The Secret Garden (1956)
This early work displays Carolee Schneemann’s original partiality to abstract expressionist painting. Her flow of colors and lines blend into pure abstraction.
Portrait of Jane Brakhage Wodening (1958)
Oil on canvas
This was painted during a two week stay with Stan and Jane Brakhage in their Vermont home. Schneemann stated that being the subject of such an intimate portrait caused Jane Brakhage so much stress and anxiety that, when the work was completed, Schneemann took it away with her when she left the couple. However, they kept the portrait of Stan Brakhage to hang in their home.
This work displays Schneemann’s early tendencies towards abstract expressionism and also her fascination with the nude female form depicted in a non-traditional way.
Fur Wheel (1962)
Kinetic sculpture
Materials: lampshade base, fur, tin cans, mirrors, glass, oil paint; wheel, motor, electrical components
This is one of Schneemann’s first departures from the use of flat canvas and also one of the first movement based pieces she creates. The ‘wheel’ slowly rotates around in a circle, allowing the beer cans to clink and fall, which creates an organic noise. The effect of the piece is hypnotic in its monotony.
Eye Body: 36 Transformative Actions (1963)
35mm black & white film
Photographed by Erró
Eye Body was Schneemann’s first use of her physical body as an active agent in her art work. The piece was a performance of sorts, but was displayed through the photographs taken by the Icelandic photographer, Erró. The piece revolved around Scheemann’s naked body interacting with objects such as: paint, plastic, feathers, plastic snakes, glass, ect. This was the beginning of her journey in using the human body as a new organic form of canvas, because, as the artist, stated herself, “…I establish my body as a visual territory.”
Performance piece at Stage 73 Surplus Dance Theater, New York City
By Robert Morris (featuring Carolee Schneemann)
In this performance, Morris (who is wearing a mask of his own face sculpted by Jasper Johns) silently moves around large sheets of plywood, revealing a nude Schneemann who represents Edouard Manet’s Olympia. This conceptual art piece focuses on anonymity and the fascination with the passive nude female form within art.
Silent film shot on 16mm
18 minutes long
Over a three year span Schneemann recorded intimate sexual moment with her and her husband, James Tenney. She took those films, spliced them, and overlaid them with images of nature and her cat. She also took the time to hand paint, edit, and scratch the pieces of film – creating a dreamlike quality. This film was one of the first to explore a woman’s view of sex, from a heterosexual standpoint, in such an intimate way. This incredibly direct portrayal has been heralded as a revolutionary film of its time.
Performance, body art
This kinetic theater piece revolves around eight, scantily dressed, men and women happily dancing and moving about each other creating what seems like human sculptures. Then, as the performance goes on, they are handed pieces of raw meat which they rub all over their bodies. The men and women never lose their joyful expressions as they become smeared with paper, paint, and raw meat.
The piece was first performed in Paris at the Free Expression Festival.
Up To And Including Her Limits (1973 – 1976)
Performance painting
In this performance, Carolee Schneemann would strap herself into a tree climber’s harness (while in the nude) and let herself swing around the space she was in. As she ‘floated’ about the area she would write and draw on the walls and floor in multicolored crayons. There was also a live video feed capturing these performances. The inspiration for the piece was largely due to Jackson Pollock’s use of the physical body in his art.
Interior Scroll (1975)
In probably her most infamous performance piece, Carolee Schneemann first performed a reading from her 1976 book “Cezanne, She Was A Great Painter” all while standing on a table wrapped only in a towel. She then removed the cloth, stood naked on the table, and slowly removed a scroll from her vagina which she read out loud to the room. The text used on the scroll was from a forgotten film project of Schneemann’s titled “Kitch’s Last Meal” (1973) – it is supposed to reflect a male critique of women in the art field.
The idea for the piece came from a dream in which Schneemann saw a woman, with her leg in the air, removing a scroll from her vagina that said “Interior Knowledge.”
Infinity Kisses (1981 – 88)
Self shot photos on 35mm film
With 140 photos, this piece by Schneemann is a funny and disturbing take on a woman’s relationship with her pet cat. Cats seem to have always held a strong emotional tie to Schneeman, she uses them throughout a lot of her work. This piece not only expresses her love for the animal, but the over-exaggerated bond that people assume women have with their cats.
In 2008 she recreated the piece as Infinity Kisses II and made a film titled Infinity Kisses – The Movie.