The Performative Self Portrait | RISD Museum
Carolee Schneemann, American (1939 - 2019), Eye/Body #5; from the series 36 Transformative Actions for Camera, 1963/1973. Helen M. Danforth Acquisition Fund. RISD Museum, Providence, RI.
Text: Max Wiener
Part of the allure of the photographer is the anonymity, the ability to hide behind the lens and capture the world using not your face, but your psyche. It’s not about being in front of the camera per se, but rather using it to create a common good. But what happens when the photographer steps in front of the lens? Does time stop? Do volcanoes erupt? That might be hyperbole.
John O'Reilly, American (1930-2021 b. in New Jersey; worked in Worcester, Massachusetts), Large Studio 10-6-86, 1986. Gift of James Tellin. RISD Museum, Providence, RI.
What does happen, however, in the case of the RISD Museum’s “The Performative Self Portrait,” is an incredible display of performance and self reflection unlike anything we have ever seen. Every artist has their own vision, and it has never rang more true than here and now; it’s one of the most unique exhibitions one can experience. Each artist represented - each vision, for that matter - shows the viewer an entirely unique display of their artistic talent, serving almost as individual exhibitions under a much larger guise. The series opened on May 13th and has a lengthy run time, closing on November 12th.
Installation view of Performative Self-Portrait on view 05-13-2023 through 11-05-2023 at the RISD Museum.
Jess T. Dugan, American (b. 1986 in Biloxi, Mississippi; works in St. Louis), Self-portrait (reaching); from the series Every Breath We Drew, 2020. Walter H. Kimball Fund. RISD Museum, Providence, RI.
What is truly incredible about “The Performative Self Portrait” is the incredible range that the exhibition covers, showing all different photographic styles and personalities. A black and white still can be paired next to a Technicolor supernova, with each one telling their own version of the photographic narrative. One might suggest that switching between these paradoxical styles and minds would be a headache, but the wonderful curation by Conor Moynihan and Matthew Kluk proves the exact opposite. We are able to seemingly glide through each artist and style with incredible ease, beautifully absorbing all of the content the series has to offer us. It’s an eleven-course tasting menu of photography, with each dish being better than the next.
Juliana Huxtable, American (b. 1987 in Bryant-Station, Texas; works in New York), Untitled (Psychosocial Stuntin'); from the series *Universal Crop Tops for All the Self Canonized Saints of Becoming*, 2015. Gift of Judy and Robert Mann. RISD Museum, Providence, RI.
Many of the exhibition’s artistic exploration deals with the acceptance of the self, and the performance of the differences of the human body. Everyone looks different and occupies a different space in the world, and many of these photographers highlight this with an auteur’s touch. We look at these images, both grandiose and intimate, and are pushed to recognize our own strengths and celebrate ourselves as individuals, not merely as humans. David Benjamin Sherry, naked, covered in polka dots, and Robert Mapplethorpe’s self portrait may have entirely different oeuvres, but they essentially accomplish the same thing; they both preach particularity. We see different variations of the human spirit, alike and different at the same time. Both are artists, and both are humans, more importantly. Both are accomplishing the same goal of showing the photographer’s vision of the self, and by doing so we praise ourselves. If there is anything this exhibition does, it is highlight the need for self reflection, to dig deep within our own minds and souls and find what truly is ours. We all wear performatove masks, but when we are truly us, that is when we are authentic. Perhaps the mask can take a break every once and awhile.
