches 

 

Untitled (Nude), 1990 

Gelatin silver print with text panels 

27 1/4 x 27 inches 


Untitled (Woman playing solitaire), 1990 
Gelatin silver print with text panels 
27 1/4 x 27 inches  

 

Collection of the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Museum purchase made possible by a grant from The Burnett Foundation 

© Carrie Mae Weems. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York. 

November 17, 2024 - February 2, 2025

Diaries of Home features works by twelve women and nonbinary artists, who explore the multilayered concepts of family, community, and home.

These artists challenge documentary photography by pushing it into conceptual, performative, and theatrical realms. They probe preconceptions about domestic, familial, and communal spaces in the United States, which are often considered feminine spheres. Such environments and their relationship to feminism and feminist art have a history dating back to the 1970s—especially in photography, where women artists have been among the strongest voices. The photographers presented in Diaries of Home show us the dynamics of both biological and constructed families; for example, Sally Mann takes up her three children as subject matter in lush portraits that are intimate and compelling, while Nan Goldin portrays her lover and group of friends as a kind of chosen family. Each artist offers visual narratives ranging from the very personal to broader examinations of society in works that depict tales of love, desire, loss, home, and the intricacies of human relationships.

The artists in Diaries of Home use the vernacular of documentary photography, which creates an immediate sense of familiarity and understanding. Yet, the works subvert the implied truthfulness of the imagery by exploring the medium’s inherent subjectivity through enticing fiction and drama, or by magnifying everyday affairs. The affection, kinship, hardship, and deeply intimate narratives captured lend a diaristic quality to the photographs, creating a conceptual focal point that inspired the exhibition’s title.

Diaries of Home features a diverse, multi-generational group of artists with a variety of photographic processes, ranging from printed images to slides and video. Patty Chang, Jess T. Dugan, LaToya Ruby Frazier, Nan Goldin, Debbie Grossman, Letitia Huckaby, Deana Lawson, Laura Letinsky, Sally Mann, Arlene Mejorado, Laurie Simmons, and Carrie Mae Weems use themselves and others as center points to explore various social relations in and outside of the home. The resulting imagery that gives shape to Diaries of Home captures the psychological interiority, the complex family dynamics, and the inconsequential and profound moments of daily routine—all aspects that compose a life’s journey.

The exhibition is co-curated by Chief Curator Andrea Karnes and Assistant Curator Clare Milliken. 

 

Diaries of Home includes mature subject matter.

Carrie Mae Weems 

Untitled (Woman standing), 1990 

Gelatin silver print with text panels 

27 1/4 x 27 inches 

 

Untitled (Nude), 1990 

Gelatin silver print with text panels 

27 1/4 x 27 inches 


Untitled (Woman playing solitaire), 1990 
Gelatin silver print with text panels 
27 1/4 x 27 inches  

 

Collection of the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Museum purchase made possible by a grant from The Burnett Foundation 

© Carrie Mae Weems. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.