One of the most interesting things to me about art is its pure connection to history. Sometimes it’s reflected in an aesthetic and how it correlated to a moment in time and sometimes it is way more literal.  Carrie Mae Weems is a socially motivated artist whose works invite contemplation of race, gender, and class. Her current exhibition at the Guggenheim traces the evolution of Weems’s career over the last 30 years.   This retrospective primarily features photographs, including the groundbreaking Kitchen Table Series (1990), but also presents written texts, audio recordings, and videos.  It also contains a desire for universality: while African Americans are typically her primary subjects, Weems wants “people of color to stand for the human multitudes” and for her art to resonate with all audiences.

I think we are better people and a better world via the creation and sharing of art.  I also think we get smarter when we stretch ourselves to think about the work of artists who push the boundaries into areas that help us confront our past and think more carefully about our future.