Elizabeth Axtman
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth Axtman is an American photographer and video
artist
whose work explores race in American culture
.
in Maryland
in 1980. She received her BA in photography from San Francisco State University
in 2004 and her MFA in photography from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2006. She lives and works in Oakland, California
.
, including the sub-themes of racial passing and the trope of the tragic mulatto
. Several of her pieces involve reworking found video and audio, and she often inserts herself—her voice, her face—into her work. In noting that her work draws comedic inspiration from the likes of Richard Pryor
and Paul Mooney, she has stated that: "Humor has always been a part of what I do. It helps me to talk about things, but it keeps me safe too."
In her 2005 video American Classics, Axtman stares into the camera at close range and mouths the words to various racially-charged film dialogues and monologues, including snippets from the 1934 movie Imitation of Life
. Axtman's constant artistic forays into the rhetoric of race suited her work for Black Is, Black Ain't, a group show currently on view at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit
. Black Is, Black Ain't, which culls its title from Ralph Ellison
's Invisible Man, and which features Axtman's American Classics, seeks to examine the contemporary moment, where the cultural production of so-called “blackness” is concurrent with efforts to make race socially and politically irrelevant.
The 2006 video Where’s The Party At? depicts Axtman, in a white track suit, dancing around a burning cross as the video’s eponymous dance track (a song by R&B group Jagged Edge
) plays in its entirety. The video was shot on the grounds of the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine, where Axtman was an artist in residence in 2006. In an interview about Where's The Party At?, Axtman admitted: I really got into the historical meaning of burning a cross... When [the Ku Klux Klan] burn it within their little crew of white people in little dresses, there’s such [a] meaning of spirituality and brotherhood and their white pride. Then they put it in black people’s yards to [say] 'I hate you nigger, get away.' So it has this really weird double meaning. It was really important for me to feel like I was mocking their sacredness. That was the best part for me...making a joke out of their hatred."
Axtman also produces paintings, drawings, and mixed media works. She has cited Otabenga Jones, Kehinde Wiley
, Guillermo Gomez-Pena, and Adrian Piper
as artistic inspirations.
, the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art, and many other museums and galleries.
Video
Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
whose work explores race in American culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
.
Bio
Axtman was born on Andrews Air Force BaseAndrews Air Force Base
Joint Base Andrews is a United States military facility located in Prince George's County, Maryland. The facility is under the jurisdiction of the United States Air Force 11th Wing, Air Force District of Washington ....
in Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
in 1980. She received her BA in photography from San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University is a public university located in San Francisco, California. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers over 100 areas of study from nine academic colleges...
in 2004 and her MFA in photography from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2006. She lives and works in Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
.
Work
Axtman is interested in exploring and molding historical and contemporary representations of American racializationRacialization
Racialization refers to processes of the discursive production of racial identities. It signifies the extension of dehumanizing and racial meanings to a previously racially unclassified relationship, social practice, or group...
, including the sub-themes of racial passing and the trope of the tragic mulatto
Tragic mulatto
The Tragic mulatto is a stereotypical fictional character that appeared in American literature during the 19th and 20th centuries. The "tragic mulatto" is an archetypical mixed race person , who is assumed to be sad or even suicidal because they fail to completely fit in the "white world" or the...
. Several of her pieces involve reworking found video and audio, and she often inserts herself—her voice, her face—into her work. In noting that her work draws comedic inspiration from the likes of Richard Pryor
Richard Pryor
Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor was an American stand-up comedian, actor, social critic, writer and MC. Pryor was known for uncompromising examinations of racism and topical contemporary issues, which employed colorful vulgarities, and profanity, as well as racial epithets...
and Paul Mooney, she has stated that: "Humor has always been a part of what I do. It helps me to talk about things, but it keeps me safe too."
In her 2005 video American Classics, Axtman stares into the camera at close range and mouths the words to various racially-charged film dialogues and monologues, including snippets from the 1934 movie Imitation of Life
Imitation of Life (1934 film)
Imitation of Life is a 1934 American drama film directed by John M. Stahl. The screenplay by William Hurlbut, based on Fannie Hurst's 1933 novel of the same name, was augmented by eight additional uncredited writers, including Preston Sturges and Finley Peter Dunne...
. Axtman's constant artistic forays into the rhetoric of race suited her work for Black Is, Black Ain't, a group show currently on view at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit
Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit
The Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit or MOCAD is a non-collecting contemporary art museum located in Detroit's cultural center. The mission of the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit is to present art at the forefront of contemporary culture...
. Black Is, Black Ain't, which culls its title from Ralph Ellison
Ralph Ellison
Ralph Waldo Ellison was an American novelist, literary critic, scholar and writer. He was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Ellison is best known for his novel Invisible Man, which won the National Book Award in 1953...
's Invisible Man, and which features Axtman's American Classics, seeks to examine the contemporary moment, where the cultural production of so-called “blackness” is concurrent with efforts to make race socially and politically irrelevant.
The 2006 video Where’s The Party At? depicts Axtman, in a white track suit, dancing around a burning cross as the video’s eponymous dance track (a song by R&B group Jagged Edge
Jagged Edge (band)
Jagged Edge is an American R&B group, with the lead singers, Brandon & Brian, born in Hartford, CT on October 13, 1975, Kyle Norman of Decatur, GA born on February 26,1976 and Richard Wingo of College Park, GA born on September 3, 1975. Wingo was a late addition to the group, added after Kandi...
) plays in its entirety. The video was shot on the grounds of the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine, where Axtman was an artist in residence in 2006. In an interview about Where's The Party At?, Axtman admitted: I really got into the historical meaning of burning a cross... When [the Ku Klux Klan] burn it within their little crew of white people in little dresses, there’s such [a] meaning of spirituality and brotherhood and their white pride. Then they put it in black people’s yards to [say] 'I hate you nigger, get away.' So it has this really weird double meaning. It was really important for me to feel like I was mocking their sacredness. That was the best part for me...making a joke out of their hatred."
Axtman also produces paintings, drawings, and mixed media works. She has cited Otabenga Jones, Kehinde Wiley
Kehinde Wiley
Kehinde Wiley is a New York-based portrait painter, who is known for his highly naturalistic paintings of contemporary urban African, African-American, Afro-Brazilian, Indian and Ethiopian-Jewish men in heroic poses.-Early life:...
, Guillermo Gomez-Pena, and Adrian Piper
Adrian Piper
Adrian Margaret Smith Piper is a first-generation conceptual artist and analytic philosopher who was born in New York City and lived for many years on Cape Cod, Massachusetts before emigrating from the United States...
as artistic inspirations.
Exhibitions
Video work by Axtman is on view at The Studio Museum in Harlem from February 13 through March 15, 2009. Axtman's work has been exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, the Hyde Park Art CenterHyde Park Art Center
The Hyde Park Art Center is a visual arts organization and the oldest alternative exhibition space in the city of Chicago. Since 2006, HPAC has been located just north of Hyde Park Boulevard, at 5020 S.Cornell Avenue, in the Kenwood neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois.-Beginnings:The Hyde Park Art...
, the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art, and many other museums and galleries.