Carolee's Communities
Carolee Schneemann’s 1994-95 multi-media installation, Mortal Coils, is a solemn reflection about mourning and memory, dedicated to friends who had died recently—among them, John Cage, Peter Moore, Charlotte Moorman, David Rattray, and Hannah Wilke. As we now reflect on the loss of Schneemann, who died in March 2019, we turn to Mortal Coils as an expression of the centrality of artistic and intellectual communities in her art and life. Artists, writers, and performers of later generations have benefited from her generous community-forming spirit, which is affectionately symbolized in the title of a painting of 2017 by Angela Dufresne: The Carolee Schneemann Reading Club. This panel explores the power and importance of community in Schneemann’s work, and its significance for those with whom she came into contact, in celebration of her life and influence.
Field of Study:
North America
Twentieth Century
Twenty-First Century
Modern (1800-present)
Time-Based Media
Chairs:
Reva J. Wolf,State University of New York at New Paltz - wolfr@newpaltz.edu
and
Ellen K. Levy,Independent Artist and Scholar - levy@nyc.rr.com