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.
Category: Painting
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.
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, 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.
Hand/Heart for Ana Mendieta (1986)
Center panel: Chromaprints of actions – paint, blood, ashes, and syrup on snow
Side panels: Acrylic paint, chalk, and ashes on paper
This piece was created as an homage to the recently deceased Ana Mendieta whose work incorporated her body in the natural landscape. This piece shows that Schneemann still had strong roots in painting and it was a very comfortable medium for her to work in, especially when dealing with the death of a friend and colleague.