Carolee Schneemann – FLUXUSMUSEUM

Carolee Schneemann (October 1939 – March 2019)

Carolee Schneemann was an American visual experimental artist (collage, sculpture, photography and film) whose works focussed on the themes of gender, the body and sexuality:

“Originally a painter in the Abstract Expressionist tradition, Schneeman was uninterested in the masculine heroism of New York painters of the time and turned to performance-based work, primarily characterized by research into visual traditions, taboos, and the body of the individual in relation to social bodies.”
– Tate biography

Whilst Schneemann is known for her performance works (she collaborated closely with Allan Kaprow and Claes Oldenburg), Schneemann saw herself first and foremost as a painter:

“I’m a painter. I’m still a painter and I will die a painter. Everything that I have developed has to do with extending visual principles off the canvas.”
– Carolee Schneemann

Having experienced sexism and male dominance as a student and in professional art, Schneemann sought to deconstruct and re-write narratives around gender, feminist issues and the female body. Meat Joy (1964) challenged stereotypes about female sexuality.

One of her most famous works, Interior Scrolls (1975) consisted of a female performer undressing and then unravelling a long scroll from her vagina and recited feminist texts:

“I can make something taboo so formally compelling the taboo becomes the after-effect,” she said of her work. “That makes it much more powerful.”
– Carolee Schneemann

Links:

Biographies:

MoMA biography: https://www.moma.org/artists/7712

Biography, Tate: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/carolee-schneemann-5446

Biography, artnet: http://www.artnet.com/artists/carolee-schneemann/

‘7 facts about legendary performance artist Carolee Schneemann’: https://www.thecollector.com/carolee-schneemann-performance-artist/

Key works explained, biography & accomplishments: https://www.theartstory.org/artist/schneemann-carolee/

Biography, Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Carolee-Schneemann

Biography, Electronic Arts Intermix: https://www.eai.org/artists/carolee-schneemann/biography

‘Carolee Schneemann: biography, art & facts’ (German): https://delphipages.live/de/bildende-kunst/installation-performance-art-nr/carolee-schneemann

Profile on Carolee Schneemann: https://kam.illinois.edu/artist/carolee-schneemann

Works:

Visual exhibits on Artsy: https://www.artsy.net/artist/carolee-schneemann

Visual exhibits & biography: https://www.galerielelong.com/artists/estate-of-carolee-schneemann

Interior Scroll (1975): https://fineartmultiple.com/blog/carolee-schneemann-interior-scroll-masterpiece

Key works explained, accompanied by images: https://www.eai.org/artists/carolee-schneemann/titles

Eye Body (1963): http://www.medienkunstnetz.de/werke/eye-body/

Interviews:

Schneemann on her influences and her work Up To And Including Her Limits (1973-76)

Video interview ‘Raw Materials: Carolee Schneemann’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ep8bOYaLnN8&ab_channel=NOWNESS

Films of Schneemann’s to rent; interviews with Schneemann & biography: https://film-makerscoop.com/filmmakers/carolee-schneemann/bio

‘An Interview with Carolee Schneemann’: https://believermag.com/an-interview-with-carolee-schneemann/

‘It is chaotic times, like a nightmare’: an interview with Carolee Schneemann: https://www.monopol-magazin.de/es-sind-chaotische-zeiten-wie-ein-alptraum?fbclid=IwAR2FAjUXn_ziBhPT45iaD18Mtyel2-dcy65WCBjv_Bn-oMOymr-RZoVhJs0

Articles:

‘Pioneer of feminist body art’ (German): https://www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de/zum-tod-von-carolee-schneemann-pionierin-der-feministischen.1013.de.html?dram:article_id=443027

On Schneemann’s works in Frankfurt (German): https://www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de/performancekuenstlerin-carolee-schneemann-in-frankfurt.1013.de.html?dram:article_id=387431

‘Big retrospective for Carolee Schneemann’: https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/performance-kuenstlerin-grosse-retrospektive-fuer-carolee.691.de.html?dram:article_id=387575

Biography & articles: https://fineartmultiple.com/carolee-schneemann/

‘Interior Scroll was a groundbreaking piece of feminist art’: https://fineartmultiple.com/blog/Katja-Taylor-Schneemann

Selection of articles on Carolee Schneemann: https://www.frieze.com/tags/carolee-schneemann

‘The Reenchantment of Carolee Schneemann’: https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-re-enchantment-of-carolee-schneemann

‘Lost (and Found) Artist Series: Carolee Schneemann’: https://magazine.artland.com/lost-and-found-carolee-schneemann/

‘The body as a canvas’: https://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/kunst-und-architektur/zum-tod-der-kuenstlerin-carolee-schneemann-16079080.html

‘Carolee Schneemann Pioneered the Way Women’s Bodies Were Seen’: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/feminist-performance-artist-carolee-schneemann-dies-79-180971680/

‘Extremely Imaginative, Extremely Radical’: https://taz.de/Zum-Tod-von-Carolee-Schneemann/!5579043/

‘The Female Power of Carolee Schneemann’: https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/6232-the-female-power-of-carolee-schneemann

‘Carolee Schneemann’s Art Is Not Made For Your Comfort’: https://www.interviewmagazine.com/art/carolee-schneemanns-art-is-not-made-for-your-comfort

Website:

Carolee Schneemann Foundation website: http://www.schneemannfoundation.org/

Instagram account:

Carolee Schneemann Foundation Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/schneemannfoundation/?hl=en

Video resources:

The Carolee Schneemann Foundation and Printed Matter Celebrate Reprint of Schneemann’s Parts of a Body House Book: https://www.printedmatter.org/programs/events/1220

Exhibitions:

Carolee Schneemann exhibition & visual exhibits: https://www.mmk.art/en/whats-on/carolee-schneemann/

Exhibitions & press relating to Schneemann: https://ocula.com/artists/carolee-schneeman/

Obituaries:

Obituary, New York Times:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/10/obituaries/carolee-schneemann-dead-at-79.html

Obituary (German): https://www.monopol-magazin.de/carolee-schneemann-ist-tot

Obituary, The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/mar/08/carolee-schneemann-obituary

Obituary, ARTnews: https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/carolee-schneemann-died-feminist-art-12071/

Panel discussion:

Panelist discussion of Schneemann’s legacy at Art Basel, 2019: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0I_h8XBow1U&ab_channel=ArtBasel

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